HINI Swine Flu

[Ron-NY]

well...the Flu epidemic of 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people, 1/5 of the world's population at that time. When it emerged in the spring of 1918 a few people died, when it struck in the fall of that year it was more rampant...some people died within hours of the first symptom others it took days. Their lungs filled with fluid and they drowned. We will again see this, maybe not with H1N1 but with another epidemic. I know these stats for my grandfather lost one of his wives to that flu.


I am not a proponent of flu vaccines but I did get a regular flu shot this year. A couple of weeks ago I came down with the Flu. I am assuming it was the H1N1. For me it was fairly mild. low grade fever, body aches, mild cough, fatigue, headache...near the end I had stomach and intestinal symptoms as well. It took about a week to recover.

It needs to be a personal decision but consider prior stats when making a decision.

 

[Kavanaru]

well...the Flu epidemic of 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people, 1/5 of the world's population at that time. When it emerged in the spring of 1918 a few people died, when it struck in the fall of that year it was more rampant...some people died within hours of the first symptom others it took days. Their lungs filled with fluid and they drowned.

We will again see this, maybe not with H1N1 but with another.
I am not a proponent of flu vaccines but I did get a regular flu shot this year. A couple of weeks ago I came down with the Flu. I am assuming it was the H1N1. For me it was fairly mild. low grade fever, body aches, mild cough, fatigue, headache...near the end I had stomach and intestinal symptoms as well. It took about a week to recover.

Ron, you are completely right here. That's why everybody was in alert when the first cases of avian Flu were detected (the Flu from 1918 has been confirmed to be avian flu, and not swine flu). Luckily, the avian flu virus has not learned to jump from human to human, however the swine flu virus, which is closely related to avian flu has done. If by chance both virus or avian plus human flu occur in the same host, there is a high chance that both viruses get mixed, and then you can have a situation like in 1918!!

important to keep in mind is that Flu Symptoms are similar but quite different than normal cold (and you would be surprised how many people mix them up!). Flu symptoms (no matter if human, swine or avian) start very quick and strong, while cold starts quite slow increasing severity with time. So, if your symptoms are quick.. go to the doctor!




P.S.- Not Flu related... it's 11:00 pm here and my flat is more or less dark now. While I am writting these lines I have been "hit" by "flashes" of a very strong and sweet fragrance.. I have been wondering all the time what it is... I just saw now that my cleaning lady moved my Bc Maikai and put it on the top of my acuarium... WOW!!! These plant has been in bloom since 1 week, and I had not been able to detect any fragrance in it.... it is just fantastic!!

 

[ohio-guy]

well...the Flu epidemic of 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people, 1/5 of the world's population at that time.

Actually the world population was higher at the time according to wickipedia....An estimated 50 million people, about 3% of the world's population (approximately 1.6 billion at the time), died of the disease. An estimated 500 million, or 1/3 were infected.[5]
Still a tremendous loss of life, and when one sees such numbers, one can understand why vaccines can be a great benefit.

 

[Lanmark]

{ Hey Ramón, how sweet about the Bc Maikai I love it when orchids are nicely fragrant! }

It is my understanding that the 1918 Flu Pandemic has now been confirmed to have been caused by an H1N1 type variant and not an Avian Flu type, but perhaps I am mistaken.

There's one thing I would like to make perfectly clear, and I hope everyone will read this. I do not ridicule or "look down upon" anyone who chooses not to get a flu vaccination of any type for any reason. I respect each and every one of you no matter what you choose to do with your personal healthcare decisions. I respect you. I respect your choices.

My main concern and reason for making so many posts here in this thread is that I care. I genuinely like people, especially orchid people and I'd be very sad to hear that any of you had suffered some terrible complication (or worse) from either the flu illness itself or from getting vaccinated for it.

I also have a pet peeve for misinformation, and there seems to be a lot of it floating around this year regarding a wide variety of hot topics. Sometimes bits of information presented to us as factual are just exactly that: they are indisputable facts. Sometimes the things we hear are only a matter of opinion. Separating fact from opinion can often be more than a little bit difficult in this day and age.

Regarding both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu and their respective vaccines, my sincere hope is that each of you will take the time to ensure that the information you have is factually accurate. An informed decision is a good decision. Whether or not you decide to get a flu vaccination, it is a judgement call, pure and simple. You take what you know and combine it with what you feel is best. For some it's an easy "yes" or "no" and for others it's more complicated than that. Ultimately we must each take ownership of the decisions we make for ourselves, and as friends we can all be supportive of one other's decisions as well. That's what friends do.



I'm so happy to be a part of this great forum and I hope my big pushy posts regarding the flu haven't offended any of you. That was not my intent, but if that is what I accomplished, I hope you will accept my sincere and heartfelt apologies. I plan to stick around a good long while and learn about Slippers. I am a "virgin" after all. :rollhappy:

 

[Kavanaru]

{ Hey Ramón, how sweet about the Bc Maikai I love it when orchids are nicely fragrant! }

this was really a very nice surprise... I was already surprised that having B nodosa in the background it was not fragrant...

It is my understanding that the 1918 Flu Pandemic has now been confirmed to have been caused by an H1N1 type variant and not an Avian Flu type, but perhaps I am mistaken.

The virus was isolated from frozen tissues from victims in Alaska or Canada (don't remember correctly).. That's why you also have the "World Conspiracy theory" running around that these FLU pandemic was set on purpose to reduce the world population and solve many of the financial problems we currently have... or something like that...

I also have a pet peeve for misinformation, and there seems to be a lot of it floating around this year regarding a wide variety of hot topics.

hit the nail on the head!!

I am a "virgin" after all. :rollhappy:

you wish... oke::rollhappy:

 

[Wendy]

There's one thing I would like to make perfectly clear, and I hope everyone will read this. I do not ridicule or "look down upon" anyone who chooses not to get a flu vaccination of any type for any reason. I respect each and every one of you no matter what you choose to do with your personal healthcare decisions. I respect you. I respect your choices.

Thank you. I was getting a bit peeved at the tone of some posts. Myself I choose to fore go the flu shots. Not because of any media hyped rumours but because it is my personal choice. I do however understand the frustration of listening to the naysayers who only listen to rumours. And thank you for caring.

 

[SlipperFan]

I just wish there was enough of both normal flu and H1N1 vaccine available -- I'd like to be able to make a choice!

 

[Clark]

A little clean up for my last post--My wife's coworker had the regular flu shot before she became ill, NOT the H1N1. She just cleared this up with me.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

The 1918 flu has been shown to be most closely related to Avian flu...so I guess you can say that the 1918 flu was a bird flu...but there are some 1918 genes incorporated into H1N1, leading to the confusion that H1N1 is the same as the 1918 version.
"it's just a little prick and I'll take it any day".....I wish all the little pricks I had to deal with were as useful............................Take care, Eric

 

[Jimsox]

I just get 'em because they make me sick, blame it on my employer for offering them free and get a few more days off!!!