Pandemic?

[C.Ann]

As one who has to wear a mask at times(nurse), until you have worn a N95 particulate mask you have NO idea how uncomfortable they are. My max wear time is about 10 minutes..

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Shoot! I considered one of those for raking leaves up here.. (The doctor won't let me rake leaves anymore because of the spores it stirs up from the ground and I LOVE to rake leaves!!!) And I suppose the fact that I have to wear glasses would make it even worse - huh? (With them "steaming up..")

Drats! I really wanted to rake some of the leaves my son-in-law didn't get.. Looks like I go outside and pick them up by hand..

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I remember having this same conversation on this same message board not too long ago about the bird flu. How is this different? I'm not being snarky, I would like to know how this flu is different from that one. In short, why should we be scared? In fact, why should we be more scared of this flu than of the regular flu? Is it because of the unknown? Is it more highly contagious? More deadly somehow? I have yet to see anything that indicates...to me...that I should be more scared of this than of any of the other things that could harm me today.

Please note, again, that I am not intending to be nasty. Just looking for info.

It's different in that the cases of the bird flu always remained very small and every single one had been around infected birds and the virus had been transmitted from bird to human. In this case many of the people have not come into contact with infected swine but rather those who already have it. Once a virus we have no immunity to makes the human to human jump it has the potential to spread very quickly. So far the cases are mild, but there are certainly shades of the 1918 Spanish flu in this current virus. In that case there was a wave of mild viruses (similar to what we are seeing now) and then it hit very hard in the summer, killing the people who normally are the least likely to get sick.

Should you panic? No. But you should be aware of the situation as it has the potential to get very nasty. If we're lucky it will fizzle out and nothing will come of it.

I trying not to freak out here. But just in case I decide to freak out, where can someone get one of those masks? Like the blue ones that tie around your neck and head?

Wal Mart. I use them for cleaning around my apartment, especially any time I do a major litterbox clean.

 

[Nancy]

Tamiflu is crazy expensive under my insurance plan. DS#2 got flu type A earlier this year (the sickest he's ever been, no we don't get flu shots but are reevaluating that decision for next year), and Tamiflu was almost $100. Our doctor suggested we all get on Tamiflu, in case we all got it our symptoms would be less, but we just couldn't fork over the $400 at the time and rolled the dice that the rest of the family wouldn't get it. Plus after doing some research I read Type A this year really didn't respond well to Tamiflu.

We were lucky, and no one else got it from DS#2. But with this strand that no one knows anything about, there's no doubt I'd get it for the whole family.

ETA: If someone else in the family did come down w/the flu from DS we would have gotten Tamiflu for them. But our neighbors (who DS got it from) got it for one family member, thought it didn't help much so when their children got the same flu....they toughed it out w/o the Tamiflu.


But now that I think of it, I wonder if the same thing would be prescribed. If someone in the family gets this new flu, is it suggested the whole family be on Tamiflu also?

That is why I am wondering if we are getting a protocol in place, I would think in the event of a pandemic or emergency the insurance companies might make it more affordable for people, especially if the government says people HAVE to use it.

 

["Got Disney"]

to those who live in SD...Mira Mesa school closed due to 6 teachers ill and one student tested positive...this is only about 10 miles away from me. Man this flu spreads fast. Just got the alert on my e-mail and also a phone message from our school superintendent regaurding the issue.

http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10259474

 

["Got Disney"]

yup 2 six packs of guinness and he is good to go

I would get more than 2 six packs...this sounds like it's gonna last awhile

Eh, I'll handle the liquor. He can get the toilet paper and Oreos.

Seriously, I hope that this playing is as far as it gets.

Ahhhhhh your a good wife....tell him not to forget the milk

I trying not to freak out here. But just in case I decide to freak out, where can someone get one of those masks? Like the blue ones that tie around your neck and head?

Home Depot carries them also. Have gotten the same masks for our wildfires out here...in SD.

At least if we get quarantined we all have the DIS...I feel blessed already

 

[Colleen27]

With 2 teen boys in the house, we go thru milk like crazy! I don't think they will close the stores but if it gets bad, I won't want to go out. Thought if I froze a couple of gallons, it make help keep us at home and away from the germ factories.

You can, but it changes the taste. My grandmother was in the habit of buiying it on sale and freezing it (child of the depression and all that...), and IMO frozen-and-thawed milk is fine for cooking/baking but not quite right for drinking plain.

 

[C.Ann]

You can, but it changes the taste. My grandmother was in the habit of buiying it on sale and freezing it (child of the depression and all that...), and IMO frozen-and-thawed milk is fine for cooking/baking but not quite right for drinking plain.

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I tried frozen/thawed milk once (I LOVE milk!!) and it was nasty, nasty, nasty.. No way I could drink it.. I would have to resort to something else..

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not really that concerned about this yet, but I'll admit to feeling a little uneasy about the fact that we're still in the waiting-to-move limbo and I've used most of our emergency supplies and winter food stores so that we have less to move. I hadn't planned on restocking anything until we get settled, but now I'm rethinking that...

 

[bigmerle1966]

My kids aren't allowed to have their own hand sanitizer at school. Not sure exactly why but it is a school rule

Some of them have alchohol in them and kids were ingesting it and getting sick so some school systems banned them.

:::wondering if the travel warnings extend to the Mexican Pavilion in W/S::::

Just have to wear your handy dandy Mickey face mask! Just be carefull with the Sharpie, don't want to make yourself high trying to avoid the flu!

ERRRR.... do you think frozen margarita's would be considered bad form?

I think Tequila can kill anything!

Speaking of margarita's, I think I need to go out and buy the Margarator! It has an adaptor so it can be used in the car, just what everyone needs for a Pandemic! Or end of the world, whichever comes first!

 

[honugirl]

So I talked to my endocrinologist a few minutes ago (yes, I realize it's almost 10 pm PST, it's a very unconventional practice) he's not concerned about someone in my position needing to get any sort of anti-viral medication (i.e tamiflu) to have on hand. Just the usual precautions and I've got a compromised immune system, so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[mommy*RN]

I'm glad talking to your endocrinologist made you feel better. I feel that anyone with any concerns should speak with their doctors...that's why we pay them the big $$$!

That said I'm also glad he isn't handing out the anti-virals on an "use as needed" basis. These drugs currently work, and from my personal experience, they work well. I'd hate to see people taking them when there isn't really any need and possibly helping in creating a drug-resistant strain. I understand you have the compromised immune system and these drugs could really save your life, but you seem to me like someone who is aware of her health status and won't take unnecessary risks like waiting to call the doctor if you suddenly are hit with respiratory symptoms, fever and the like. I hope others will be viligant with their health and report any symptoms immediately to their doctors. It's my belief (but I could be wrong) that by putting out the state of emergency it is, in part, a wake-up call to the drug companies to get busy making the needed anti-virals so there are plenty to go around if the need arises...and the drug companies do respond. Awhile back there was a shortage of Prevnar (a pneumococcal immunization given to children) because the drug company had to decrease or stop production and increase production on the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine for children and a new pertussis vaccine for tweens all thanks to a pertussis outbreak.

Anyway - honugirl - I hope you stay healthy and have no need for anti-virals! Keep taking care of yourself!!

 

[honugirl]

I'm glad talking to your endocrinologist made you feel better. I feel that anyone with any concerns should speak with their doctors...that's why we pay them the big $$$!

Yup! You're right!

That said I'm also glad he isn't handing out the anti-virals on an "use as needed" basis. These drugs currently work, and from my personal experience, they work well. I'd hate to see people taking them when there isn't really any need and possibly helping in creating a drug-resistant strain.

I'm glad too. I don't want to see drug resistant strains either. It worries me when they showed on the news the other day people running up to Canada to get it and wiping out the pharmacies, then people trying to get it here. If I don't need to have it on hand, then healthy people shouldn't have a need to stockpile it.

I understand you have the compromised immune system and these drugs could really save your life, but you seem to me like someone who is aware of her health status and won't take unnecessary risks like waiting to call the doctor if you suddenly are hit with respiratory symptoms, fever and the like.

You are correct here too. If somethings funky, I'm going to question it. I know how my "normal" feels and if anythings out of whack, I'm going to do something about it. I've got my docs on speed dial!

I hope others will be viligant with their health and report any symptoms immediately to their doctors.

I think that's the difference between being chronically ill like I am and a typical "healthy" person. I'm always on guard, whereas someone else might not be as much. Or they think I'll just take some aspirin and it'll go away.

It's my belief (but I could be wrong) that by putting out the state of emergency it is, in part, a wake-up call to the drug companies to get busy making the needed anti-virals so there are plenty to go around if the need arises...and the drug companies do respond. Awhile back there was a shortage of Prevnar (a pneumococcal immunization given to children) because the drug company had to decrease or stop production and increase production on the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine for children and a new pertussis vaccine for tweens all thanks to a pertussis outbreak.

That's a good theory. I'm sure they're swinging into action to make some more tamiflu.

Anyway - honugirl - I hope you stay healthy and have no need for anti-virals! Keep taking care of yourself!!

Thanks I will!

I've already got my emergency plan ready to put into action. Once the first case hits my state, I'll stop venturing out to crowded places and will probably just stay home and ride it out. I've got my dogs, my movies and a heck of a lot of popcorn. What more could a girl ask for?

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

No, Columbus CONFIRMED the case. The case is in Lorain County which is up near Cleveland.

I live near the area you are going. There are no signs of anything going on here. No panic buying. No mask wearing. Nothing as of today. I have an appointment in Mason tomorrow afternoon. I can tell you more then if you like.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Department of Health says a 9-year-old boy who recently traveled to Mexico on vacation with his family has a confirmed case of swine flu.

Health department spokesman Robert Jennings said Sunday the boy is recovering at his home in Elyria, in northern Ohio's Lorain County. The child's name was not released.

Jennings says the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the case, but officials do not know if the child has the same deadly strain of swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico.

Jennings says the boy displayed typical symptoms of the flu, including a sore throat and body aches. Jennings says the child returned from Mexico within the past two weeks.

Jennings says the boy's relatives are being tested for the disease, but they currently do not have any symptoms.

That would be wonderful! Thank you so much

 

[paintnolish]

The sesationalism of the media bugs me and makes me take this whole thing with a grain of salt. An article on Yahoo this morning opened with the typical doom and gloom tagline, but then it finished with a "but that's not what would most likely happen." What's going to stick out? The sensible advice or the horror story?

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

we have an unconfirmed case here in Central NY.

we have stocked up. I normally am because I shop sales/the warehouse and have a storage area in the basement. We did go out this weekend for regular groceries and got extra. If nothing happens, then we will just have less shopping to do this summer.

as far as milk, if you can take the taste then soy/rice/almond milks come in cartons and last quite a long time without refrigeration. There is also a new milk out called "Over the Moon" or something like that. I THINK it comes in the same cartons so maybe it lasts longer too - not sure, but it might be worth checking out.

also, there is an interesting book that has been out for years(1994), but is a good read for those interested in this stuff: "The Coming Plague" by Laurie Garrett.

 

[ckay87]

The sesationalism of the media bugs me and makes me take this whole thing with a grain of salt. An article on Yahoo this morning opened with the typical doom and gloom tagline, but then it finished with a "but that's not what would most likely happen." What's going to stick out? The sensible advice or the horror story?

Oh the horror story will stick out of course. And with all due respect (and a deserved thank you to DawnCT), these boards aren't much better. I am still trying to understand why a healthy family should be more concerned about this flu than the regular flu. In what ways is it more dangerous? And I still don't have an answer. I have all kinds of information about the 1918 plague and how to stock my home for the apocolypse but I'm still not sure why.

 

[mickeyboat]

I have not yet stocked up, but I am thinking about it - it is something we have been thinking about doing for a long time.

My kids went back to school yesterday after April vacation, and said that the school nurse went to every classroom to ask the kids where they went for school vacation.

 

[laurie31]

Here's a pretty good article on MSN

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100237462&gt1=31036

Hysteria and exotic-sounding disease outbreaks go hand in hand. Whether it's anthrax, mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, bird flu or, going back to the 1990s, ebola—news of an outbreak generates fear that's disproportionate to the risk of catching the disease. In each of these cases deaths, if they occurred at all, were minimal.

During the SARS episode, the U.S. quickly cranked itself into full freakout mode. Each of the eight U.S. patients who contracted SARS had picked up the disease in Asia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet travelers donned face masks no matter where they were flying. Pedestrians in U.S. cities followed suit. Families canceled vacations. Shoppers and diners avoided Chinatowns and Chinese restaurants like they were leper colonies. Companies scaled back their business in Asia, and then blamed bad financial results on SARS.

Meanwhile, that year--and in every year this decade—between 30,000 and 50,000 American deaths were recorded from complications related to the seasonal flu. Another 40,000 people died in automobile accidents. And each year, gunshot wounds account for 30,000 deaths, around 4,000 people drown while swimming or boating and 60 people die from lightning strikes.

"The public is driven by irrational fears. They didn't go to medical school," says Shorter. "They're responding to an abdication of leadership by political leaders."

Let the public health officials make these decisions, Shorter recommends. No matter how virulent an outbreak seems at the beginning, public health departments will react aggressively. That's their job—better safe than sorry—and that's how epidemics are contained. But everyone else should learn to relax.

From history, we know that pandemics occur every so often. The catch is trying to predict what disease will become pandemic and stop it before it happens. We do have much better infection control and medical treatment now than in 1918 of course, so perhaps we can avoid the worst case senarios with proper preparation and containment. That's the job of the CDC, as the article said.

I'm watching the news, but not freaking out. I'm still way more worried about being killed in a car accident than getting swine flu. (not that I lose any sleep over that either, but I take normal saftey precautions - drive defensively, wear my seat belt, etc. to maximize my chances for survival)

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

Oh the horror story will stick out of course. And with all due respect (and a deserved thank you to DawnCT), these boards aren't much better. I am still trying to understand why a healthy family should be more concerned about this flu than the regular flu. In what ways is it more dangerous? And I still don't have an answer. I have all kinds of information about the 1918 plague and how to stock my home for the apocolypse but I'm still not sure why.

Here is my why - this new flu has components in that our bodies have NEVER seen before. Therefore we have no antibodies in our system to fight it. The seasonal/regular flu have components that are familiar to our bodies and so they don't hit us as hard with the addition of the yearly flu shots. Will this new flu hit us hard? Don't know yet. Am I wearing a mask? Nope. Am I taking it serious though? Yes. Am I inciting panic in my family? Gosh I hope not. But then I am the Mom who made her kids sing the ABC song while washing their hands in school during the normal flu and norfolk virus season. That is common sense to me. Not over the top panic.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

Oh the horror story will stick out of course. And with all due respect (and a deserved thank you to DawnCT), these boards aren't much better. I am still trying to understand why a healthy family should be more concerned about this flu than the regular flu. In what ways is it more dangerous? And I still don't have an answer. I have all kinds of information about the 1918 plague and how to stock my home for the apocolypse but I'm still not sure why.

I have the same questions!