Swine Flu

I just think they need to make a vaccination from the people who've already had it and survived. Reading up on the symptoms, I realized that there's a lot of misinformation out there. The majority of those who have gotten this survive.

Three confirmed cases in the province of British Columbia - all in the Vancouver area (I live about 350 miles north, thank god).

thebigscott wrote:

bizzeedee wrote:I've been reading updates on the web, news of the TV, and reports from Emergency mail service... but have yet to read what the symptons are? anyone know?

Regular flu symptoms. Some get more severe cases and others are getting milder cases.

Honestly,Karen, I don't even had a clue (other than fever?) what symtoms accompany the regular flu. Guess I'm lucky, because in my entire adult life, I never remember having "the flu", colds yes, flu, no.

And I've never taken a flu shot...

fever, headache, nausea or diarrhea...that's all I remember from the Today Show.

Flu symptoms:

The flu usually begins abruptly, with a fever between 102 and 106 °F. (An adult typically has a lower fever than a child.) The fever usually lasts for a day or two, but can last 5 days.

Other common symptoms include:

Body aches
Chills
Dizziness
Flushed face
Headache
Lack of energy
Nausea
Vomiting
Somewhere between day 2 and day 4 of the illness, the "whole body" symptoms begin to subside, and respiratory symptoms begin to increase. The most prominent of the respiratory symptoms is usually a dry, hacking cough. Most people also develop a sore throat and headache. Runny nose (nasal discharge) and sneezing are common.

These symptoms (except the cough) usually disappear within 4 - 7 days. Sometimes, the fever returns. The cough and tiredness usually last for weeks after the rest of the illness is over.

Other symptoms may include:

Loss of appetite
Muscle aches and stiffness
Stuffy, congested nose
Sweating
Worsening of underlying illness, such as asthma or heart failure

Swine flu symptoms are basically the same. Fever, chills, achiness, sore throat, sometimes runny nose and sometimes nausea (depends on if your sinuses are draining out your nose or down your throat), followed by a long period of lung congestion, coughing, and lack of energy.

I'm still in the lung congestion, coughing, lack of energy phase of the flu that I had which started last week.

The swine flu is different from normal flu not in it's symptoms so much as in the fact that the general population does not have any antibodies against it. Most strains of the flu are close enough to previous strains that we have some residual immunity. Swine flu is common in pigs but occasionally infects people. The CDC is worried because a form of swine flu is being passed from human to human (rather than just from pig to human). This new form is different enough from regular flu that our bodies don't know how to fight it off.

Think of it like a car. Just say you drove small cars all your life and were used to them. Then one day you needed to be able to drive a big truck. The basics are the same: steering wheel, gears, brakes. But it would be much harder for you because you weren't used to it. Or what if you drove a big truck all your life and suddenly needed to drive a small sports car? You'd still have trouble because it's so different. Our bodies are going to be doing the same thing with this flu. It's still just a form of the flu, not an all new disease. The basics are the same: fever, chills, aches, runny nose, cough. The problem is it's not something our immune system is used to dealing with. So some people will have a much harder time fighting it off without medical help. People who are already ill (cancer, malnutrition, age, heart problems) are much more likely to die from it. And even people in good health are at increased risk.

So wash your hands, take your vitamins, avoid crowds, and eat your veggies. And if you get sick, go to the doctor rather than wait to see if you need help.

good article Karen, thanks. I have several of those symptons (body aches from too much mulching, as well as muscle aches from lifting bags of mulch and dizziness from laying mulch LOL) Sorry don't mean to make light of it... but the symptons are good to know. Chuck and I have both had sneezing fits the past couple of days, but just in the morning hours, no other symptoms... we do was our hands often, Chuck eats lots of veggies, and I don't. But I do eat fruit!.

I read in the paper tonight that there have been no reported cases in KY... so guess you didn't go to the doctor. Also that there was a slight chance the Derby would be canceled next weekend - GASP - due to the influx of people being so closely confined and coming from all parts of the country and the world! Gosh, that would not only be a first, but a huge financial loss for Louisville!

It seems like everytime the news comes on there are more and more cases. It is here in TX, but TX is a big state, and there is alot of room between here and San Antonio.

Hi,I'm new here.If you ask me I think they are seriously downplaying this whole swine flu thing.They want people to be careful,but they don't want us to panic.Besides the confirmed cases here in the US,there are many more unconfirmed.Also they stopped testing all the kids in the school where those infected kids went here in NY because there were just too many.I don't think anyone can build an immunity to this because a virus changes forms,where bacteria doesn't.This is the main reason why there is no cure for the aids virus yet,SO if you have had it,or think you have had it keep your guard up,stay away from people coughing or sneezing and keep washing your hands.

Oh,and by the way,the government has freed yp about 8 million doses of tamiflu and relenza( anti-viral drugs that treat the swine flu),but there are more than 300 million people in the USA. Also people are running to the pharmacies with prescriptions for tamiflu and relenza(just in case they get the flu) and I predict a shortage of these drugs very soon.I should have invested in these companies because their stocks shot up.

There are a couple in Cortland county but that is still quite a distance from me. The news said a baby died in Texas from it.

Yeah, a 23 month old, In Houston...that's a little too close for comfort. Not sure if the child was at TX Childrens though.

Keep in mind that the 23 month old had recently been in Mexico. I haven't tracked it that closely, but are all of the confirmed cases in the US involving people who have also traveled to Mexico? I know they seem scattered and it looks like it's spreaidng like wildfire, but don't panic yet.

I am not panicking, I figure we are relatively healthy, Xander is still young,and was bfed until recently. None of us have been or are planning to go to mexico.
Of course, that flu shot we got is of no value now.


My friend is very panicked. Her grandson is 2, and was taken to Mexico by his dad about a year ago. They have not been able to find him when they go with a Private investigator, and now she is worried. She was told by the border patrols that if he is sick, he will NOT be allowed to cross the border, US citizen or not.

I think the border and the fact that it isn't controlled is what I'm most worried about. It's important to isolate people who have the flu, but you can't do that when there's no way to prevent people who are sick from crossing into the US any way they can.

agaphmou wrote:Hi,I'm new here.... I don't think anyone can build an immunity to this because a virus changes forms,where bacteria doesn't.This is the main reason why there is no cure for the aids virus yet.

Hi agaphmou! Nice to meet you. Viruses do mutate easily. But in general, if you develop immunity to one form of a virus it gives you partial immunity to other forms of the same virus. The reason this form of flu is so dangerous is that most of the population hasn't been exposed to a closely related form. But that doesn't mean we won't become less susceptable if we get sick and then recover. Remember, polio was a virus. It's the biggest vaccination success story ever. You CAN become immune to viruses. We just aren't immune to this one yet.

bizzeedee wrote:I read in the paper tonight that there have been no reported cases in KY... so guess you didn't go to the doctor. Also that there was a slight chance the Derby would be canceled next weekend - GASP - due to the influx of people being so closely confined and coming from all parts of the country and the world! Gosh, that would not only be a first, but a huge financial loss for Louisville!

No, I decided not to. Our doctor's office is always filled with kids coming in for well care visits. Since I'd have to take my kids with me, and since they would try to play with those other kids, I decided not to risk infecting anyone else with whatever form of flu that Quinn and I have. Even if it's just the regular old flu, it was a bad one and there's no point in exposing other kids just to satisfy my curiousity. I'm already over the worst of it and all they'd do is tell me to wash my hands and avoid other people, something I'm already doing anyway.

I bet the Louisville businesses are freaking out. I feel bad for them, but I think it might be better to cancel. It would be worse for the city in the long run if they had it and then had a huge outbreak.

The kid that died here was FROM mexico, he came in to visit relatives in brownsville. He has been in the hospital since April 4th.

and yes, they have said that the kids in NEW YORK that first got sick had just visited Mexico.

Every year thousands of people die from the regular flu.

Of course now our Gov. has declared Texas a disaster area because of it.
Of course all that does is open goverment funds to help fix or fight the 'disaster' and allow you to get the funds.

Now the UIL has canceled all school competitions till May 11.



They said that 53,000 kids were absent today. And the schools are PISSED.. ITs stanardized testing day. All of Texas schools are doing Taks tests. Yesterday and today. which is a crock anyway.

Wonder if they will cancel little league next?

That's crazy, Chelle! I can see possibly cancelling the Kentucky Derby here because people come from all over the world to attend and it's a huge crowd ~~ 150,000 people. But they won't cancel it because it brings in so much money. Meanwhile they're cancelling all school competitions there, even though those crowds are much smaller and made up of people who will come in contact with each other anyway. I know it's serious, but they need to calm down and think things through, not just react without thinking.

They better not cancel LL, we are headed for the playoffs!
They cancelled UIL, which means Choir, band, academic competitions , athletics etc....oh well.

I heard on tv that right now it is fairly contained as Lori mentioned, it is limited mostly to people who came directly from Mexico. I believe there was one case, not in the US that was person to person transfer. One thing they said they were worried about is if someone who has a virus, comes in contact with the swine flu virus. The two will talk to each other and can mutate to something we don't know how to treat.

Seriously? That many kids are absent from school in Texas?

Part of me can't help but think it's parents who are overreacting and keeping their kids home.

My daughter has her Science TAKS tomorrow. Ugh.....

I agree, overreaction, and panic. Mine is at school, and going to continue to go until there is a case in her school.

Didn't more people die of spinach a while back? Not to make light of it, but people are out of control, and the media is all over it. It pissed me off this morning on the Today show when their official Dr. (the woman, I can't remember her name) was going on about how the flu usually kills people every year, but normally the deaths are infants or the elderly or infirm....but now a healthy toddler has died! She never added that the child came directly from Mexico and was only in the USA visiting relatives. Way to cause a panic, idiot.

Yep, spinach, Ice cream, and lastly Pistachios have killed more people.
I really do not think it is an issue, I am not worried.