Wagist

Putting Swine Flu Into Perspective

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Dan Linehan

There has been an voluminous amount of media coverage surrounding the recent outbreaks of swine flu.

Washington Capitals left wing Quintin Laing has received a diagnosis of H1N1 virus.

Fight erupts in line at swine flu clinic.

Swine Flu On The Rise Among Boston Children

Farmers Branch swine flu shot clinic ignores risk criteria.

Paterson declares swine flu emergency in NY

Muslim pilgrims at risk for swine flu asked to stay away from Mecca this year

Don’t reward risk: Swine flu and perfect attendance

Seeing so much commentary on one health topic can be a bit alarming, almost as if we are dealing with some sort of never-before-seen epidemic. Every indication points to the idea that there is clear and present danger to human life on the line, particularly Obama’s recent declaration of a national emergency in response to the virus.

The government has even gone as far as to say they might have to throttle internet traffic during this pandemic emergency. Apparently, increased internet demand during a pandemic could slow down the internet enough to bring down Wall Street securities trading.

So how dangerous is the swine flu? Is it a genuine pandemic?

If we look at the death toll alone, swine flu is pretty far down the list of things to worry about. Within the category of contagious diseases it causes almost exactly as many deaths as Leprosy.

At the time of writing, 800 people in the U.S. have died from the swine flu, about the same number of Americans who die from heart disease every ten hours. The chances of the swine flu killing you are very slim. You are much more likely to have an (almost completely preventable) heart attack.

As far as swine flu being a pandemic, it does appear to be heading that direction. If we look at the rates of infection for swine flu against rates for previous years it becomes quickly apparent that there are massive differences.

Normally, flu infections don’t become widespread until January. This year, however, we have already seen tens of thousands verified flu cases, and the number is still on the rise. Some reports are claiming that millions of Americans contracted the virus this Spring, but had only mild reactions to it, so it was under-reported.

Vaccines are now available for the swine flu in most areas; the first family got theirs a few days ago. There is a flu shot locator on Flu.gov if you are looking for a vaccine near you.

If you do pass on the vaccine and happen to get sick, chances are that the symptoms from H1N1 will be fairly mild. There is, however, some anecdotal evidence saying that the virus hangs on for much longer than the normal seasonal flu, up to two or three weeks. And since swine flu impacts the lungs, if you are a smoker the symptoms can be much more severe than average.

I’m 31, and have/had H1N1. Sickest I have been in my adult life. Still dealing with it really. My lungs and sinuses feel like they will never be the same. My energy is very low. This is day 12 since I became ill. My doc didn’t want to bother with the lab test, which kinda bugs me, because I’d like to know for certain. However, she said that for the time of year and the severity of symptoms, it was pretty certain. On a positive note, the illness forced me to quit smoking cigs.

I’m 27, and had the swine flu. It wasn’t necessarily severe in impact… but it stayed with my for about 2 weeks. That’s the first time I’ve been sick in almost a decade.

I’m 32, and this is my third week dealing with it. It’s is NOT fun. The first day I felt crappy, I was told to go home from the office. Went for the test (long swab deep up the nose), and it was positive for h1n1.

My doc put me on tamiflu right away. The fever went away in a day or two, but it’s been this general malaise/weakness for the rest of the time, along with antibiotics for two secondary infections. Mostly just weakness – I can’t stay awake for more than 4 -5 hours, tire very easily, constant sweats/chills… It was annoying to change the sheets every night because I sweated through them until I started sleeping on/under oversized towels instead.

I talked with my doctor on Monday of this week – he scared the crap out of me when he told me that if I hadn’t taken the tamiflu, I’d probably have been in the hospital with how severe it hit me. A patient of his is in the hospital right now with h1n1 and pneumonia.

I’ve basically been sequestered at home for more than two weeks, and it’s not fun. We have great weather the last two weekends for kayaking, or just being outdoors – I couldn’t go. I had planned on taking some time off and cleaning out the garage/building a sailing system for the kayaks – no strength.

For those those say that it’s not a big deal – you try losing 2-3 weeks of your life and see how it feels. Yes, there are worse things… but that doesn’t mean this isn’t serious, too.

I’m 19, I have had Swine Flu for around two and a half weeks, and I’m currently on the mend.

Doctor’s office said that I should just treat it as a normal flu. No medicine, no anti-virals. I feel pretty good at the moment, just some stuffy nose.

It’s not that bad, it’s actually better than the last time I had the Flu.

I have swine flu. Right now. As I’m typing this.

I am so fucking sick. My lungs have all kinds of shit in them, I have to use a nebulizer every 4-6 hours and I’m on Tamiflu and Prednizone and additionally zofran to control the nausea.

Fuck this shit. It’s day 5 of this garbage and I can hardly say I feel any better.

Considering the flu season is only half over, and looking over the seriousness of many of these cases, looking into getting the vaccine as soon as possible seems like an intelligent choice.