Months ago, I mocked the hysteria surrounding the swine flu.
I still mock it.
But now, the virus has traveled from afar and made its way into my world. First, there were cases at work (though thankfully, no one in my department has fallen victim… yet). Then, my aerobics classes were cancelled for an entire week, and upon return, my instructor told us she had been taken down by the swine. Last week, we were told that our 2-year-old nephew possibly had it (it turned out that he didn’t). This morning, we learned that a friend of ours is down for the count.
So, even though I don’t understand the oh-my-god-we’re-all-gonna-die mentality that some people are choosing to adopt, I have to admit that even I, a non-germaphobe, have started to take more precautions than usual.
It’s not that I’m usually a dirty person, but I’m not one to carry hand sanitizer, or think twice about partnering up with a stranger in aerobics class, or avoid touching public door handles and knobs. But now? Now I am one of those people.
It’s not that I’m afraid of something serious happening. I just don’t want to be sick. It doesn’t sound fun. Not at all.
My aerobics instructor said H1N1 made her the sickest she’s ever been. She was laid up in bed for an entire week, and said she could do nothing but sleep and watch TV. She said, “I should have bed sores!”
So um, no thanks.
Our friend, Mike, says the way he feels now is the worst he has ever felt. EVER. Mike’s situation is exceptionally crappy because his wife is due to give birth in less than a week. He has essentially been confined to his basement (thankfully it is a “man room” so it’s not all that bad) so that he lowers the risk of infecting his very pregnant wife, which would be decidedly dangerous. What’s worse is that if she were to go into labor in the next couple of days, it’s very likely they won’t allow him into the hospital to watch his baby be born. This blows my mind. Needless to say, we are praying for the late arrival of their baby girl.
Again, I say… no thanks.
The media continues to make a huge deal about all of this, which is extremely irritating to me. Every day, the local news talks about swine flu, swine flu vaccine, swine flu deaths, swine flu statistics. Who’s high risk, who’s low risk, who should go so far to hijack an ambulance to get a vaccine, and who shouldn’t even bother fighting the mob. (OK, so I exaggerate. But still.)
As for me, I’ll stick to my hand washing. My hand sanitizing. My extra Vitamin C.
I see you, Swine. You don’t want to mess with me.
11 Responses to H1N1
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About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
Make sure you’re getting your Vitamin D. A chiropractor that I’m close to recommends that to ward off the swine flu. He actually just did hours of research and wrote an article regarding the swine flu and the vaccines and such. If you’re interested, I’d be willing to share it. I found it interesting and informational…especially with all the hype that surrounds it!
I get Vitamin D with my calcium supplements every day, plus a bit extra in my multivitamin, I believe. Hopefully that’s enough!
My 10 yr old had the h1n1 flu as did most of his class, even with all precautions. The media makes this 10x worse everytime they make the news with this d* virus. If you don’t know where they have the clinics for the injection please check out this website: http://www.lungusa.org. Scroll to the bottom of the page and in put your info. Don’t waste your time if you don’t meet the criteria. Most of your ‘followers’ weren’t around for the 70s’ swine flu and this one is so similar that they are refusing to inocculate persons over 65. My clinic standards, but what do I know?!
This is the link for the clinics. Sorry, I should have checked it out on the site without my state being in there before submitting that comment. http://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/influenza/flu-clinic-locator/
I had the H1N1 flu over the summer – it wasn’t actually confirmed, confirmed, but my doctor said it likely was H1N1 because someone in my department at work had a confirmed case. And let me tell you, I’ve never, ever felt as crappy as I did when I had it. I was laid out in bed or on the couch for 5 straight days and the worst part? not the coughing, headache, 103 fever, but the BODY ACHES. Good Lord, every. part. hurt. Terrible! I’m actually in the group of “adult who has chronic medical condition” since I have asthma, so I’m going to my PCP to get the vaccine since he has some. We have sanitizing stations everywhere at work! But in all reality, I’m not that afraid of it.
The swine flu hit someone we knew too. He died last week. This is not something to fool around with.
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My best friend is a nurse and she got it 2 weeks ago. She was in bed for 4 days straight. She said it was the worst pain she has ever been in (she gave birth 2 years ago to her daughter, full term, and didn’t even know she was pregnant. She has a SUPER high tolerance for pain). She said she lost 7 lbs and was going in an out of consciousness for a few days because she didn’t eat anything or drink anything because she couldn’t move from all the pain. She still thinks all the hype around H1N1 is silly, but does acknowledge that it is a horrible thing to go through.
I teach outside of Austin and 3 of my kids had it earlier in the year when the whole world seemed to freak out about the flu… This year alone I’ve had 7 kids out with it. Have I gotten the vaccine, nope… I don’t plan on it either!
The risk for “catching” the virus is slim and, unfortunately, the media has blown the virus out of proportion. Am I saying it’s nothing to worry about… not hardly, but I AM saying that it is possible to listen to your body, take your Vitamins, and get plenty of sleep, and you’ll find that it’s a rarity…
I took precautions as well and am sick as a dog. I haven’t been confirmed yet, but my dr told me not to come in because it sounds like H1N1 and she didn’t want me getting anyone else sick.
I’m definitely more sick than I’ve ever been and like your friend, all I can do is sleep and watch TV. I do take a shower every day just to wash off the nastiness of sweating so much due to the fever. But it looks like I’m coming around because my fever has been down to 100 for the past 24 hours.
I had it, and I wasn’t affected too badly. My husband was out for a week. I was only down for 3 days. I know others who’ve been down for a month or more, and others who’ve had it for maybe 3 or 4 days, like I did. Its not the absolute worst thing. I’ve been sicker. But like you, I’d just rather not be sick at all. And I, too, am taking precautions.