Swine Flu - Should we worry?

[Incognitus]

Gesundheit, Elmo: US Teams With Sesame Street to Slow Swine Flu

Three federal agencies are teaming up with the colorful muppets of Sesame Street to teach children and families how to prevent the spread of swine flu this fall, such as by washing their hands, sneezing into the bend in their arms and not touching their faces.

But don't worry parents -- the show's garbage can-dwelling Oscar the Grouch won't be preaching cleanliness. The spots are expected to feature the gentle Elmo and human character Gordon.

"We are thrilled to partner with Elmo, Gordon, and Sesame Workshop again to emphasize the steps kids and their parents can take to stay happy and healthy this school year," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

The partnership continues a series of public service announcements created in May by Sesame Workshop, the group that produces the children's public television program, HHS, and the departments of Homeland Security and Education.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/200 ... id=topnews



This obviously begs a lot of questions like how are we supposed to distinguish between all the Muppets working for the Federal Government... and the famous Jim Henson characters.

 

[Faine]

Swine flu is dumb. Its nothin to worry about. all you get is a mild head ache and throw up once. Trust me i got it 5 of my friends got it its not bad at all. If you dont want to get it just wash your hands. :barf:

 

[Ellie]

Well, when I had it I was throwing up for a whole week and nauseous for weeks. Only just shaking the cough it gave me. :smoke:

 

[Faine]

Well maybe it deppends on where you live i could be how bad or i dont know i guess their are mild cases and bad ones

 

[action]

Swine flu is over-embellished by the media to increase viewers by making them think that the flu is horrible, and that they need to watch the news to know what to do about it. It's another scam-related topic, like the bird flu, which ended up as nothing.
Just as many people die from the regular flu as the swine flu - in fact, more.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Swine flu is dumb. Its nothin to worry about. all you get is a mild head ache and throw up once. Trust me i got it 5 of my friends got it its not bad at all. If you dont want to get it just wash your hands. :barf:

If this is what you did, there's a really good chance that you didn't have the flu. Swine flu is more or less regular flu, and unless you have the immune system of a god, then you're usually very sick for at least five days, usually a week.

Anyway, there's now confirmation of a "2nd wave" of swine flu heading through where I live. 20% of kids are missing at my school. It's unlikely that they're all attributed to the swine flu but I've never seen so many absent kids in my life. I've already been sick once, a couple of weeks ago - I'd really like to not have it happen again. :[

Just as many people die from the regular flu as the swine flu - in fact, more.

This has been pointed out multiple times, but I'd just like to point out that the majority of detahs related to seasonal influenza occur in the elderly, while with swine flu the majory have occured in young adults, which is somewhat alarming.

I don't think it's a good idea to complely ignore H1N1. Am I worried? No. Do I want to get sick? Hell no. But should we disregard it and not even be concerned? Probably not. Yes, the media is blowing things out of proportion (big surprise there!) but that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least do all you can to prevent the spread. (washing hands, NOT sneezong on other people!)

Ignorance isn't always bliss - just be knowledgeable and stay on top of things.

 

[Velocir_X]

My art teacher got the swine last week, she came back in two days (tamiflu) same thing with her daughter and her husband.

C'mon people you're over-reactin'!

 

[action]

Well maybe it deppends on where you live i could be how bad or i dont know i guess their are mild cases and bad ones

How could your area affect how bad the case is?

I understand, it is something to look out for, but equally to the normal influenza - I didn't mean to comepletely wpe the thought from your mind. Yes, it isn't as bad as many - too many - think, but it is still a concern.
But not the end of the world, as so many are seeing it. Just because the WHO has brought it to the pandemic level, doesn't make i the next small pox - the influenza is at the same level.

In brief, the H1N1 is not as bad as media has struck us to believe, but it is still a concern, as is the normal flu.
Now go get your shots, kiddies!

-abreaction

 

[Feldschlacht IV]

It's just a god damn variation of the flu. Should you stay healthy? Yes! No one wants to get sick, and it shouldn't be underestimated, but it's definitely being overblown. I know several people who had the swine flu, and they're fine.

 

[Tindy]

But the issue is that it's spreading more than the normal flu, it's affecting and killing younger people than the normal flu, and with all that going on, if we develop meds to against it each reincarnation would theoretically be STRONGER than the last (more resistant to meds and all that jazz). So even if it's now "no worse than the normal flu," the point is that it could get worse than it is.

 

[Incognitus]

Has anyone heard about the Ukraine?

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/myste ... ts-ukraine

A more virulent strain of Swine flu or Bird flu, or something new? Rumour has it, the inside temperature of the lungs of the people who have contracted this disease and died increased to about 130 degrees Fahrenheit. In other words, their lungs have been *melting*.

Scary s***, huh?

 

[Ellie]

I'm very drawn to the fact it's a news site I've never heard of before. >.>

 

[Nachos]

I wont get the flu shot.

no sir.

 

[Incognitus]

I wont get the flu shot.

no sir.

Wrong topic, darling. ;P


(Come on, expand on your point)

 

[Incognitus]

Speaking of the Ukraine-virus strain, apparently 3000 people are dead now.

Fortunately, this is so far unconfirmed... but...

 

[Ellie]

If it's unconfirmed then don't preach it as truth! Sorry but it's pretty obvious you're just scrounging around for something to scare people with.

BBC news - of 19 hours ago - says 60 people are believed to have died from swine flu in Ukraine which begs the question, where the fuck are you pulling your figures from?

 

[Venetia]

in Macedonia 2 million people have succumbed to the deadly flu and the number is rising by 100 every minute


this is unconfirmed.....but.........

 

[e]

in Macedonia, a young slave is rising and planning to take over the world by lance and sword.
this is unconfirmed....but........pretty cool.

 

[Incognitus]

If it's unconfirmed then don't preach it as truth! Sorry but it's pretty obvious you're just scrounging around for something to scare people with.

BBC news - of 19 hours ago - says 60 people are believed to have died from swine flu in Ukraine which begs the question, where the fuck are you pulling your figures from?

The internets. Duh.

And no, not really. If you look at the BBC news' sourcing, they list the deaths confirmed in one city and by one city. Given that half of the Ukraine has been sectioned, I don't think we can say the list is accurate.
The figure has come from the Ukrainian news agency - who had been censored by the Ukrainian government before these figures were published so as not to be melodramatic. Bare in mind that the places the BBC are citing from are a lot more medically advanced than the rest of the country.

I wasn't preaching it as truth. It's an interesting little factoid. -_-

 

[Ellie]

My point was meant to be that it's people spreading things such as "3000 have died in x place apparently" that stops people making an honest judgement about the vaccine or the flu itself. :/

You say "the internet" yet no link, so erm... yeah. I'd much rather trust a link to a valid news website than hearsay anyday.