Swine Flu - Hype or Hazard?
As we hear about more and more swine flu cases each day, including the death of a toddler in Houston (who had traveled from Mexico to Brownsville, Texas), school closings, and continuous news reports, and see people wearing masks, it is likely hard for parents to not get a little frightened about swine flu.
Is this all media hype or a true hazard that we should be worried about?
Right now, it seems like it may be a little bit of both. Swine flu is definitely a hazard, but more because of the concern about what this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus may do. Will it become a pandemic strain that can cause a global disease outbreak? Or will we just continue to see sporadic cases for a few weeks or months until it stops?
At this time it is impossible to predict what is going to happen with swine flu, but one thing is clear - panic, fear, and any kind of overreaction isn't going to be helpful. And that means not calling or rushing to your pediatrician for every runny nose, sniffle, or cough that your child has.
Shouldn't you just go in and see your pediatrician and get tested for flu just in case? Unless your child has flu symptoms, there are plenty of reasons why this isn't a good idea. For one thing, if everyone does, there may not be any flu tests around if we really need them. The same thing goes for people taking Tamiflu right now. If people are taking it when they don't need it, Tamiflu might not be available for kids who are sick with swine flu. Pharmacies are already running out in some areas, which is not surprising, since they likely didn't have large stocks at the end of our regular flu season.
Also, doctors who are doing a lot of flu tests on kids without typical flu symptoms are likely to get some false positive tests, which may lead to school closings and even more fear.
So what should you do? You can try to avoid the swine flu by encouraging your kids to wash their hands often, tell them to avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth, and avoid people who are sick (which is why we are seeing so many school closings). If your kids get swine flu symptoms, don't panic, as most of the cases in the United States have been mild. Do keep your child away from other people and call your doctor for further advise.
Related:
CDC - Swine Influenza
WHO - Swine Influenza
Pandemic Flu
Avoiding the Flu
Swine Flu
Get latest info on swine flu http://www.ehow.com/how_4937955_swine-flu-information.html
These days there’s more articles about it in the news
than people who have actually contracted swine flu
more people gonna die driving in their cars
but that don’t make news like new flus or SARS
35,000 deaths occur every flu season
we weren’t concerned last year, what’s the reason?
i’m not saying that you shouldn’t be worried
but worry on the news gets bigger in a hurry
to hear me rap my full opinion, watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSXwbOMV3E
One of my friends’ kids got a flu (they had fever , coughing , other flu symptoms) and on the test they had Influenza A , but they just lived with it for 3 days and it went away exep for mucus in the throat.
If every news item and article mentioned what happened last winter, or the winter before, or the winter before that,with ‘regular’ flu then I would be okay. But we have a media that says nothing about the 100,000’s that die every year from ‘regular’ flu and makes this Swine flu seem a one off disaster! The media tried with MMR and then Bird Flu now it has it’s claws in this. It hypes up disaster as it adds newspaper sales an TV viewer. What would it benefit the media to say this is just another flu,like we get every year? None. So they make it seem like an Armageddon. When George Orwell wrote 1984 it must be now obvious he meant the media – not Government – that is now making it’s own news,and I find it very scary! When all news is manufactured, democracy has gone.
wow i didnt even know that 100,000 people die during flu season every year! That just goes 2 show what the media is all about these days…
I can’t believe how much hype this flu is getting. It is rediculous. I am a school bus driver for an elementary school and they are sending kids home for a sniffle or a cough. I have two small children and I refuse to get my kids the N1N1 vaccine because I would rather my children build an immunity naturally rather than pump them full of chemicals that lord only knows what kind of side effects they could endure over the next 1-50 years of there lives. It’s a flu people. Get over it. Chances are it won’t kill you. Leave your home, get sick, and be glad that now yo have an ammunity that you didn’t have before.
Bravo Mother Goose – I concur
Mother Goose: I totally agree. Grandmother’s advice has always been: eat well, take your vitamins and wash your hands often! Only high-risk people should be getting the vaccine (ie: suppressed immune system). NO vaccine is 100% effective anyway. Plus, viruses are constantly mutatating….so school-aged children need to build up their immune systems and get regular checkups at the doctor. Using a vaccine as a quick fix isn’t the solution.
what is wrong with you people all of you are making it seem like the government is telling you, you have to get it. are you not listening they are simply telling you that there is vaccination available for those who want it. If they didn’t provide and millions started to die then you would be hounding them for that too ” they did do nothing to protect us” and they specifically said that this vaccination is important for people with STRAINED immune systems people who have illnesses because hey cant build an immune system for them selves. And need help building anti-bodies.