So, anyone have the swine flu yet?

“I hate ham


Antiswinite.”

“Awww, littlemountaingirl! I read your post, but I didn't know if you were "high risk" because you're pregnant, or b/c of your line of work, or what. Silly thread to say it on, but congratulations! :)

Anyhoo, I don't think the people who wrote that article are trying to scare you (and I didn't mean to make you feel bad), just giving people more facts before they make a decision. I learned my lesson when I was pregnant not to do anything just because someone told me to. It sucks making any decision out of fear, esp. when you're all emotional anyway...but thankfully there's usually enough time to research things before you agree to a test, intervention, vaccine, what have you. Then you can feel at least somewhat at ease, in that you're knowledgeable about all the benefits, risks, etc., and are making your own decision, not taking someone else's word (who may have motives you don't know about, or who may not have all the facts themselves). The hard part is knowing where to look, or (for some things) that you even HAVE to look (that it's not necessary, in other words).”

“A few days ago my throat started to feel mildly sore in the morning. Yesterday my nose started running like a waterfall. Today it turned into a bad cough. I don't feel feverish at all, but really tired and slughish, like wading through a pool of sirup. No headache, but my brain feels like coton fluff.”

“YCK....Euro you ever hear of Zinc Echinacea Tea?”

“No, I haven't heard of it, but just googled it. Why not, I may give it a try. Tomorrow when I go shopping in town I will check out a pharmacy.
I think it's a regulare cold and not the flu.”

“Echinacea was a flower used by Precolumbian Americans for illness....the stuff tastes a bit wierd but it kicks A$$ on a cold.

If you can't find it drop me an email.”

“The (scientific) jury is still out on Echinacea's effectiveness. It's leaning toward "no significant effect", however.”

“You want ME to drop YOU and email? Last time didn't you say something along the line:"I never want to hear from you again! I hope you die a painful death!" And now you want to send me some echinacea tea??”

“neither has ever worked well for me. at best echinacea might have reduced the symptoms a little. now when i have a cold i just treat the congestion with 12-hour pseudoephedrine (the kind you need to use your drivers license to purchase) and let it run it's course. i tried zinc and "cold-eez" (some sort of zinc preparation) but i really didn't see any benefit.

the 12-hour pseudoephedrine works well because it lasts so long. the 4-hour version is just starting to kick in and your hear clears up before it's starts to wear off then the cycle starts again. the 12-hour gives you more time after it kicks in.

these last few years i have also been taking mucinex dm (dextromethorphan + guaifenesin) and it works well. you can get it generic at walgreens.

for a bad cough i get the doc to write a script for benzonatate ("Tessalon Perles"). i got these when i had pneumonia and they kick butt. over the counter cough medicine does NOT work.”

“Nope, couldn't get any echinacea tea.

They gave me echinacea pills instead. They do taste a bit weird. I can't tell if they kick A$$ though, but they sure burn a hole into my tongue, when I let them melt in my mouth as instructed.
I am doing okay and are back at work today.”

“Article: CBS Reveals that Swine Flu Cases Seriously Overestimated


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/24/CBS-Reveals-that-Swine-Flu-Cases-Seriously-Overestimated.aspx

quote:
As you can see from this CBS News graphic, not only are most cases of suspected flu-like illnesses not H1N1, they're not even the flu but more likely some type of cold or upper respiratory infection!

”

“Get as much sunshine as you can, and take Vitamin D supplements!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/22/Low-Vitamin-D-Increases-Flu-Death-Risk-in-Kids.aspx”

“Both the H1N1 "mist" vaccine (which is given through the nose) and the Flumist vaccine are made with the live viruses. Live virus vaccines "shed," making people who receive them contagious for up to THREE WEEKS (even if they don't get sick themselves). So if you or your kids are in close contact with people who have gotten either of these, you could catch the virus from them.”

“I'm going top get the seasonal flu shot this morning. I get the H1N1 shot Nov. 16.”

“The only time I got the flu shot it worked...I got the flu. AND listen to the Doctors shuck and jive about "why I got the Flu"

Apparently they don't even know what is coming until it gets here.”

“Both the H1N1 "mist" vaccine (which is given through the nose) and the Flumist vaccine are made with the live viruses. Live virus vaccines "shed," making people who receive them contagious for up to THREE WEEKS (even if they don't get sick themselves). So if you or your kids are in close contact with people who have gotten either of these, you could catch the virus from them.�
lyra

so our government is TRYING to make us sick? business as usual. lovely.

we've been discussing the flu shots for weeks now, and it looks like we've all come to the same conclusion, we're not going to get the shot. not one of us feels it's necessary, not one of us feels it's a safe shot.

i haven't had but a handful of flu shots in my entire life and i've still never had the flu. i've had colds but never the flu. and hell, i haven't even had a cold for almost two years now.”

“dizzy, if you were in the service, you had more than a handful of shots, no?”

“I reckon Nimblefoot administered quite a few shots while in the service.

"Where do ya want it sailor, left cheek or right?"”

“They give more shots in the service than most people get in the rest of their lives! And most of the time one doesn't even know what they are, lol.”

“shots in the service are like assembly lines. They might as well had us standing on conveyor belts as they moved us through the stations.”

“Conveyor belt? Why not drive them all through a narrow gate, where everybody plumps into a bath and on the way out has to pass a guy with a vaccine gun, shoting the stuff right into the hind quaters as they run by?”

“Moon shot?”

“Yikes, that is a really scary image, hyway!

Here's today's Mercola article on the swine flu, written by Dr. Russell Blaylock.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/03/What-We-Have-Learned-About-the-Great-Swine-Flu-Pandemic.aspx

These are some of the main points:

Pregnant Women NOT at Special Risk from Swine Flu

Initial Studies Show H1N1 NOT Dangerous or Highly Contagious

Much Fear Mongering

Australian and New Zealand Experience Prove U.S. is Wrong

ICU Hospitalizations

Majority of Children Respond POORLY to Flu Vaccine

Flu Vaccine DOUBLES Risk of Getting H1N1

Obese at Six Times Higher Risk from H1N1 Complications

H1N1 Vaccine is NOT Made the Same as Regular Flu Vaccine!!

Pregnant Women NOT at Increased Risk, Obese Women Are!!

Underlying Medical Conditions Risk Factor for H1N1 Deaths

Pediatric Flu Deaths by Year Made WORSE by Flu Vaccine

Every Parent Needs to Know Other Vaccines INCREASE Risk of H1N1

Risk of Serious Illness from the H1N1 Mutant Virus

Pregnant Women Given Vaccine Have Babies with More Health Problems

Actually LESS Flu Deaths this Year

What Do They Not Know About This Vaccine?

Vaccine Safety Testing Only Done for ONE Week”

“I think I'll choose not to share that link with my coworker who is 8 months pregnant and just got the H1N1 vaccine.”

““Conveyor belt? Why not drive them all through a narrow gate, where everybody plumps into a bath and on the way out has to pass a guy with a vaccine gun, shoting the stuff right into the hind quaters as they run by?”
Euro hike
9:42:09 AM
11/03/09

I know you were joking, but except for the bath, that is exactly how it happens. We were in skivvies and lined up like cattle. You go through a door and on the other side were corpsman standing to each side of you with vaccine guns in their hands. If they were in sync there was a good chance you got a shot in each arm simultaneously. You stepped forward a few passes and somone pulled your shorts down and stuck a needle in your arse cheek. Then they repeated it in the other ass cheek. Then out the door to another room where they poked and prodded, took stool samples, made you cough and god knows what else I may have blocked from memory.”

“I just got over mine.I caught it after I got back from Masten. I had picked up a Sinus infectionon on the trip home. I just could not get over then I started geting worse thats when my wife got sick. she went to a differnt doctor and was tested right away the put her on tamaflu and told her to go straight home. Boy did I get it after she got home She sent me to the doctor to get tested turns out I gave it to her.”

“So what was the point of going in after you already have it and passed it on. Its too late for Tamaflu then. But its never too late for a wife to tell you "I told you so"”

““I think I'll choose not to share that link with my coworker who is 8 months pregnant and just got the H1N1 vaccine.”
lumberzac
8:09:00 AM

Based on that link, I've endangered myself & my unborn child. The "fear mongering" clearly works in both directions. There is always someone telling you what you did wrong, no matter WHAT you do.”

“Exactly, LMG.”

“I don't take it as that doctor trying to tell individual pregnant women that they're doing anything wrong. I read it more as a warning for people who still haven't made up their mind, or who don't realize that what the drug companies and the CDC say might not be totally true. People grow up trusting doctors, and if your own doctor gives you advice, no one can blame you for following it. It's just that doctors are only people too, and they have their own biases and their own limitations.

I definitely take everything I read on the swine flu with a grain of salt, no matter which side of the "fear mongering" it's on. The title of that article, for example, is very dramatic and I think that puts people off. I hesitated to post it for that reason, but I figured everyone can read for themselves and decide what things are good information to have, and what doesn't make as much difference to them personally.

Since I was pregnant, and now that I'm a mom, I start from the assumption that each individual medical intervention that's recommended to me (whether it's for me or for Liam) is actually NOT necessary or beneficial. I make myself prove (at least so far as I'm able) that the benefits outweigh the risks before doing anything. So from that standpoint, I think each bit of information I can get is good, even if I end up not agreeing with it. The more research I do, the more at ease I feel.

I also try to figure out what people are gaining from the intervention. For instance, in this case, the biggest thing I can see is that the drug companies stand to make a LOT of money off the swine flu. That's not the only thing to consider, obviously, but it's a pretty glaring one.”

“in most cases, at least when there's a corporation involved - its about the money.

and remember - doctors are in business to make money. and most of them make a lot of money.”

“With both H1N1 itself and the vaccines for it, there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of things that are just recently coming out. But generally when it comes to vaccines, there's an ample amount of information available. This is an awesome list which I didn't write, but which I think is really helpful when it comes to deciding whether or not to vaccinate. I go through a similar "list" when it comes to other medical interventions, too. I think it's too dangerous to trust anyone who's not "the mama" to decide what to do in most medical situations. I don't take any advice blindly, no matter who it's from. (I'm like my own doctor! I really should pay myself more.)

1. Name of the disease
2. Description of the disease
3. Length of time from initial infection to end of all symptoms
4. Infectious period
5. Normal symptoms of the disease
6. Known serious consequences of the disease
7. Proportion of persons infected developing serious consequences
8. Transmission route of the disease
9. Prevalence of the disease
10. Treatments of the disease and efficacy of those treatments
11. Relevant research about the disease
12. Name of the vaccine
13. Company that makes the vaccine
14. Contents of the vaccine
14A. The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
15. History of development of the vaccine
16. Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
17. Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
18. Relevant research into the vaccine
19. How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
20.What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission).
21.Number of cases reported each year.
22.Number of deaths reported each year from the vaccine and natural disease.”

““I don't take it as that doctor trying to tell individual pregnant women that they're doing anything wrong. I read it more as a warning for people who still haven't made up their mind, or who don't realize that what the drug companies and the CDC say might not be totally true. People grow up trusting doctors, and if your own doctor gives you advice, no one can blame you for following it. It's just that doctors are only people too, and they have their own biases and their own limitations.

I agree to an extent - but I tend to distrust any article that (IMO) has an element of "snarkiness" to it (ie "So much for expert advice from the government.") It doesn't matter to me whether I happen to agree or disagree with the sentiment...it's a total turn off.

Plus I'm hormonal and emotional :D”

“I know what you mean...I generally agree with "anti-vaccine" sentiments, and the snarkiness puts even me off. I think it comes from being the "underdog" in the situation...people end up sounding kind of...shrill, shall we say...when they feel like their voice is being drowned out and like there are a million other (mainstream doctors, in this case) shouting over them. Some doctors, as well as parents of vaccine-injured children, feel pretty desperate to get their opinions and experiences out there, and they do go a little overboard while just trying to be insistent.
last edited: 11/03/09 12:07:17 PM”

“Yo, lil' mommas!”

“Vaccination is one of those rare topics that really brings the loons out of the woodwork.”

“13 out of 20 kids in one class in my daughter's elementary school have the swine flu.

Wash your hands after reading this thread.”

“Speakin' of snarky....

Not you Violin, the cur.
last edited: 11/03/09 1:04:11 PM”

“9 out of 10 voices in my head say I am not mad. One voice keeps humming all the time.”

“Your engine is running at idle.”

“What was it that matt said about muttley. MarkO?

Something to the effect that he's such an obvious troll that he's easy to ignore.”

“Well, yeah, Mark, have you ever seen pics of little ones with measles, tetanus, rubella etc? When lyra says she's "anti-vaccine", I have to shake my head at such stupidity.”

“LOL - should have figured violin would be an anti-vaccine truther as well.”

“The vaccine issue is not the point and I don't care to weigh in on that.

You are a rude and mean son-of-a-butch to my friends.”

“I put anti-vaccination people on the same level as people who deny their children medical treatment because they believe in faith healing. And since it impacts children, I don't give a rats a$$ if you or they think I"m rude.”

“yea, cuz youre really winning over hearts and minds with your approach”

“I've never said I was personally anti-vaccine, nor would I. There could be a time in the future, with some unknown disease, for which vaccination might seem like a good idea to me...I wouldn't rule anything out automatically without considering all the pros and cons. I think being "anti" or "pro" anything limits you because then you get lazy and don't research. Everyone's situation is different, too...what's a good idea for me might not be a good idea for everyone else.”

“I'm coming out as anti-cannibalism.

Go ahead - call me lazy.

I really don't need to research that one.”

“A neighbor called my wife and had her pick up her kid at school and keep him until she could leave work. He had a fever and was coughing.

He was at our house for a couple of hours.

His mom picked him up and took him to the doctor where he tested positive for H1N1.

I'm #&%!$ed.”

“Hose everything down with lysol and hope for the best.”