We might need to order kids at school to periodically wash theri hands, and tell them they cannot sneeze or cough at people! And tell them not to rub their eyes, and other such things in regard to spread and transmission. And if they do, they will be punished. Same for people in close proximity in the workplace. Same for people visiting hospitals and nursing homes, etc. Etc., etc.

It will do nobody any good if they spend years in school, get good grades....and die, right? How foolish that would be.

We may have to take drastic measures, because dying over some flu is stupid. Not if you can avoid it, or reduce the odds, with certain precautions.

 

They have doctors on tv, and some seem to think that this is not a real serious problem, while others make you afraid to get near any people.

And can researchers explain that if healthy children are dying of swine flue, why everyone then doesn't die of swine flu?

That might be an important key finding about the disease, in trying to figure out why some healthy people with (supposedly!)no underlying medical condition die of it, while others probably do not even get a symptom. There must be something about those kids that die. But what?

Or would one chaulk this up to something similar as to why some healthy people easily break out from poison ivy, while others do not? Or why some people can eat hot food and it does not seem that hot to them, while others burn up. Stuff like that.

I wish I did not have to waste my time working, or else I would spend time researching.

 

The mandates may work. I mean, if they can send a cub scout to reform school, what would they do to someone who sneezed???? Firing squad? Maybe that's why they are dying!
It boils down to lifestyle and how you take care of your health. Living in a house kept at 80 degrees in the winter and stepping outside to below freezing, then back into the oven of a house, causes your body to go into shock. The least variation in temperatures you can muster, the better off you will be. Hey, take your vitamins! I hear that from my wife every morning. Your body needs a boost at times. Get either the flu shot or a pneumonia shot. They recommend the pneumonia shot for me because I am not in close contact with people (one advantage to construction), plus it lasts for a few years.
Maybe we should mandate the government get off it's collective butts and develop the vaccine faster and better. We've already been to the moon and back, so I would think making a vast quantity of a vaccine wouldn't be "rocket science". But maybe the government doesn't want everyone to be vaccinated for one nefarious reason or another.

 

You never exchange change, use public restrooms, touch other door knobs or faucets, nobody breathes your way - do you wash your cans and all food before opening them or eating? Maybe the materials you got at the lumberyard are contaminated. Etc.

Is Georgia one of the 41 States where the swine flu is rampent?

Did you hear on the news yesterday that they think pigs in Minnesota caught the swine flu from people? I'm not making this up!

 

I haven't been seriously sick in about 5 yrs. My wife at least 10. Even then..it sure wasn't the flu..since it was gone in 2 days after onset. Last thing I saw said hand washing isn't as big a deal for flu, more for the common cold. Flu spreads more easily via the air. So the cough and sneeze into your elbow is better. Of course washing is always good.

Yes..I think its over-reaction. I haven't had a flu shot since it was required when I was in the Navy..and even though I probably dealt with hundreds of people everyday at my last job, I never really was affected.

I DO think 40 kids crammed into a classroom could be a problem...my solution is the same as my DI (ok..RC...in case TG *****es about my terminology..lol)...open the durn windows and get some airflow in the room!

 

Heard on the news break 1 1/2 hours ago, that the reason they are fearful of this flu is that completely opposite of the regular seasonal flu, is how people over the age of 65 are not dying in numbers, but younger healthy people are.

I, like Bill Maher, though, aren't so sure as to whose judgement or standards these "healthy" people are healthy. They need to get to the bottom of if these people are truly healthy or not. Or if they(the dying/dead) are/were missing the XPT-1 gene(made that up) that gives them a good flu-fighting immune system, or whatever; because if they are (healthy), indeed this flu is scary!

Equate this to murderers. Murderers who kill people, who done them wrong, is not scary, to the general population. Killers, who kill at random, are.

Count your blessings Gg, while you still have them. One day, horror may strike. Keep eating those apricots, or whatever you are doing.

 

My explanation for not being sick is easy....no kids in the house. When my stepson lived with us when he was young and in elementary school..we all had colds, sniffles, and such occasionally...since he left..nothing. He was bringing all the germs home.

Even when I was working with the public (last time I got sick) it was only once or twice in 5 yrs. After every handshake..I used the sanitizer they gave us at the desk.

Now, I eat healthy (have actually lost 10 lbs in 3 months just by that, wife is working out as well and is down almost 25), sleep well, exercise as my knees allow and don't deal with people.....not even a sniffle in the last 2 1/2 years. Not counting the allergies...lol.

 

I'm not a doctor....and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night but some answers from what I have looked into (this is part of my job:

1. This H1N1 virus is a little scarier than the normal flu because it is killing a disproportionate amount of younger folks and pregnant women than the normal flu does. Remember, the normal flu kills 38,000 ppl each year in the US!

2. The reason older folks are faring better is that a flu virus with some similarities circulated in the mid '50s (1954 I believe). Those who were exposed to that virus have antibodies which are partially effective at fighting this H1N1. Most folks DO NOT have any exposure to a similar virus and therefore will have to fight it off the natural way unless they get a vaccine. This will not be difficult for the majority of us.

3. The vaccine for this flu was not included in the normal seasonal flu vaccine because the virus was identified too late to be included in the normal production. That is the only reason it is in a seperate vaccine. Next year it will be part of the normal seasonal shot.

4. An alarming number of people do not wash their hands regularly. I recently had to place signs in my plant's washroom that employees should wash their hands after using the toilet. The average age of our employees is 55+.

 

Gunguy,

You mean you can sleep well without laying awake all night pondering solutions for the people on this board?
Makes sense about the kids thing. They should come out with Howard Hughes brand hand sanitizer.

rrings,

Ecellent response.