Swine flu (not about me)

I'm not worried about getting swine flue or the people around me getting swine flu, but then none of us would be particularly high risk. I can totally see why other people are worried though.

I am a lot more worried, personally, about the effect it will have on the business because as it spreads we lose appointments from people who have it/have been in contact with someone who has. Swine flu + recession could = bankruptcy

L
xx

lois - that's the one thing i never thought of in terms of the effects of swine flu.

at the moment, swine flu is sort of festering at the back of my mind. i'm trying not to panic about it - i'm "comforting" myself with the thought that at the moment it's still "mild" and that most people are recovering from it. but i do worry about what might happen if my gran gets it or if other members of my family get it. i can't even begin to imagine how frightening it must be for those who are immunocomprimised, or who at risk.

i suppose i've got my head in the sand about it all really. but it does worry me how the health service will cope, and just what knock on effects a significant rise in need for medical treatment will have on the more "day to day" medical needs of the country, and i suppose the knock on effects mass sickness could have on, well, everything else.

i think i'm just going to try and not think about it. and maybe reserve a space in an underground bunker with a stockpile of lemsip <hollow laugh>

I am concerned about it, for my children. One of them particularly so, he is only 11 months, and already has a life threatening condition, i honestly dont know what could happen if he gets it. Not only that, but if the people who normally treat him get it, who will he see? So i am beginning to start really worrying, but at the same time i am trying to be rational.

Lois, you know this thought came into my head. I promise I am not a paranoid monkey but I have interviews in the next coming weeks and keep thinking "what if I get swine flu".

the guy that sits next to me says he is waiting for the mass panic food buying as the next thing, where people but any food they can and riots start because they are locking themselves in doors. Admittedly he said alot of jokes about yucky UHT milk and tins of beans, but still I guess where this is emotive people will react.

I don't blame you. I think there is a chance as it spreads that people may be ADVISED not to go to unnecessary places - now THAT I find scary. So I am not stressing about health, but I AM stressing.

L
xx

just to add form a Primary care management POV we are working non-stop at the moment and have , certainly in my area so one assumes this is happening across the board within LHBs and PCTs we have plans in place for anti viral centres, plans ready if the need arises to close GP practices down etc stuff if being done in the background to prepare as best we can for if the situation worsens. We have contacts for retired health care professionals who are happy to come out of retirement to help as well as information on who has clinical skills which can be called upon, we will mostly have non clinical staff manning 24 hour centres issuing anti virals if needed etc I freeing up clinicians for the most important work.. I certainly am not overly concerned at the moment I’m more worried about autumn when seasonal flu kicks in with this added pressure on top….

The worse thing that is happening to affect us certainly locally in Wales is the panic. Letters sent home from school mentioning suspected cases ( which is all they are at the mo as we are not testing anymore just treating..) have really panicked the population, GPs here are overrun with people turning up/calling etc this is the biggest problem for us..

I'm not particularly concerned for myself or H getting it because we're healthy but my little girl - who is 2 years and 10 months has asthma and I'm extremely concerned about the effects if she catches it.

A quick question - the vaccine they are working on. Is this to be offered to all at risk groups? Or is it to be administered to people in the front line of dealing with it to prevent further spread?

Am moderately concerned, with both me and H being asthmatic.

More concerned about MIL as she was in hospital with flu a few years ago,

Does anyone know the different from the estimations of swine flu from this winder and cases of sydney fly in 99/00? I am having trouble trying to remember anything about it, but apparently it was quite big

Medical staff first, then high risk groups, then anyone else that wants it.

Although it will be at least september before the first doses start rolling out, so probably Oct / Nov before your daughter would get any.

I posted this a while back, so will try to remember . . .

Seasonal norm is around 3-4000 deaths

IIRC Sydney 'flu (which arrived at the same time as a second respiratory virus) was about 20,000

The last biggie was 1989/90 when around 30,000 died.

Data for H1N1 is still sketchy, but mortality seems to be no greater than 0.1%, so even assuming the worst case scenario of 50% of the population being infected, we are looking at no more than 30,000 deaths, and probably considerably less. So comparable with Sydney flu.

Society didn't break down then, and won't this time, as long as people remain calm.

Bizarrely, there are less than 8 million people in switzerland, and they have ordered 13 million doses of the vaccine. Not sure what theya re planning to do with 5 million spare!

2 doses per person for full immunity I believe.

Thanks for that P&AP. I'm not particularly worried for the summer now as we've done all our classes etc.

She starts pre-school in September and I'd like her to be vaccinated before the winter sets in as that's when she suffers worst.

AH ok - that makes sense. So immunising 6.5 Million of the 7+mill. They haven't explained that in any of the news articles, just said how many doses they have ordered.

Surprisingly its completely dropped off the radar in the US. I presume we've got the same infection rate/ mortality but there is nothing on the news or in the papers that i'm seeing.

That sounds just like my work. No appointments, angry patients, 30+ calls a day about swine flu, stressed staff, GP's who take it out on staff = complete surgery meltdown. 60% of our patient base at the surgery I work for is 65+, another site in the practice has 6,000 students at their site. Its hard enough to manage normal everyday problems without Swine Flu.

I am worried, I am asthmatic and my H is unwell at the moment, it may just be a cold, it may be more than that, there are more and more cases here everyday according to the paper. Its natural to worry and IMO this is something that is worth worrying about.

Since moving from accurate figures (testing every individual) with daily updates, to weekly estimates the whole thing becomes a lot less newsworthy. The same thing is happening here, we're just a few weeks behind you on the progress of the disease.

Just FYI, in the US, infection rates are well past the million mark (CDC) with over 200 deaths. In some urban hotspots 1 in 15 people have it.

Nothing from the US is suggesting it will be significantly worse than seasonal flu. Yet.

I'm a bit concerned now as am diabetic, but at least know I will be immunised quickly if need be.

However my blood sugar this morning was mental, I rung my doctor for some advice was told it may be afternoon before I got a call back. Scary stuff.

Some more info on infection rates / severity here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ferguswalsh

? Rache and others in front line health care.

I'm scared, really scared. To the point I'm starting to want to stay at home all the the time but I know that's silly as I only leave the house 2-3 times a week anyway.

In the last month, I've had chicken pox for the fourth time and an unidentified virus. I have no immune system and I'm really worried about getting it. I'm not worried about dying from it, that hasn't even crossed my mind, I just know if I do get it, I'll be very poorly. I've had proper flu twice and was housebound for 3 months each time, I managed one bath a week so my mum could wash my hair and then prop me up to get back to bed where she then had to dry me. She had to give me a bed bath and change my pyjamas every day. I couldn't really eat, although my mum would leave things to tempt me every morning and afternoon (she came home from work at lunchtime) If was at least 6 weeks before I made it downstairs as I physically couldn't do it. It was bloody horrible. The thought of the person who has to care for me if I do get it catching it from me makes me want to cry.

In reply to the poster Re: A&E attendance, if the person concerned is very unwell, unconcious etc, yes, do ring 999, but it's the 'worried well' that prevent the system from working effectively. The A&E doctor went home today as she was convinved she has SF, she did not and has not had a temp, which is one of the main components of diagnosing SF.

She sounds a bit of a numpty. FFS.

Yes, if you're getting more unwell, symptoms are not typical, if there' s a rash, distressed breathing, cold hands and feet esp with colour change, altered consciousness, stiff neck [not just sore neck ie can you put yr chin on yr chest] - ie signs it's not "just" flu, or that it's something else entirely, then seek medical help ASAP

I defence of Mel... schools are being encouraged by LEAs to play it down. In Birmingham, several schools were closed last month. The flu still spread. Several schools in my area of Brum, , including my own school, have had cases and we have remained open. For those of us working in education this has given us a false sense of security, that it's being hyped out of proportion by the media, and that it's not as bad as it sounds. I have to admit that if I hadn't read Rache's comments here I'd have had no clue how awful it is in Doctors' surgeries right now.

Rache - quick question if you're still about.

Fred has started tamiflu tonight - Isabel is OK, so I guess can go into school . Or do we both stay in for the next 7 days?

I'm not concerned for myself, but i am very concerned for my elderly grandparents, and my cousins' children (4 yo girl and 9mo twins, one of whom hasn't been very well recently).

I've been ill all weekend with some of the symptoms of swine flu, temperature, severe sickness and diarhea, aching limbs, and i also just slept for hours and hours and hours but it never occurred to me to see a doctor, nor did my mum tell me to phone the doctor. i recovered within 72 hours. similarly my parents and one sister were very ill for 8 days with flu eight weeks ago, which the doctor suspected may have been swine flu but none of them were ill enough to apparently warrant a visit from the doctor or any anti-viral drugs, but were asked to stay in the house as much as possible and all made full recoveries so the doctor still doesnt know whether they did infact have swine flu or whether it was just normal flu/cold like symptoms. Another girl where i work has phoned in today saying the doctor suspects she has had swine flu and has been qarantined for up to three days but that she possibly is in the final stages of the illness if she does have it. several people at work were panicking today about it though.

i suppose the reason i'm not worried is that if i start worrying i will get it i will infact make myself ill in other ways, as i have an anxiety disorder, so i am just trying not to think about it.

I spoke to my friend yesterday (she is in Haywards heath) She has been told she has swine flu, and has been taking Tamiflu. I asked if she had been tested, she said no, the Docs in her area are just assuming now that any flu is swine flu and are prescribing Tamiflu for it. There are too may people now with it to do the test.

She has 2 kids and has been in their spare room since the weekend and just prays that neither has it (particularly as one of them is under 1)