H1N1 Flu

[sudsmaster]

I may have gotten the H1N1 back in April. Or it could have been a late season flu that wasn't covered by the seasonal flu shot I get every year. I missed two days' work, Thursday and Friday, and used the weekend to recuperate.

Like many I don't get much in the way of sick leave: one day a year - so I ate the income loss on that one. One thing Keven didn't mention, however, is that in California at least we have short term disability benefits. If one is ill for more than a week (I think) then one gets about 50% to 70% of one's regular pay - up to a limit - as disability pay.

 

[qsd-dan]

Like many I don't get much in the way of sick leave: one

One day a year? It's time for me to stop complaining about 8 days, then. I know people who get more than 20 sick days a year and use every damn one of them year after year. Must be nice.......

 

[DADoES]

Last time I had flu, or something flu-like, was 1984 or 1985 and I've rarely been ill with anything since then. I've never taken a flu shot. I'm somewhat considering it this time 'round, but local supplies have run out until further notice. If I start taking it now, do I have to continue every year to avoid susceptibility? Is the H1N1 immunization separate from a "regular" flu shot?

 

[mattl]

Yes, it is separate. I plan on getting both.

 

[alr2903]

Yes, 2 separate immunizations this year. I am getting one next week when/if it becomes available. Panthera, you are so right presenteeism (sp). Is a very real problem, and probably exacerbated by today's economy. If you are sick you need to stay home. I posted my brothers story above and he is MUCH better. From what i understand this H1N1 is dx. by a nasal swab. It's kind of a kicker that you have to go IN to the drug store, and expose more people. would be well thought out if the docs could just dispense tamiflu, I dont know call it a epidemic kit or something. alr2903

 

[panthera]

alr2903,

I'm glad to hear he is much better.

1) No or minimal sick leave.
2) Fire at will
3) Social and medical infrastructure less well equipped for influenza complications than in 1918
4) Higher illiteracy than in 1918
5) Inadequate stockpiles of Tamiflu, inadequate support of manufacturers' reasonable requests for reasonably profitable vaccine production facilities

Guess what folks - every single one of these problems is a direct result of our choices since 1968. Every single one. We have nobody to blame but ourselves, directly.

We did it to ourselves, we have learned nothing. Thank goodness, this mutation is mild compared to what it could have been. Mother Nature, red of tooth and claw obviously does believe in science.

 

[sudsmaster]

No, if you get a flu shot one year, it doesn't mean that you'll be more susceptible to the flu the next year if you don't get a shot the next year. In fact, you might be less susceptible because the flu shot composition is an educated guess about which strains will be prevalent each season. I believe three strains are usually included in the seasonal shot. There's always a chance that one of those strains was a miss for the current season but protects against the flu the next season. Arguing against this is the usually stated fact that the immunity only lasts one season. Not sure if that is because the immune response fades or because the educated guessing says that the strains in one season's shot are not expected to come back the following year.

On a related note, the meds are saying that if your were born in 1950 or earlier, chances are that you already have immunity to the H1N1 virus. People born later than that are less likely to have been exposed to it already.

 

[panthera]

Rich,

I've been hearing that too, those who had it in 1955 had a very similar form and should still be immune.
I wouldn't push my luck, tho'.
So much of what we 'know' about immunology and aging has been thrown completely out of the window the last few years.

Here in Europe, we have the three most likely strains and everything from the previous year, too in the shot. Historically, we guess better than the Americans do because our researchers are funded continuously and the knowledge transfer is more complete than in the US where, everytime the Republicans run things, funding for long-term teams is cut to the bone.

Our best (public) guess is that we are looking at tens of thousands of avoidable deaths due to the high level of herd immunization. That sounds good to me.

It has been fascinating to see the tenor of the 'ain't no-bahdy gonna tell me wha' to do and all the other mercury and aluminium and formaldehyde and coolant nonsense fade out of the blogs since last Thursday. When you actually see someone you love needlessly suffering because you were too damn stupid to have them immunized, 'cause it's all a guberment plot, then I guess you learn something. Too little, too late, but heh - no pain, no gain, right?

 

[petek]

In case we run out of masks

during the N1H1 flue season here is a "homemade" masK you make yoursef.

It is even compatible with the wearing of glasses.
One thing though ----

MAKE SURE YOUR MASK IS CLEAN!!!!!!!!

 

[gizmo]

Not sure if Ihave had it or just a regular flu...

I am in my third week of flu.
At first I had a sore throat, went to pharmacist and asked for something for irritated sore throat. She said I was coming down with flu, " real flu not just a cold" as it was happening a lot in our area and started out that way.
I am generally pretty healthy and can usually shake off a cold in a day or two, or not get it at all.
The first week it really knocked me for six - I could hardly get out of bed for four days. To walk downstairs, have a shower exhausted me and I had to go back to bed.
After a week I phoned the doctor - was told no need to come in, the advice he was giving to every second person all day was bed rest, paracetamol (acetaminophen is US name?). After a week I was feeling much better, back to relatively normal activities but I can't seem to shake the dry sore throat, with nasty cough like a 2 pack a day smoker, and I have never smoked. Still fairly snotty too. If I'm not better in a few days I will go to the doc, but I doubt there is much they can do.
I have no idea if it is H1N1 but it is a nasty flu for sure.

News on the radio today is Australia is sending extra stock of the H1N1 vaccine to the USA as the US is desperately short of stock.

Chris

 

[countryguy]

PeteK,

Too funny!

Gary

 

[jeb]

H1N1

I feel very luck-our local health dept. just gave FREE H1N1 flue shots to pregnant wonem and health care workers. I got mine and only had to stand in line about ten minutes and show my work ID. !! JEB

 

[sudsmaster]

I have been searching high and low for a seasonal flu shot, but everyone seems to be out of it. I asked my doctor a month ago about it, but he was out. My employer scheduled free seasonal shots for next week, but today announced it was canceled because the medical clinic had run out. I called all over after work today, with no luck.

But as chance would have it, my personal doc had just received a shipment of H1N1 vaccine. I wasn't as interested in that but I decided what the heck, might as well get it while it's available. That was about an hour ago and I feel fine.

Apparently the seasonal flu vaccine shortage has two causes: the panic about the swine flu led people who normally don't get seasonal flu shots to go to their doctors and clinics and get the seasonal shot instead because the swine flu shots weren't available yet. So, higher than normal demand. Then, the vaccine companies stopped making the seasonal vaccine and switched over to making the swine flu vaccine, which arguable is a good decision because the swine flu vaccine is more deadly. But the whole thing will leave a lot of people (like myself) unvaccinated for seasonal flu, and seasonal flu kills a lot of people every year.

I'm hoping that later on in the fall there will be a new supply of seasonal vaccine and I'll be able to get it.

 

[mattl]

Now another cousin has it!

Just got a note from another cousin of mine, she has the flu too, but got hit double hard -- here's part of her note:

"I also have the flu, it hit me on Saturday around 4pm and I had to work at 5, I could hardly stand, had fever and chills, swollen glands and every inch of me hurt. So I called in sick to work AND THEY FIRED ME!!!! They said I had to cover my shift or work it and I couldn't do either! I have worked there for almost 2 years and have never been sick and have never been in trouble. The NC dept. of labor says I can get an attorney, but they couldn't help me. BS!!! On the up side, I hated that place anyway!! I will apply for unemployment, but don't know how much they give to servers."

So, not only is she sick, but now jobless...

 

[sudsmaster]

It's awful that they take that stance with people who are serving food to the public. You'd think that they'd want a server to stay away when she has a potentially deadly contagious disease, and then resume work when she is recovered.

She should be entitled to unemployment compensation, though.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Oh PeteK

GOOD ONE.

With the proper aroma-therapy your mask can function as the little blue pill.

 

[panthera]

Matt,

I know when someone is that ill, it is not the time to be organizing a protest.
Couldn't other folks in the family get together and put the news out to news organizations? Chip in all together and get her a lawyer? Make sure her illness is documented and then take the bastards to court and fight for justice?

Every single poor person in this country who votes against unions and decent working rules is voting against their own interests.

Let's hope she gets better soon.

 

[sikiguya]

I am at a loss as to what to do for the H1N1 shots. While I want to get them, our local health dept is out of them and the Dr's office has them on backorder.

My son has an immune disorder along with severe allergies & asthma. He is allergic to eggs so he cannot get the flu vaccinations. Nor can he get the live virus (up the nose) because it can make him sick. I need to get the shot since I am his primary caregiver. He cannot afford to get sick. I explained this to the health dept nurse and she told me that she could probably get me the live virus since I was not a in a high risk catagory. I then asked her if I got the live virus, couldn't I pass it on to my son. She paused a second and then said, I guess you're right! OMG, I was not happy! She then said I should get the live vac but wear a mask for 2 weeks.....ummmm, NO. After talking to his many Dr's, we are going to just try our best at washing hands/antibacterial gel and hope for the best. We are lucky because at this point, his school is doing pretty good with kids out with the flu.

They did say that if he exhibits any signs of it, to get to the Dr or ER asap so he can get on Tamiflu, which is the only thing that can help in this situation. He can go into respitory distress very easily (we were in the ER on Sunday with just regular asthma problems, not even the flu!).

I am not looking forward to this winter season!

 

[panthera]

I don't usually pass on stuff like this,

but the current thinking is that statins (like for sinking cholesteral) improve survival rates enormously.
The feds also just gave permission for a still experimental virusstatica to be used in the US, it is considerably more effective than Tamiflu.

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www.huliq.com

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www.cnbc.com

Like I said, I don't usually put too much value on such stuff, but when your back is against the wall, this might help.

Hope you all stay well!

 

[sudsmaster]

Statins are evil

Their main benefit is in reducing inflammation, not in reducing cholesterol. But the side effects of insufficient cholesterol in the body are rather severe, as well.

Cholesterol is a major component of cells, and especially nervous and brain tissue. There are a lot of report of people on stating gradually getting weaker and weaker, and their thinking becomes more and more confused. I had my own run-in with statin therapy two years ago and I stopped taking them when the symptoms became noticeable (to me at least).

I wonder how many elderly people are classified as dementia patients, and how many mobility issues, are really caused by statins.