Bird Flu.What precautions could I take?

[JennyMominRI]

No joke hear.. All the Talk of Bird flu and possible cases in Canada have me a little spooked... Obviously I'm severely immunocompromised.. What sort of precautions would you take if you were me.?I'm just wondering if there is stuff outside of the obvious..And I'm talking worst case scenario....If there were a real outbreak in the US

 

[chrissyk]

I'm not sure, but maybe you'd want to stay home for the most part until the outbreak passed. I see from your signature pic that you have kids, though, so they could probably still bring germs home from school and such. Perhaps you'd need to get them to shower as soon as they came home, have someone else handle the laundry (that might have germs on it), and use tons of Lysol on the doorknobs and such. You could also insist that everyone in the household use hand sanitizer gel often, etc. Also, they will probably have guidelines for immunocompromised people when such an outbreak does occur.

 

[DawnCt1]

Jenny, I don't think you have to worry about bird flu now. I would be concerned about the annual influenza that we see every year. Be sure to get your flu shot. While immunity is usually in place in a couple of weeks, it takes a full 6 weeks to reach peak immunity. Being immunocompromised, I do not know how much immunity you will actually build. I do know that if someone is on immunosupresant drugs, such as Prednisone, and its a temporary therapy, then it is more prudent to wait until they are off of that so they can build the appropriate immunity. I would be sure that the children are immunized so that they don't get the flu and bring it home to you. Avoid the malls, grocery stores, etc on crowded days. Go shopping when most people are at work or at home. Take Purell in your purse so when you don't have a chance to wash your hands you can use Purell when you come in contact with door knobs, money, hand rails, etc.

 

[Free4Life11]

Weel if the pandemic hits like they keep saying it will, I would stay inside as much as possible. Clean the house regularly, using disinfectant. Install an air purifier, preferably one of the ones that kills germs. If I went outside I would wear plastic gloves and a face mask. I would also stay away from public places -- you can order so many things online these days too.

So many people have poor hygiene, so I would mainly avoid public places.

And like chrissyk said, make sure the kids are using lots of hand sanitizer and washing hands regulary. Showed right away after school and many use antibacterial body way (Dial.)

 

[JennyMominRI]

Jenny, I don't think you have to worry about bird flu now. I would be concerned about the annual influenza that we see every year. Be sure to get your flu shot. While immunity is usually in place in a couple of weeks, it takes a full 6 weeks to reach peak immunity. Being immunocompromised, I do not know how much immunity you will actually build. I do know that if someone is on immunosupresant drugs, such as Prednisone, and its a temporary therapy, then it is more prudent to wait until they are off of that so they can build the appropriate immunity. I would be sure that the children are immunized so that they don't get the flu and bring it home to you. Avoid the malls, grocery stores, etc on crowded days. Go shopping when most people are at work or at home. Take Purell in your purse so when you don't have a chance to wash your hands you can use Purell when you come in contact with door knobs, money, hand rails, etc.

I always get the flu shot... I was going to get it last Wednesday,but now I'll be getting it this weekend..My family also gets the vaccine..I had a really tough time getting it last year

 

[questioner]

I plan to stay indoors and watch FOXNEWS, CNN, and MSNBC all day and be SCARED TO DEATH with their non-stop coverage.

Though on the other hand, if everyone stays indoors while the flu bug is out there who will work and take care of serviving our economy and earning money?

 

[DawnCt1]

I always get the flu shot... I was going to get it last Wednesday,but now I'll be getting it this weekend..My family also gets the vaccine..I had a really tough time getting it last year

You should have no problem getting it this year. While that shot provides protection, not everyone gets full immunity, not even healthy people, so you do need to be careful as I stated before. If they are coughing and sneezing, send them packing!

 

[chasbos]

Just to let you know - the bird flu is not in Canada. It is a form of Avian Influenza that only effects poultry and is not a threat to humans.

It is not even close to the same virus strain as the Bird Flu that is in Asia.

DH and I are poultry producers so I am in contact with 30,000 birds 2x a day and I am not worried about this at all.

I did not, nor ever have gotten a flu shot - since when is being sick for a few days bad for you?

I personally think it is a bunch of hype but hey that is just me.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Just to let you know - the bird flu is not in Canada. It is a form of Avian Influenza that only effects poultry and is not a threat to humans.

It is not even close to the same virus strain as the Bird Flu that is in Asia.

DH and I are poultry producers so I am in contact with 30,000 birds 2x a day and I am not worried about this at all.

I did not, nor ever have gotten a flu shot - since when is being sick for a few days bad for you?

I personally think it is a bunch of hype but hey that is just me.

Chasbos..For me,someone living with AIDS,the flu,any flu can be deadly.. believe me I'm not paranoid,not do I plan to stop eating chicken anytime soon..I am someone who is very proactive in my healht.I like to educate myself on things and plan ahead... I'm not the hide in the house to stay away from germs,kind of person.
Incidentally I rarely get colds or flu's..I think all the medications I take knocks them dead.

 

[DawnCt1]

t all.

I did not, nor ever have gotten a flu shot - since when is being sick for a few days bad for you?

I personally think it is a bunch of hype but hey that is just me.

36 thousand Americans die every year from the flu. Some years are worse than others. Two years ago we had an early flu season in which children were particularly vunerable. Some people can't afford to get any respiratory illness, particularly if they have asthma, immune compromised situations, chemotherapy, the very young or the very old. Some families can't afford to have the major income earner home sick for a week. Some children don't have family members who can afford to stay home with them for a week. Being sick for a week with the flu is more than an "inconvenience". If you chose not to get a flu shot, that's your call. Plenty of people make that same decision every year, most do fine. Me? I would rather not get sick.

 

[momof2inPA]

Jenny, don't travel to Southeast Asia and avoid working closely with fowl. I, personally wouldn't buy exotic pets, either.

Honestly, I don't think there's a thing we can do about bird flu outside of stockpiling the tamiflu and I'm not sure about the shelflife. I did a search on bird flu and a website selling tamiflu in Canada came up. It was only $8.

 

[chasbos]

I never said the flu shot was not for everyone. Those who are vulnerable to sickness and the elderly should help themselves as much as possible.

I just do not think that it helps your average healthy person. Maybe we have been lucky and the flu has just passed by us.

The only problem I have with the flu shot is that it was formulated on last years flu strains - and who knows what this years strains will be?

 

[luvwinnie]

Just to let you know - the bird flu is not in Canada. It is a form of Avian Influenza that only effects poultry and is not a threat to humans.

It is not even close to the same virus strain as the Bird Flu that is in Asia.

DH and I are poultry producers so I am in contact with 30,000 birds 2x a day and I am not worried about this at all.

I did not, nor ever have gotten a flu shot - since when is being sick for a few days bad for you?

I personally think it is a bunch of hype but hey that is just me.

i read they could not confirm yet that it's NOTthe same strain.

 

[luvwinnie]

This is what I read:

Health officials in Winnipeg conducting tests on the H5-infected birds won't know whether they have H5N1 until mid-week

 

[DawnCt1]

I just do not think that it helps your average healthy person. Maybe we have been lucky and the flu has just passed by us.

The only problem I have with the flu shot is that it was formulated on last years flu strains - and who knows what this years strains will be?

The flu shot does help your average healthy person....to not get the flu. Will it "save your life"? Probably not because you are not likely to die if you get the flu. You will be sick. The flu shot formulation is the one that was prevalent in the southern hemisphere "last year". While we may not know exactly what strains will emerge all of the time, it is almost always right on the mark. In addition, if its not exactly the same, there is enough "attenuation" and "cross over" to minimize the "flu of the season" anyway. There are few reason NOT to get the flu shot. Allergies to eggs is one of them. That's ironic, considering we are talking about bird flu.

 

[momof2inPA]

This is what I read:

Health officials in Winnipeg conducting tests on the H5-infected birds won't know whether they have H5N1 until mid-week

But they don't think it's the same strain. So, innocent until proven guilty- or deadly. Can you imagine all those Canadian geese poopin' bird flu on our golf courses? I mean you couldn't touch the head of your driver and then hit the snack cart.

 

[minkydog]

I did not, nor ever have gotten a flu shot - since when is being sick for a few days bad for you?

I personally think it is a bunch of hype but hey that is just me.

Not chastising you at all--everyone has the right to make their own decision here--but I feel the need to point out that the real influenza doesn't just make you sick "for a few days". The real flu(as opposed to the viruses that a lot of people think is the flu) makes you sick for 7-10 days with high fever, cough, & severe muscle aches, with 1-2wk recovery period, for a total of 14-24 days. Healthy people who get the flu are temporarily weakened, making them suseptible to other infections, like pneumonia or bronchitis. Immunocompromised people are likely to be hospitalized and some will even die.

I had the flu 4yrs ago--twice in one season. I contracted two different strains of flu in a six week period and developed pneumonia both times. At one point I thought I was going to die, I felt so bad. I was out of work a total of 6wks and it took me 4 months to feel normal again. I am a very healthy woman with no risk factors, other than I didn't get my flu shot that year.

Who knows, maybe I would have gotten the flu anyway? Now I choose to get the shot largely because my DH is immunocompromised and I want to do everything I can to keep him healthy. I would never forgive myself if I gave him the flu.

 

[minkydog]

But they don't think it's the same strain. So, innocent until proven guilty- or deadly. Can you imagine all those Canadian geese poopin' bird flu on our golf courses?

Now there's a picture

 

[crazee4mickey]

All the Talk of Bird flu and possible cases in Canada have me a little spooked...

There are no cases of Bird flu in Canada---not even a mention of possible cases.
The other thing is that the Centre for Disease Control in Winnipeg is one of the best in the world and they will have been called on to help find the strain and possible vaccines.
Also just because they are "Canadian geese" --this indicates a name not where all the birds live and it does not mean they are straight from Canada they could have been born elsewhere...even in the northern states.
I think saying they are testing birds and saying there are possible cases --which indicates humans---is a little premature IMHO

 

[Kermit]

Right now, the actual bird flu, can only be transmitted from birds to humans, not from humans to humans. So even for immunocompromised people, staying away from birds is plenty. If it mutates so that it can be transmitted from humans to humans, I don't know if we have any idea what we will need to do. The bird flu vaccine they've developed treats the bird flu as it is now--it may not work after the mutations occur. And no one knows if the flu-fighting medicines we have now will work against the bird flu, either in its current form or after any mutations.

The bottom line is that there's really no reason to worry right now because it's practically no threat (except for people who deal with birds in affected areas), and we have no idea what we'll need to do if it does mutate so that it does become an issue.