don't panic, but "SWINE FLU COULD SPREAD GLOBALLY"

finally one kid down with this at preschool. I'm completely anxiety ridden about the entire thing despite knowing I've done everything I can (we all have vaccines and I've brainwashed my kid into washing his hands all the time...as much as you can brainwash a 3 year old to do anything, which is not much). we've had colds back to back for over a month, on like our third one in a row, really don't want anything more serious.

My kids got their first shot literally an hour or so after it became available to us, but we'll be traveling out of the country before they can get their second shot. We'll be out of range of H1N1 season, and one shot is better than none, but still, I dread what they'll be exposed to on the flight.

At least in the States/NA we're still weeks/months away from the seasonal flu kicking in. Depending on how bad H1N1 gets, things could get even messier in the near future. Can one catch more than one flu at once, H1N1 as well as seasonal? That would suck.

living in one of the densely populated cities in the world...not freaking out too much about this, despite the fact that I live alone and if I really get laid out, I don't know who I can ask to help me out...

My boss now has H1N1. I'm scared to death that I'm going to get it and give it to my three month old daughter.

What would you choose: A flu? or injecting a toxic, mercury-based substance (2nd deadliest substance on EARTH) into your body?? Don't be scared into getting the swine flu vaccine by the government or media!

^^facebook update from a (shock!) chiropractic acquaintance. i have to go to work now, but suggested rejoinders are very welcome (i am curious what #1 deadliest is, and by what process these things are determined, and where it ranks when we allow other planets, etc etc, maybe it is as im sure this is all v v scientific...). she's also lately been facebook-advising mothers w young children to maybe not get the vaccine.

srsly though, i know that thimerosal was taken out of mmr's even though its amt was negligible, and that there's little enough mercury in these shots for an adult to process easily...is there really any debate about whether it would overwhelm small kids' systems? any links i could pass on would be appreciated.

mercury-based substance (2nd deadliest substance on EARTH)

loooooooooooooooooooooool

btw i got my vaccine appt made for next week, fuck yr idiot friend

facebook update from a (shock!) chiropractic acquaintance

Not so shocking.

I think I read that Plutonium is the most deadly substance.

(NB: some chiropractors are really good, but they stick to what they know.)

I think I have this? I've not been tested b/c I'm living abroad and haven't yet figured out how to use the health system here, and I'm not so sick as to need a doctor. But it sucks. And my three kids last week had what seems to have been the same thing. And they're mostly better now, with some residual coughing. It could be that we have some flu-like virus that's native to Europe but not to the USA and to which we have less/no resistance. But I have colleagues here with H1N1, including one whose child is presently hospitalized for it, so I've likely been exposed to it.

tell your friend that CLEARLY these anti-vaccine rumors have just been started by the Bilderberg foundation to further their goal of reducing the earth's population to 500 million, and that they don't want anyone to take the vaccine

then if they really open up, calmly point out that only Alex Jones directly targets the Bilderbergs and that the pro-capitalist Bilderberg inductee Glenn Beck is anti-vaccine

after that, you can start making shit up

New controversy is not whether the flu shot is dangerous (it's not) it's whether the flu shot is even effective. Latter argument seems more, erm, effective to me, as far as anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists go.

A couple of months ago, I went to get my seasonal flu shot at a local drug store.

Pharmacist: May I help you?
Me: Yes, I'd like a flu shot.
Random lady with her texting teen kid: Scoff, I hear those shots make you get sick!
Teen kid: (not looking up) Mmm-hmm!
Me: Why would they give you a shot to make you sick?
Random lady: Huh.

I blew her mind!!!

The only studies I've seen were about the seasonal flu vaccine reducing mortality in the elderly, which it probably doesn't do. Getting the vaccine is worth it if it either lessens your chance of getting the flu or reduces the duration/intensity of the symptoms if you do get it.

^^^otm. Old people of my acquaintance get the shot not because they think flu will kill them but because they had flu in the past and it was bloody horrible.

After being exposed to someone w/H1N1 at the office, I got a prescription of Tamiflu from our family doctor as a preventative measure. It seems like the jury is still out on how effective it is, but hey whatever helps, I suppose.

Mercury is pretty toxic stuff. I wouldn't drink off a thimbleful of it or anything. But humans evolved on a planet where mercury exists in trace amounts in the environment, so we have some tolerance for small amounts of it.

Many chemicals that never existed until we created them (e.g. dioxin) worry me more.

Ophelia had/has the flu but she wasn't really tested for the mexican flu and I didn't ask. From hearing people around me, not many are getting vaccinated. Stan, how is it where you live/work? Will I be vaccinated? No, probably not.

My pharmacist kinda shrugged it off as well. (The necessity to have it tested.)

Nobody at work yet (not in my team or the ones near mine)! Hearing about some people whose kids have it, but surprisingly few, at the moment. (Can change very quickly, I know)

Are you getting vaccinated? I have the impression people aren't really that eager (as say in the US). Friend and husband are in fact against the idea.

Lots of kids though and caretakers (I know cause my gran's caretaker is at home and apparently they cldnt get a replacement).

I'm not, no. Only one of the guys at work is, but he's in one of the risk categories (heart condition).

The headline in the local paper today "As H1N1 flu stresses MetroHealth, poll finds most people snub shots"

The hospital is basically running out of room for flu sufferers.

the fact that the vaccine itself is in such incredible short supply, takes 10 days to work, and if you're a kid under 10, you need a second one 29 days later, does make doing all of it seem a bit futile, considering, in california at least, the virus is all over the place. still got the vaccines though. it's not the sort of gamble I like to make.

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/4052849920_151eb84599_b.jpg";>

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/4052849920_151eb84599_b.jpg

A civil disobedience group has been condemned for targeting Birmingham hospitals as it tries to frighten people into not having the swine flu vaccine.

It comes as health bosses reveal two further deaths caused by the H1N1 virus in the West Midlands, taking the total to 15.

The People’s United Community (Tpuc) launched a co-ordinated attack against the vaccine at Edgbaston’s Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals, City Hospital, in Winson Green, and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, this week. They roamed corridors in the evening, putting up posters and handing out leaflets to patients and relatives with the slogan: “Swine flu is not the biggest danger. It’s the vaccine.”

Britain’s health chief, Sir Liam Donaldson, said Tpuc had only targeted Birmingham so far while Helen Jackson, spokeswoman for NHS West Midlands, said: “The concern is that this group is giving out false information. This vaccine is to protect people and has been developed through robust trials that show it is safe and effective.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95YZqb6DU8

It's like pig-ignorant, virulently anti-vaccine people dropping like flies during a pandemic they helped usher in. It's like raaaaaain on your wedding day.

So what's the best way to start treatment if I expect to come down with the regular flu within the next couple days? Been keeping an eye on the gf while she's bedridden and it's now confirmed she has it.

Regular/seasonal flu hasn't even started to hit yet, has it? Right now it's all swine flu, all the time. At least that's what I thought.

Stay hydrated, get as much rest as possible, lay in supplies (canned soup, gatorade, tissues, nyquil)

Yeah, expect to be on your back for a week at least. I don't know if I had the piggy variety, but it was all I could do to get up and use the toilet when I was down.

i'd really rather it not hit me at all obviously but i want to be ready just in case, and i really don't want to still be dealing with it by the weekend if i can help it. i've been looking forward to this weekend for a couple months!

gonna take bedridden time as an opportunity for meditation i guess. "if you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate."

every muscle ache and stomach twist is making me go "hmmmm" right now. hoping for the best.

OK this has been said one trillion times already but I still absolutely cannot get my head around parents who somehow think Jenny Mcarthy has more credibility than, like, people with actual expertise in this stuff???? WTF america, good luck.

Oh and my favorite bit of science communications these past few days is the very effective bit about flu vaccine containing less mercury than your average can of tuna fish.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1934826,00.html?cnn=yes

thank you, Time Magazine, for your v. insightful story

H1N1 is a combination of influenza strains; one part originated in pigs, and another in birds. So far, only swine and ferrets, which are particularly susceptible to the flu, have become infected with H1N1.(See a photoessay about animal space travelers.)

WTF AT THAT LAST PARENTHETICAL

WHY YES I DO WANT TO READ ABOUT ANIMALS IN SPACE

The first one is pretty random, too:

Late last week, when the cat came down with flu-like symptoms — malaise, loss of appetite — its owners brought it to Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine for treatment. The family mentioned to the vet that they had also recently battled illness, which led to testing the pet for H1N1. (See a photoessay on rescued stray dogs giving back.)

how do you tell if a cat has malaise???? "My cat is somehow even lazier than before."

vaccinated this morning iirc

What, you woke up randomly outside a clinic and figured you were vaccinated?

The Today Show had a total hatemongering story about how Wall Street companies are receiving allotments of the H1N1 vaccination this morning; it was kind of stunning in its level of bias and downright hateful assumptions. (Basically, it was excoriating these companies for receiving vaccinations that were offered to them by the government and stopped just short of baldly stating that absolutely no high-risk ppl work for any Wall Street banks; this was followed up by a doctor who basically said, "Well, following the rules makes them look terrible and they should have donated all of their doses to my hospital.")

I sort of thought I was watching Fox News as it was going on.

i think i now hate anti-vaccine people now more than i hate anyone, and yes that includes Osama Bin Laden

They stopped just short of "REMEMBER THOSE WALL STREET BASTARDS WHO STOLE ALL YOUR MONEY? WELL NOW THEY'RE STEALING YOUR VACCINES!" It was kind of incredible.

There is this guy who keeps calling here demanding to know why we're keeping information about when MA will receive more vaccines a secret and not telling anyone. He's a huge conspiracy theorist. I actually hung up on him yesterday because he started cursing at me. ugh.

tell him that agents will deliver the vaccine to his house and that he should check under the cushions in his couch every day for the next 2 weeks

He has called so many times that when he called yesterday I was actually said to him "Oh hello we spoke the other day because I recognize your voice and your frequent and persistant use of the word "secret".

Tomorrow is my last day here. If he calls maybe I will do just that Dan.

Ned that is what happened!

ENBB I think you should tell this caller about gbx's mystical experience and how it changed his life.