H1N1- what's the big deal?

[KMonte85]

Disclaimer: So I am in no way a Dr. or medical expert, so for those that are, please forgive my ignorance and prove me wrong when needed!

Start rant.

I'm having a very hard time understanding the hysteria flying around about the H1N1 virus and the vaccine shortage. I feel like the media is using the virus to scare the pants off of us so we stay glued to the TV and boost their ratings during sweeps!

I've done some amount of research myself, and it seems everything I read leads me to believe that the H1N1 is not any worse than the seasonal flu! It is documented that swine flu is less fatal to those that contract the virus than the usual seasonal flu virus is. Of course people who are high risk should get vaccinated, but why all the fuss? It is turning into hysteria! This is not a pandemic, people! Just follow your usual good hygiene to drastically reduce your risk of getting the flu (whether of the seasonal or swine variety). And if you happen to get the flu, stay home and recover, if symptoms get serious, then seek medical help!

I get that this is a new strain of flu virus, but the media is scaring people to death over something that does need attention, but not 24hr surveilance! People are standing in line out in the cold for several hours to be vaccinated for swine flu out of terror that they might contract it and die! Maybe the news outlets should focus on the facts of the virus and not try to scare us all into watching their programs! I'm sick of watching otherwise sensical people become blubbering fools when they get a cough because it could be the dreaded "swine flu!"


Grrr. end rant.

[PJhavinfunagain]

The scary part is how hard and fast it hits kids. It has very high fevers and quickly goes to Phnumgad0ujwfonia and a really agressigad0ujwfve version at that. For parent's like me that do not normally go to the Dr. For every little thing it is especially scary.

I agree that the media is not doing us any favors with the sensationalism.

If you saw the #'s of school absenteeism due to sick children you would be a bit alarmed. While it is good that people are being cautious it is scarry to see just how many people are sick.

[ItsASecret]

Yes this H1N1 is pretty much the common flu. The problem is that this particular mutated strain has an angry attitude which is why it is spreading so quickly. The vaccine needed to be rushed through trials in order to get it out to the public. Saying that alone will panic people, add in stressors like worry and panic (increases chances of getting sick) and you have a huge rate of infection occurring. Yes the symptoms are identical to the regular flu, and yes the regular flu kills many times more people in a year than H1N1 has but since it has mutated so fast and spread so quickly the medical world is just like "oh my god we gotta slow this baby down".

I have chosen not to get the vaccine, why? Because I am not in a panic, I do not worry, and I do know that this mutated version is already mutating and becoming resistant as we speak. If I get sick, I get sick. I cannot avoid it.

[KMonte85]

Yes, I would agree that w/ the H1N1, the virus is harder on children, whereas the seasonal flu is hardest on the elderly.

I know a lot of people that just keep their kids out of school because they found out that a few kids were out w/ H1N1. So they keep their kids at home out of fear, and the absentee rates skyrocket.. at least that is the way it has been in my area! blah!!!

[WildChild]

We've had many pandemics in the world's history and some have literally changed history. But I'm having a hard time believing this is one. I think it's great sick people are staying home. I hate going out in public being surrounded in stores, at work, in the schools, by people who should be in bed taking care of themselves. That should be an all the time thing.

Media, religions and governments look for ways to stir up fear. For a long, long time it's been a very effective way to control people. It distracts from other issues and keeps a sense of powerlessness in people's lives.

The postives I'm seeing in this though are that it is increasing health awareness and self care and in a way it is testing both national and international ability to communicate and respond to a global situation. If we are smart enough to learn from it, this may give us valuable insight into how to better handle a true global crisis.

[PJhavinfunagain]

so sorry about my spelling above! I was having issues with my paste button. Solved now!

[KMonte85]

The postives I'm seeing in this though are that it is increasing health awareness and self care and in a way it is testing both national and international ability to communicate and respond to a global situation.

Way to look at the positives, WildChild!

I can't really fault anyone for wanting to be safe.. I think my biggest beef is probably with the news media! They are supposed to I-N-F-O-R-M, not use scare-tactics to keep people glued to their TVs! And the info they spew is so one-sided and grave-sounding, no wonder so many people are scared!

I just wish everyone had the sense to take time and search for answers themselves instead of relying on Charlie Gibson to feed them their health instructions. I've seen so many people allow H1N1 to affect their daily lives negatively because they are too afraid to live normally out of fear of a virus that might set them back a few days, but in all probability will not kill them!

[Todolist]

The truth, I feel, is that H1N1 is somewhat overhyped. That isn't to say that there isn't reason to at least try to prevent it's spreading, which is probably the basis of the current semi-hysteria. The more the public becomes aware of it the more we can prevent it hitting true epidemic levels.

I personally take as many preventative precautions during flu central in general as I can. Last year my family got 4 different cases of the flu and it was rotten. my job recently started a marketing campaign for Triaminic that introduced me to a cool and useful preventative tool.

*Removed outbound link*

It's a little prevention tool that lets you find out the rate of infection in your area. Communities are listed geographically so it's pretty thorough.

[Hopeless Dork]

I had a whats the big deal idea about h1n1 too until recently when a family member died from complications after being diagnosed with it. I've been walking around feeling like everyone is panicked for nothing, but must admit this tragedy has me realizing that its not just your average cold and flu.

[Fallen1]

I had a whats the big deal idea about h1n1 too until recently when a family member died from complications after being diagnosed with it.

HD, Sorry to hear about your loss.

Just curious if this family member had some other type of illness along with it?

I was wondering because of something my sister said. She is a nurse and mentioned that they had several that had died from it at the hospital she works at but they all had underlying issues that contributed to it - very young, very old, cancer, diabetes etc.