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Swine flu

post #1 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:07am
Thread Starter 
the recent outbreaks are FREAKING me out. Please either help this OCD mama calm down or better prepare.
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post #2 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:15am
Lurking on this thread.

There's rumours of a case here in an 8 year old boy, he's in the ICU. The family just came home from mexico.
post #3 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:20am
Me too... I just came on here to look for threads, actually. No advice, I'm worried too. When the news uses the words "possible pandemic" I worry...
post #4 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:22am
Quote:
An eighth U.S. case was reported Friday. All of the eight U.S. patients have recovered, Besser said.
This is a good sign.
post #5 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:26am
Well... it seems like every year there is an alarm over a particular strain of flu. Remember when the avian flu was going to wipe out humanity?

I have a daughter with severe asthma... a bad enough cold could land her in the ICU... but I am not too worried about this news... I sometimes think these stories are an effort to push vaxing.
post #6 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:27am
My husband & I were just researching this & freaking out today. Have you guys looked info up on Wikipedia? The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918?? I had no idea!! Although, looking that up is NOT going to help calm anyone down....

I'm just going to be as anal retentive about hand washing around here as possible, and take my kids out in the world as little as possible. Just after reading all about it today, we decided I'd better leave the kids home with dad when I did our our grocery shopping.

I'll be watching the news in the coming days/weeks.....
post #7 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowee View Post
Well... it seems like every year there is an alarm over a particular strain of flu. Remember when the avian flu was going to wipe out humanity?

I have a daughter with severe asthma... a bad enough cold could land her in the ICU... but I am not too worried about this news... I sometimes think these stories are an effort to push vaxing.
They do however, say that in this particular case the vaccine doesn't really work. And I do agree that people are always freaking out about something! It was just after reading about past outbreaks of this virus that freaked me out. It's amazing how fast it travels, and how many it killed in the past. Yucky. But, we shall see.....
post #8 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zjande View Post
The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918?? I had no idea!!
OT, but duh, that's what Edward was dying of in Twilight. Wow I'm a nerd.
post #9 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by an_aurora View Post
OT, but duh, that's what Edward was dying of in Twilight. Wow I'm a nerd.
post #10 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:47am
I've never heard of Twilight. Woohoo, does that mean I'm not a nerd!?? lol
post #11 of 481
4/26/09 at 1:04am
I'm really freaked out, too. We live in Texas, and immigration from Mexico is very fluid. I"m really rethinking my schedule next week. It seems like a great time to take a week off.

I heard this is airborne, is that true?
post #12 of 481
4/26/09 at 1:17am
Once upon a time, before I had kids, I always thought of epidemics and natural disasters as natural and necessary population control and wasn't too concerned. I even welcomed the idea of it (too many people consuming too many of the earth's resources - something's got to give).

Now that I actually have kids I'm kind of nervous. I also hate the fact that these things keep coming more and more. (I've been in this region for 28 years and never experienced severe flooding and our neighborhood has flooded 2 years in a row).
post #13 of 481
4/26/09 at 1:58am
I hear that...
Seems like things are piling and going so far off balance in so many areas that it IS feeling a bit scary. and yes, it all mounts heavier with the thought of our children, what they will endure , and just trying to give them the wise stregnth they will need is a task in itself....
aaah, why this now? im so tired of illness~
worrying here in Socal too, AND sending out positive vibrations<3
post #14 of 481
4/26/09 at 3:08am
I've read that the reason they are so worried about it is that none of the fatalities so far are young children or the elderly. Hence the whole '1918' comparison. Honestly, other than taking my usual precautions of frequent hand sanitizing (with the alcohol based purell), and eating really well to keep my immune system up, I don't think there's much I can do. From the sounds of it, it will take a lot longer than a week for things to calm down, especially since it's already spread pretty far north.

Ami
post #15 of 481
4/26/09 at 3:52am
The 1917 flu spread so wildly because the "Spanish" flu actually came from American Troops in Fort Riley Kansas who were exposed to the flu via horse Manure, then shipped to Europe to fight WWI. When troops returned home, it was assumed they caught the flu in Spain instead of actually transporting it to the old world. Please also remember that medical practices have changed dramatically in the last 90 years. We now have anti-virals, understand the dangers of dehydration and are far more likely to visit a Dr. than in 1918. ALso a huge reason the Spanish flu was so deadly is that it spread like wildfire through the trenches on the battlefields. SO even though it currently appears that we are facing the 1918 Spanish flu again, realistically, we are not. The best thing to do right now is just stay calm and use your common sense. Wash hands frequently, stay home if you are sick, stay hydrated and use some rescue remedy if you can't chill out.
post #16 of 481
4/26/09 at 8:59am
I read this morning the man of the couple who have it here in Kansas, had been in Mexico.
post #17 of 481
4/26/09 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowee View Post
Well... it seems like every year there is an alarm over a particular strain of flu. Remember when the avian flu was going to wipe out humanity?

I have a daughter with severe asthma... a bad enough cold could land her in the ICU... but I am not too worried about this news... I sometimes think these stories are an effort to push vaxing.
Yup scare tactics always get LARGE crowds of people to vax ! Whatever you do do not get the vaccine!

Here is a great article about beating the Flu:

http://www.naturalnews.com/023087.html
post #18 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by an_aurora View Post
OT, but duh, that's what Edward was dying of in Twilight. Wow I'm a nerd.

My grandpa almost died of the flu in 1918 (when he was 17). He had an "out of body experience" and all of his hair fell out.

So then I go "ick"--- Edward would be as old as Grandpa!!!
post #19 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gossamer View Post
The 1917 flu spread so wildly because the "Spanish" flu actually came from American Troops in Fort Riley Kansas who were exposed to the flu via horse Manure, then shipped to Europe to fight WWI. When troops returned home, it was assumed they caught the flu in Spain instead of actually transporting it to the old world. Please also remember that medical practices have changed dramatically in the last 90 years. We now have anti-virals, understand the dangers of dehydration and are far more likely to visit a Dr. than in 1918. ALso a huge reason the Spanish flu was so deadly is that it spread like wildfire through the trenches on the battlefields. SO even though it currently appears that we are facing the 1918 Spanish flu again, realistically, we are not. The best thing to do right now is just stay calm and use your common sense. Wash hands frequently, stay home if you are sick, stay hydrated and use some rescue remedy if you can't chill out.

playing devil's advocate:

Most of the world still lives in 1918 conditions, for all intents and purposes. Access to decent medical care (and clean water, good nutrition, etc.) is a first-world luxury.

Anti-virals? Sure, for some. Mexico City, for example, has 1 million doses of Tamiflu. (For approx. 20 million people).

We're actually a much more mobile society now than in 1918. We do have wars going on (although not a World War) and AIRPLANE TRAVEL makes people (and diseases) incredibly mobile. World population is much greater now, also. (There are more people to play "host" to the disease.)

The flu is mostly airborne. Washing hands won't help with that aspect.

Air pollution is worse now than in 1918, obviously. That taxes people's lungs to begin with. (Mexico City has the worst air pollution in the world.)
post #20 of 481
4/26/09 at 12:14pm
i also saw a video about the swine flu vaccine that was given in i think the 70s and how it killed more people than the flu itself did. seeing how everyone seems to be recovering i would be a bit leary of getting some new vaccine that could have who knows what wrong with it. but i am also a bit concerned that alot of migrant works come up in the summer from mexico and i have young dcs....