Health Discussions

I choose not to live in fear.  The danger is not in the flu itself, but in the weakened immune system that it might hit, so we choose to strengthen the immune system and let our bodies fight out what may come.

The hype around this thing is unfortunately leading to a Chicken Little syndrome.  When something TRULY dangerous DOES come along, there will be nothing left to distinguish it from the other stuff that has been over-hyped.

My grandparents had terrible complications from one of these hype sessions of swine flu vaccines- they got the vaccines and had always been healthy- almost NEVER ever sick and they never recovered from some of the complications of the vaccines the rest of their lives.  It was one of the biggest mistakes they ever made (getting the shots).

(no need for attacks on this, by the way, I know that some people really revere this kind of thing and you are entitled to do so.  I am also entitled to feel as I do too, having had years of experience with the health system)  :)

A lady died yesterday in Johnson County, KS... That's not too far from me and that's the second death in the county. She didn't have any other health complications so it's not only killing people that have underlying issues with health like the news keeps saying.

As far as me personally, no, nobody close or anything like that. I associate with a girl I went to high school with on myspace and she said her husband got it last week but other than that, nothing. I hope it stays that way. Two of my three kids go to school and it's hard to keep viruses out of school and I'm not going to keep them home until it's all better but the school has sanitizer and what not everywhere. They're always washing their hands too!

I sing "Happy Birthday" when I wash my hands and it seems to work. Even right after I wash, I use sanitizer... Ya know, just in case! Here at work we have the lotion hand sanitizer so that your hands don't dry out!

How can we tell which is the flu and which one is swine?

Yes,my son and I both contracted H1N1 and it was pretty bad.I would have to say the only real couple o differences is that it causes and extreme headache,really bad and your muscls ache alot along with a fever that last around 5 days mine ran at 104. for 3 then it gradually went down to 102.My doctor told me the regular flu kills more people and there is no cure.they can give you tamifly at the first 24 hours of onset but thats no guarantee and only reduces the symptoms.As far as the H1N1 flu shit be wary because I hav a friend who is an RN and the shot is just a dead H1N1 flu but she told me sometimes in every ohter batch their can be and often is a live batch so rather than getting protected you could be getting it.I just stayed home,took tylenol,drank lots of fluids and rested alot.I was pretty dizzy at onset but theres just nothig you can do but if you have a child with s breathing problwm I would take them to the ER because with mine i had a tighteningin the windpipe a little bit and for an asmatic child they may need some additonal medication or monitoring.

I have had several people around me catch the H1N1 virus and have started not feeling well myself. :( Hopefully I'm on the lucky end of things and it's just a minor bug that will go away soon, if not, I'll probably be taking a visit to the doctor soon.

I've heard from people that have had it that in some cases, it isn't all that bad, it just depends on if you have any pre-existing conditions and etc. But if what I have is swine flu, then I'd say I'm feeling pretty bad. :P

I read the other day that the President declared a national health emergency concerning this flu.

Here's part of the article...

'President Barack Obama declares a national emergency as the H1N1 virus reaches a sad milestone in the U.S. More than 1,000 Americans have died from the disease, officials say. Nearly 100 were children.'

'President Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients. The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.'

Here we are at the end of October and still not enough vaccines to go around. Makes one wonder how long this strain will be around, doesn't it?

I just posted on my Viewpoints blog a list of how to know if it's the flu or just a regular old cold you might have. I got the info from my sister who emailed me the list that was sent around her office. If nothing else, it's a good refrence point I guess.  Check it out !

I just read your blog entry.  I recommend others read it too.  Very helpful.  Thank you.

RudiXeno said…

I just read your blog entry.  I recommend others read it too.  Very helpful.  Thank you.

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You're welcome, it is important to know the differences and not panic if you're not sure, not a bad idea to stay ahead of things.  

BB said…

How can we tell which is the flu and which one is swine?

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I'd think it would be a good idea to seek medical attention and find out exactly which strain it could be.  I posted a list on my Viewpoints blog that could be helpful, it doesn't differentiate between 2 kinds of flu though, but it's still worth a look-see.

There was a little boy in the daycare my kids go to last week that was confirmed an H1N1 case so the daycare closed for 2 days and scrubbed/sanitized EVERYTHING! I took the babies to the hospital, waited for 7 hours to see the doctor and they got a clean bill of health. Not to mention me being the crazed mama I am, made them wear souble masks and hand sanitizer like every 10 minutes. I know, I'm crazy, but when it comes to my babies, I don't take any chances! They have no underlying health issues either but I was just being safe. :)

I had H1N1 and so did my son.It is pretty rough.I had a fever for like 5 days straight .It was like 104 for 3 days then went down to 101 and then away but the dizziness and the headache and muscle aches were the worst and you want eat unless you force yourself and then it goes to your chest and my windpipe swelled some making it almost like i had asthma.So I can see how it affects little ones and pregnant people or people with weakend immune systems.My doctor told me that the regular flu claimed more lives and that people should be cautious and that all the kids that have died already had underlying illnesses.All the people period and that I shoul stay away form everyone.The muscle aches and headaches were really bad so I drank kosher pickle juice because thats what athletes do for their muscles and it works.You can drink gatorade but this seems to work faster so it is just a thought.You can't really prevent this stuff.My kids go to school and thats were I got it from and I dont want it again.

Wow, sounds horrible. I hope my children don't catch it. They sanitized the daycare and all that good stuff so hopefully it doesn't come back around.

I'm glad you are better now, it's great to hear!

I hope no ones children dont get this eaither because it is bad but you do get better and are able to survive it is just people with weakend immunity thats at major risk for dying but for everyone else it is just really nasty.Eventually everyone is going to contract it and no shot or anything else is gonna prevent it so all we can try and do is combat the symptoms and thats about it.

It has been affecting healthy people too, not just ones with weakened immune systems. A gentleman died on Monday in Missouri with it. He was healthy and just thought he had a cold, he fought it in the hospital for 21 before passing on Monday. So, everyone needs to be careful, don't think that you're harmless because you have no underlying health conditions.

Hope everyone stays flu free this season .The H1N1 is everywhere.

Hello,

My grandaughter came down with the Swine Flu she is 9yrs old.  Her mom was going out of town to Hawii and wouldn't put her trip on hold and told me her grandmother that she had to stay with me.  Well it was long before I had it as well.  We ran fever 102 and had sore throats and we were both congested.  We both went to the doctor and they put us both on Tamaflu.  The thing is to catch it early.  You have a 48hr window from the time you start running fever to get to the doctor and start Tamaflu.  Luckly we were both fine after about a week.  She went back to school and I went back to my same routine. 

As far as the vaccine.  We now don't need it.  But after all the info on TV if I had any young children I would diffenently have them vacinated.

me too.

I'm glad that you are both okay. The mother should be ashamed of herself.

Bad stuff and hope everyone stays well.

Sjperry1985 said…

Wow, sounds horrible. I hope my children don't catch it. They sanitized the daycare and all that good stuff so hopefully it doesn't come back around.

I'm glad you are better now, it's great to hear!

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In spite of what some other members think, I still think the best thing to do is to vaccinate kids against the H1N1 flu.   Much of the info out there that rails against vaccines is simply speculative and not reliable.

My niece at home in RI got it, it's all around her elementary school. I asked my doctor if I should get the vaccine because I am going to be around kids from that school. After listening, I decided not to get the vaccine. If I am careful, I should be OK. She said getting it may be worse than regular flu in a healthy person, but I would not be considered at high risk. 

i don't want extra vaccines I don't need. I got the regular flu one, though.

We all had the flu.  It was awful. It went through the family so fast.  We were in bed for two to four days each.  I can normally care for everyone and not get sick, but this kicked my butt too.

Right now I just have cold symptoms, runny nose, stuffiness, coughing, fatigue, etc. I don't really feel bad now, I feel like I have a cold that hangs on and on.

We did not go to the Dr so we can't say for sure that it was swine flu, but one the things to watch for is that it comes on suddenly and spreads quickly, which is what happened in our household.

I don't take flu shots.  The news programs I have watched with medical professionals have all said swine flu is no worse than the regular flu.   It is just media hype.  The number I heard quoted that die each year from flu or flu compilcations was 36,000 people!

It is definaely bad stuff.I have had it and it is pretty nasty.

An employee at the animal shelter I volunteer at is going thru it, she's better but not quite back to herself yet. The good news is, it hasn't spread like we all thought it would. Everyone seems to be fine so far, we're certainly keeping our fingers crossed.