Posted on 05/01/2009 10:16:31 AM PDT by PetroniusMaximus
“’Did you say the person passing this along to you was your relative?”
Yes, they are my relative and they were previously the head of Public Health for the state. This was not hearsay, but from the horses mouth, so to speak.
Interesting. All I’m hearing on the radio and in the Op Eds and so on is a bunch of commentary about how we are all fearful idiots, fearmongerers, doomsayers and so on.
I am, above all else, a contingency planner. I do not like surprises and I like to be prepared. When they tell us a blizzard is coming, I know that there is a chance we will not have a blizzard but I go out and buy break, milk, eggs and basics to get me through just in case. Does it hurt me to have stuff if there is NO blizzard? Of course not.
This is why I don’t get the mentality of some people. What is wrong with having some basic things in place. Nobody has a crystal ball. Nobody.
Stocking up on food is never a bad thing and should the crisis never occur, well now you can donate stuff to a food pantry - a win-win if you ask me.
I am even wondering if they would give it to me at this point unless I was showing symptoms.
Here is something I found rather spooky that I posted on another thread. Dr. Besser from CDC was asked yesterday about the cause of death associated with this flu. In other words, what actually kills you. He refused to answer the question. He was then ask what the kid in Texas actually died from. Meaning, I know it was the flu but how did it kill. Again, he refused to answer. Why? Maybe nothing but in all of this, that is the only thing that kind of freaked me out.
“Any info on what they have heard? “
They did say one thing else, they asked how many days our kids had left in school (17 left) and they did some mental calculations and told us they thought the kids might make it to the end of the year without having to be pulled out.
“I am even wondering if they would give it to me at this point unless I was showing symptoms.”
I don’t know. I think you need a friendly doctor. One of our doctors agree to do it. Several others did not. Somebody told me you could order it from Canada
I’ve also heard that they will prescribe it for someone traveling out of the country.
“That said, I am not persuaded that the flu medications are that effective in many cases and would encourage folks to consult with a doctor before taking them.”
My relative was adamant that this flu H1N1 was responding to tamiflu.
You should not take it until you have been exposed or within 48 hrs from the first onset of symptoms.
Per our doctor: If you have been exposed, you take one dose a day for 10 days. If you are showing symptoms you MUST start a double dose within 48 hrs and you must continue double dosage for 5 days.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090430.htm
Conley from the "Washington Post."
>> I'm wondering if there's any value in a situation like this in doing any autopsies and if anybody has given thought to that, with the Mexico cases or the one in The United States were related. Do we know what the actual cause of death has been in most of these, and does that help you in any way by knowing that?
Besser
>> The first question regarding autopsies, there is a lot that can be learned when you're looking at a new infectious disease of doing autopsies. They can tell you something about how the infection is causing -- is seized and how it's causing its symptoms. I don't have information to share in terms of cause of death. And I think behind your question is some of the thoughts that in 1918 the pandemic that some of the issue in terms of the high rate of death in the young/healthy was their own immune system revved up and was part of the problem. That's a really good question. That's something people are thinking about and we'll be looking for, to see whether the it's the infection itself, whether its autoimmune reaction to that or whether it's moving on later. In earlier pandemics there were bacterial infections afterwards that were a problem. We have no information on those right now.
Note, the transcipt doesn't include Conley's question about child who died but it does include Besser's answer so the flow doesn't fit. Besser's answer was
I'd rather not comment about that particular child or case. From the phone?
That is very strange.
Why not just say “pneumonia” if that’s the case.
For those who are interested, I found this on a USA Today Q&A.
Q: elejohn asked: We’ve been told about the flu symptoms, but what actually causes death?
A: Beyond compromising the lungs, the flu can impair organ function across the body. That’s why people with underlying heart and kidney disease are so vulnerable to the flu, says William Schaffner, a professor at Vandebilt University School of Medicine. The flu can damage the lungs, lead to bacterial pneumonia, which can be deadly. Pneumonia causes many of the 200,000 hospitalizations due to flu each year, as well as many of the 36,000 annual deaths.
That was my question. I thought I saw something that said the Mexican deaths were due to pneumonia but I will go back and check. If so, it makes Besser's answer even weirder.
2 cases of H1N1 flu in Florida confirmed by Florida Governor per Fox news just now.
I'm actually OK with Swine or Pig. Swine sounds more, uh.... professorial.
Those counties confirmed in Florida are Broward and Lee.
We're with you on that.
I sure wouldn't hit the panic button unless this thing becomes more virulent, and spreads faster and farther- but being prepared is just good sense.
I was talking to a friend the other day and I told her that when we see “signs” or have “warnings” and we ignore the warnings, well, if nothing happens, then we forget all about it but if, perchance, the warnings turn out to be legitimate harbingers of things to come, well, then we’d be kicking ourselves in the butt at our stupidity for not preparing. I like to think that I have better things to do than kicking myself in the butt.
It's kind of like "having a gun on you" ( as we say down South )-- if you have it and never need it, no harm done.
If you need it, and don't have it, well, you're screwed... better to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.
must read ping :)
Must Read Ping :)
H1N1 is the more proper term. If it were truly swine flu, Congress would all be on life support.
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