[Dana_Lana]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) Well, I've never had a full cup of coffee in my life. Never liked the taste. But this isn't exactly news, is it? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that coffee's a drug, just like any other, and that you experience withdrawal when you stop taking it, just like all the other drugs.

And I thought *I* was the only one who had never drank coffee.lol

I never understood why people enjoy the taste, it seems like everyone I know over say 25-30 HAS to have a cup in the morning just to function!

Now an ice cold Coke is another story for me, lol.

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by Dana_Lana (View Post) And I thought *I* was the only one who had never drank coffee.lol I never understood why people enjoy the taste, it seems like everyone I know over say 25-30 HAS to have a cup in the morning just to function! Now an ice cold Coke is another story for me, lol.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker either. I don't mind the taste but sometimes it makes me jittery and I don't like that feeling. I really don't consume much caffeine so that's probably why. I've never seen the point to coffee, energy drinks, or anything like that. It's such a temporary fix to a bigger problem (like not getting enough sleep). I'm more one of those cup of tea kind of girls.



Oh...and how about this swine flu?

[Bella Grint]

I was hoping someone would bring this up

I am worried, needless to say.

[vc318]

Originally Posted by Dana_Lana (View Post) And I thought *I* was the only one who had never drank coffee.lol

I miss my coffee - the baby won't allow me that luxury anymore.

What do you guys think about this swine flu thing that's been going around?

Mexico City restricts thousands of public places over swine flu - CNN.com

I'm very much nervous. I work at a school where the kids are constantly sneezing and going for the doorknob like nothing happened. Plus with all the funding that has been cut to schools, we're lucky if the bathroom has soap and paper towels readily available. Quite scary.

[sunnykerr]

Well, not to be nitpicky or anything... but I did bring it up. On Monday.

And, as I said, I am somewhat worried, inasmuch as my brother is staying there with his girlfriend. But, at the same time, I'm starting to wonder about the speed at which we jump to panic over these things. SARS, Nile virus, bird flu, swine flu...

I'm not saying these ailments aren't serious, but there are plenty of serious illnesses that are not the boogyman.

[sunnykerr]

Regular Flu Has Killed Thousands Since January (CNN) -- There had been no confirmed deaths in the United States related to swine flu as of Tuesday afternoon. But another virus had killed thousands of people since January and is expected to keep killing hundreds of people every week for the rest of the year. That one? The regular flu. An outbreak of swine flu that is suspected in more than 150 deaths in Mexico and has sickened dozens of people in the United States and elsewhere has grabbed the attention of a nervous public and of medical officials worried the strain will continue to mutate and spread. Experts are nervous that, as a new strain, the swine flu will be harder to stop because there aren't any vaccines to fight it. But even if there are swine-flu deaths outside Mexico -- and medical experts say there very well may be -- the virus would have a long way to go to match the roughly 36,000 deaths that seasonal influenza causes in the United States each year. "That happens on an annual basis," Dr. Brian Currie said Tuesday. Currie is vice president and medical director at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. Since January, more than 13,000 people have died of complications from seasonal flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on the causes of death in the nation. No fewer than 800 flu-related deaths were reported in any week between January 1 and April 18, the most recent week for which figures were available. The report looks at deaths in the 122 largest cities in the United States. Worldwide, the annual death toll from the flu is estimated to be between 250,000 and 500,000. About 9 out of 10 of those deaths are among people older than 65, Currie said. Most times, they already have health problems that the flu makes worse, he said. "Regular influenza can be taxing," he said. "It causes their underlying disease to decompensate and then they don't have the reserves to get through it. "While it may not be the direct cause listed on the death certificate, it certainly contributed." One of the reasons medical experts are nervous about the swine flu outbreak is that many of the people who have died in Mexico have been young and otherwise healthy. The strains found in the United States have so far been weaker. But even the regular flu is sometimes fatal for younger victims. "It's not unheard of. It happens, either directly from influenza or they get a bacterial superinfection" like staph, said Currie. While researchers haven't developed a vaccine to fight the new swine flu, it can be treated with antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, the same drugs used on the regular flu. Many times, seasonal flu itself is tough to prevent because it has mutated to a form different than it was when the vaccine was made. Seeking to put the swine flu outbreak in perspective Tuesday, Los Angeles County public health officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding echoed other public officials calling it "cause for concern, but not for alarm." "Given the size of L.A. County, given the traffic between here and Mexico, it would be very surprising if we didn't have any cases," Fielding said. He said the county, where the CDC had confirmed 10 cases of swine flu by Tuesday, sees more than 1,000 flu-related deaths every year. "So it would also not be surprising if there were deaths with swine flu -- even if it had the pattern of seasonal flu," he said. "Thus far, the pattern we see in the United States is very similar to that of seasonal flu -- relatively mild to moderate cases."

Regular flu has killed thousands since January - CNN.com

So, in short, this is why I'm not too worried about the swine flu. I mean, I'll be the first one to eat humble pie if I prove to be wrong, but I do think panicking over swine flu is a little premature.

[TheAngel]

I'm really not that worried about it. I mean, we have what, like 70 cases in the US, and no deaths. Our hospitals are much better equipped to deal with it than Mexican hospitals. I just don't feel like these things normally get as out of hand as people think they do. I mean, like Sunny pointed out, more people die of the actual flu every year than are dying of the swine flu. Besides, I can't totally object to the idea of potential population control, which I know sounds horrible, but in a population that's basically taken away mother nature's way of controlling the population, occasionally things like this will happen. I'm just surprised, with so many people living on top of each other with poor hygienic habits (like not washing their hands) that we haven't had a much larger epidemic before this.

[wanderer78]

I haven't really been worried about the swine flu either. The whole panic seems a little silly to me. Like Sunny said, we freak out over everything, and it turns out to be nothing. Well not nothing, but not much.

[Bella Grint]

I am still worried. I don't get these sudden reports on deaths expected though. The reason I think Mexico has deaths and no other country that has cases is because it has less desirable health and sanitary means.

Sorry Sunny I just noticed

[TheAngel]

Well, there was one toddler that was killed, which makes sense because it's always young kids or the elderly that have the worst times with these things, but then, they also die more of the regular flu than healthy adults so, yeah, I still don't know why people are saying the swine flu is so much worse.

[Bella Grint]

I thought the swine flu's main targets had been young people or that is what I heard in Mexico. There seem to be a specific age range for it in the U.S. too.

[sunnykerr]

Swine flu has been victimizing people of all ages. What makes it slightly atypical is that healthy, young people have also died of it. But young, healthy people die of the regular flu as well. It's flukish, but it's not a new development per se.

Besides, it's hardly surprising that people closer to the source of the disease would get sicker faster, regardless of their ages and original state of health.

The thing about any flu virus is that they expose any weakness one might have, health-wise. So a person could be in perfect health, but if they have underlying conditions, like ulcers, blood-pressure issues, etc. It could hit them harder.

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) Swine flu has been victimizing people of all ages. What makes it slightly atypical is that healthy, young people have also died of it. But young, healthy people die of the regular flu as well. It's flukish, but it's not a new development per se. Besides, it's hardly surprising that people closer to the source of the disease would get sicker faster, regardless of their ages and original state of health. The thing about any flu virus is that they expose any weakness one might have, health-wise. So a person could be in perfect health, but if they have underlying conditions, like ulcers, blood-pressure issues, etc. It could hit them harder.

But that's been the case in Mexico, not the US, where hygienic conditions are much worse. I don't even know what the regular flu does in Mexico, we never hear about it, but it may do the same thing. In the US, it's been responding well to anti-viral medication and appears to have the same virulence as the regular flu. Most of this is simply the media, and the WHO, blowing things way out of proportion. Yes, it's important to be cautious, but things like washing your hands, staying away from large groups of people at places like sporting events, theater shows, and the like, drinking or taking vitamin C to boost your immune system, and going to the doctor if you start to notice symptoms can fight the swine flu just like they can the regular flu.
I'm flying from Indiana to Nevada on Sunday, two places where the Swine Flu has been found, and I'm really not that worried. If I wake up with the sniffles, I'll go straight to the doctor. No big deal. If it mutates, well, that will just suck. But that's a bridge I'll get buried under if I come to it

[Bella Grint]

Yeah same here..I am going home for the weekend and my bf and I were going to the movies with a group of friends our hometown has cases in very close areas. I am a bit worried for others but not so much myself.

[vc318]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) Well, not to be nitpicky or anything... but I did bring it up. On Monday.

Sorry Sunny. I must've missed that.

And, as I said, I am somewhat worried, inasmuch as my brother is staying there with his girlfriend. But, at the same time, I'm starting to wonder about the speed at which we jump to panic over these things. SARS, Nile virus, bird flu, swine flu... I'm not saying these ailments aren't serious, but there are plenty of serious illnesses that are not the boogyman.

He's in Mexico now? If that's the case, please make sure that he and his gf get tested as soon as possible. Outbreaks have been happening all over the place.