LindsayLovely.

I have been freaking out about this.
I don't even want to leave the house for fear of getting it.
I feel like such a hypochondriac.
Is there anyone else with me on this?

I heard that on Facebook there has been talk of this being the end of the world.
That sooner or later, everyone is going to become infected.
Also some say this is God punishing us.
What do you think?
I would love to hear your opinions.

vc318

Hello Lindsay and welcome to FF and the N&P board!

You're definitely not alone on this. I work in a school and all the teachers fear catching this dreaded thing. Our parents are quite uncooperative about even coming to collect their child when they have the sniffles so they could be caring this flu virus and they could probably care less. On top of that, 2 cases have already been identified in our area. Yes, it really is scary but just take the proper precautions - Wash those hands and stay away from anyone who sneezes!

TheAngel

But this form of the flu doesn't appear to be any more deadly than the regular flu, it responds well to anti-viral medication, and there are a fairly low number of cases reported in the US. If 100 cases of Swine Flu is God's punishment then I guess we're doing alright. Wash your hands, take some vitamin C, and do what you'd normally do to keep from getting colds and flu and you'll be fine.

LindsayLovely.

vc318

Don't worry - you'll get to 100 posts before you know it. When I first started here, I thought reaching 100 posts would eb a big deal but it really isn't. FF is the place to mingle and meet other cool people. Basically, just have fun.

I think the message about protecting yourself from this swine flu needs to be heard. Sure it's making the makers of Lysol and these other companies a huge profit but anything to make people aware that they need to take this thing seriously. I guess coming from someone who works in a school, I see how neglectful these parents are about teaching their kids to be clean and aware of certain germs. Some of them are hearing about this swine flu for the first time from us. That's pretty careless on their part.

TheAngel

Yeah, I remember, when I was a kid, I would wash my hands all the time. My mom always taught me to. And even now, as I'm finishing up my senior year of college, I still wash my hands all the time. I normally get sick about once a year and that's part of the reason why.
This uproar over the flu, though, is really silly. It's simply a new strain of the flu. It's not more deadly than any other flu we get in the United States. Besides, people need to get sick every once in a while to keep your immune system strong and your antibodies up to date. All these people that keep themselves in a bubble and never get sick will eventually end up dying of something like strep throat (exaggeration but you get my point) because their bodies aren't equipped to fight it.

vc318

^ I think if you're a person who normally takes very good care of themselves (ex - proper hand-washing, taking your vitamins, etc.) and so forth, I guess you're okay. But reality is that some people are inconsiderate and could care less. Some cough without covering their mouth or don't bother to wash their hands when they're done using the bathroom. Oh yuck. They're the ones I kinda worry about.

sunnykerr

To be a mild counterpoint to that, I think proper hygiene is good. I do. Don't stop washing your hands, people.

Just realize that "abusive" cleanliness, for a lack of a better term, actually weakens the body's immune system by robbing it of its ability to fight off everyday germs.

At least, that's my point of view.

The point is, wash your hands before you eat, after you used the bathroom and certainly after using public transportation... but no need to wash them every half hour.

lostandinsecure

Hey.

Does anybody know/where to find, how many people are affected officially?
Thanks big help.

vc318

^ There have been 2 deaths so far from the swine flu virus - one in Texas (a 23 month old) and another in Mexico. I received this information from the CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention) Website. I hope this helps.

TheAngel

From what I hear, or at least the last I heard, the flu had spread to around a thousand confirmed cases. This really isn't that big of a deal. I mean, I think the common cold does more damage than this thing does, but it's good that people were cautious, which probably kept it from being worse.

Imaginary_Vanity

At first I admit I was really freaking about Swine flu but that was because of the media, as soon as I started reading more about Swine flu and regular flu (This is a case where I thank God for the internet because you get facts rather than newspapers trying to get sales) and its really not something to freak out about. The strain is H1N1, which yes was the cause of the Pandemic in 1918, but this is not 1918 the world has come a long was in the past 100 years but we have some immunity to this strain and the more it transfers from human to human the less it seems to become. Anti Viral drug are working, but IMO they need to be more careful with them over 240 school children where given them in the UK because a girl in there year contracted the virus in Mexico, they shouldn't be used that recklessly.

Now if Bird flu had started spreading from human to human I would be worried, that's a much deadlier strain and as people have said this flu is no worse than normal flu in fact many people in the UK who have had the virus have said its just like your common cold. Remember there are over 6Billion people in the world, we only have 1000 confirmed cases and there have only been what 20 confirmed deaths and 100 or so suspected?

Catch it, bin it, kill it. Common sense really. Dont worry about the WHO raising the Pandemic level, they need to be at stage five now as the virus has spread from human to human in more than one country.

T-Dubb

this swine flu biz is shady...it was around in the 70's also, its just a strain of the flu, obviously its more severe, but i'm skeptic of any disease that causes the kind of uproar that is one has, its the conspiracy theorist side of me, it'll hopefully just pass the bird flu and the other stuff

wanderer78

I agree that this has been much ado about nothing. Well, not nothing, but it's been blown way out of proportion.

TheAngel

I wonder, though, if it being blown out of proportion is partly responsible for it not spreading. I mean, yes, obviously the panic was taken too far, but no one seems to have been hurt in the panic and if it gets people to wash their hands or something like that then it's a good thing. What bothers me is that people fail to have good hygienic habits until something like this happens, and then they go back to their old ways as soon as the danger is over.