I have been pretty nonchalant about the whole H1N1 flu virus thing, writing it off as media sensationalizing. I thought it was just another flu, and sometimes old people and babies die from "the flu", any flu, anyway. It won't kill someone in decent health.

My wife called crying cuz one of her dear friend math professors had died of mysterious causes. She felt funny on Monday, took an afternoon nap, and woke up with breathing difficulty. They rushed her to the hospital, where her lungs filled with fluid and she died wednesday. The county health department determined that it was a bacterial infection brought on by the effects of the virus.

This gal was 49 years old, the same age as my wife (my wife returned to college at 45). She was healthy and active, and it knocked her out in two days.

Hmmm.... I am not panicing yet, but I am starting to re-evaluate my cynicism about N1H1.

DUDE, this is the real deal, my understanding is over 86 school age kids have died from this already. i have several friends with kids in college that have been quarintined with it. and there have been some deaths from it locally...

any flu can be and is deadly. it's kind of natures way to ween out the week. so hopefully everybody is keeping themselves healthy and we make it threw this with little loss.

maybe the media is blowing this up a bit, but b.s. aside, any flu is to be taken seriously. if you get it at an inoppritune time, it can cost your life.

i don't think the government would be handing out several million doses of medicine, if they thought it would just blow by...

Gibbons...thank you for sharing...I recently had an old girlfriend die of the same thing a few weeks back. She was a Nurse and "thought" well, I'm just sick from work. Well, two days go bye and she's not feeling any better. She is admitted to the hospital and three days later she is dead...38 years old.

It can and will sneak up on people.

DUDE, this is the real deal, my understanding is over 86 school age kids have died from this already. i have several friends with kids in college that have been quarintined with it. and there have been some deaths from it locally...

any flu can be and is deadly. it's kind of natures way to ween out the week. so hopefully everybody is keeping themselves healthy and we make it threw this with little loss.

maybe the media is blowing this up a bit, but b.s. aside, any flu is to be taken seriously. if you get it at an inoppritune time, it can cost your life.

i don't think the government would be handing out several million doses of medicine, if they thought it would just blow by...

That is one that you still have to wait and see if she had an undiagnosed health condition that went along with it. That seems to be the norm with this flu.
Odds are she had some symptoms before she got that bad and passed it off as a slight cold or allergies!
Our family doctor has a nurse going hrough charts and calling his patients with seasonal allergies and lung problems telling them to come in the minute they have any symptoms to be on the safe side!
This flu is bsically like the regular ecept it has more defined light or bad cases with what seems to be no middle ground.
One to be wary of for sure.

app. the flu weakens you enough so you catch something else, thats what nails you

I work with the Urgent Care Centers and Doctor Offices supported by our local hospital and I see everyday that this is a real threat. It's not typically fatal to anyone that is healthy. Even regular strains of flu kill people in when they have other underlying health problems. It is hitting lots of people and it is smart to pay attention to symptoms you may have. They are saying that most anyone that goes out in public has been exposed to it. We have seen patient numbers double and triple at our care centers, along with shortages of face masks, flu test kits and other related products.

For what it's worth, the symptoms are about the same as for a cold, bronchitis, or pneumonia. Sore throat, cough, fever, nausea, headache. If you get all those, it is probably worthwhile to seek treatment after a day or two.

Keep your hands clean, don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth! That is about all you can do to protect yourself.

I had it and the doc was very clear that if it moved into my lungs or I got streep symptoms to get to the ER right away.

There was a 13 year old healthy boy die early this week from H1N1, so far it appears he was healthy, very active hockey player. The supply for the vaccination is in short supply for next week, and its being reported that only people in the 6 high risk categories will be vaccinated next week. No healthy adults will be vaccinated. It sounds like the government dropped the ball on the amount of people planning on getting the shot. People are lined up for 6 hours outside here. Daren

"Except for children (114 CONFIRMED), CDC officials do not keep an exact count of all U.S. swine flu deaths, but say the number has surpassed 1,000. They don't have a tally of all swine flu illnesses, either, but say many millions have been at least mildly sickened by the virus since it was first identified in April.

Each year 50 to 100 American children die from complications of seasonal flu, which tends to hit the elderly the hardest. Seasonal flu kills an estimated 36,000 Americans annually."

First of all, it's really a shame people are dying from this. This could have been better handled after the "horse came out the barn", but that argument is stuff for CE...I think PapaJohn is right; they will probably find underlying conditions in nearly all the people that die of this.

Here is a new article written by Der Spiegel (Germany) about what the German health department thinks about Swine Flu in spite of starting mass inoculations. It also illustrates how the drug makers are really shocked that it only takes ONE shot in an adult to produce anti-bodies to ward off a supposed new to all of us virus. There could be reasons for this, as stated in the article.

This isn't a liberal rag, or something off of infowars. This article is from a legitimate German magazine and is being put out there by what can be argued to be a pretty conservative American business magazine.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2009/gb20091029_242884.htm

Just more info for us to ponder so we can make informed decisions..

It also illustrates how the drug makers are really shocked that it only takes ONE shot in an adult to produce anti-bodies to ward off a supposed new to all of us virus.

But it's NOT new to all of us.

1918 "Spanish Flu" was H1N1. And it also came around in 1957 and 1976.

Granted, there are differences even among H1N1 flu's but if you do some research on Spanish Flu, you'll find some parallels with the current one.

I have theories as to why seemingly healthy people are dying but I'd never be able to find out so I guess it doesn't matter much.

I and several other will be getting the shots in November. I hope this works and I'm scarred to death. Take my chances with the vaccine or take the chance with the swine flu? I've been sick already and we went to the doctor before it got worse. Turned out, it was a nasty allergy infection. I rarely get sick nowadays.

I could be wrong, but doesn't the flu kill people every year? The schools were all supposed to get the vaccine last week but it was gone within a day or two. I plan on getting the vaccine and having my kids vaccinated if/when it's available again.

I have been studying the research data quite a bit on H1N1 and there have been some interesting findings. One of the main reasons that alot of us, shall I say "more mature" folks are not dying from the flu is that it more closely mimics the 1918 and 1957 varieties so that those of use who had contracted these strains already have a great natural defense built up for this. One benefit from being older I guess. The primary kill mechanism for the flu stems from widespread alveoli thrombosis or "micro bloodclots" that inhibit oxygen transport. That is why it hits people with compromised respiritory systems harder. If you know anyone that has anything like asthma, COPD, emphesema, urge them strongly to get the vaccine. It is much more prevalent than most of us know. Here in southern PA, many schools are suffering 30-45% absence. The hospitals here have quit testing for the virus (500.00 a pop by the way) since every case they have tested recently has been confirmed H1N1. The only blessing if you can call it that is that it has not mutated into a form that moves more easily from swine and poultry to humans. By the way, most of the research shows that even a regular seasonal flu shot appears to prevent the very worst effects of this flu. You may still get sick but your chances of dying from it are reduced over 100 times. Just some things to think about.

How does someone TODAY have immunity by having "contracted" the 1918 flu? How old are these people?! Over 100? If someone were 2 in 1918, they'd be 93 years old..I can see the '57 season having some influence on this, and even the vaccine from '76. But 1918? How many people living today are over 93 years old? I'm no medical expert, but I have never heard of immune system memory being hereditary.

I DO think this flu is a bad deal for many people and people should be cautious by washing hands, eating well, etc.. However, I think the lines for shots and panic being whipped up lies on the shoulders of the media. YES, it is an issue, but there are over 300 MILLION people in the USA, and less than 10000 people have died. That is literally a drop in a drop in the bucket.

Heck, less than 100000 people in the WORLD have died, and we're over what now? Close to 7 BILLION?!

It IS an issue, it IS bad for those who are sick and those that have died. However, a daily body count from Swine flu is beginning to get ridiculous, IMHO.

How does someone TODAY have immunity by having "contracted" the 1918 flu? How old are these people?! Over 100? If someone were 2 in 1918, they'd be 93 years old..I can see the '57 season having some influence on this, and even the vaccine from '76. But 1918? How many people living today are over 93 years old? I'm no medical expert, but I have never heard of immune system memory being hereditary.

I DO think this flu is a bad deal for many people and people should be cautious by washing hands, eating well, etc.. However, I think the lines for shots and panic being whipped up lies on the shoulders of the media. YES, it is an issue, but there are over 300 MILLION people in the USA, and less than 10000 people have died. That is literally a drop in a drop in the bucket.

Heck, less than 100000 people in the WORLD have died, and we're over what now? Close to 7 BILLION?!

It IS an issue, it IS bad for those who are sick and those that have died. However, a daily body count from Swine flu is beginning to get ridiculous, IMHO.
Actually the info provided is to prevent panic and to hopefully stimulate some awareness into this disease. You're right about those individuals still living from 1918, but many of us were around in 1957 and the body does remember viral signatures. the main point to remember is that the number of people dying right now could be only the tip of the iceberg since we are only a few weeks into this flu season. With any luck at all, this strain of the H1N1 will not mutate into a form with the more deadly characteristics of the 1918 flu which killed over 20 million people in a time when travel was not that popular.

My understanding is that Canada had ordered 40M vaccines which is more than our population. These were to roll in over a two month period of October and November. The vaccines were first made available here on a mass scale in the past ten days. There has been such a demand that the Government has now said it will need to cut back on a lot of the clinics due to enough vaccines just not arriving in time. As of next week, here in Ontario, vaccines will be restricted to people that fall into the six major risk categories. Others will have to wait a while. My wife and I got ours this past Wednesday and our wait in the lineup was about 2 1/2 hours. We both fall into one of those six high risk categories. Although there is a lot of propaganda being circulated against getting the vaccine, I think it is wise to get it. So far there has been approximately 100 deaths in Canada attributed to this flu strain.

Actually the info provided is to prevent panic and to hopefully stimulate some awareness into this disease. You're right about those individuals still living from 1918, but many of us were around in 1957 and the body does remember viral signatures. the main point to remember is that the number of people dying right now could be only the tip of the iceberg since we are only a few weeks into this flu season. With any luck at all, this strain of the H1N1 will not mutate into a form with the more deadly characteristics of the 1918 flu which killed over 20 million people in a time when travel was not that popular.

I have to disagree about the media. While I think it IS a good idea to raise awareness, I don't think we need a daily body count for Swine flu. We have been bombarded with this since April and it is getting old. It's hard to turn it off if you want to have an idea what's going on in the world. I'm not saying it's not a threat, just that there is only so much that can be done from our side of the fence. People are told to wash up, cover coughs. etc., and that is fine and good advice, however people are also being told to get a vaccine that isn't available for them to get.

As the article I posted stated, researchers are believing that there is more immunity build up from other strains of flu than just those in 1957 and earlier. That is one factor that seems to be a reason why one ONE shot is needed instead of two.

If there is any redeeming value about this whole fracus in the USA, it certainly isn't making much of a case for government efficiency in health care issues.

Something to listen to. Dr. Russell Blaylock is a retired neurosurgeon so he isn't just some loose cannon spouting off.

YouTube - Russell Blaylock part 1 of 4

How does someone TODAY have immunity by having "contracted" the 1918 flu? How old are these people?! Over 100? If someone were 2 in 1918, they'd be 93 years old..I can see the '57 season having some influence on this, and even the vaccine from '76. But 1918? How many people living today are over 93 years old? I'm no medical expert, but I have never heard of immune system memory being hereditary.

One thing to think about is if you get a virus, and survive of course, you get lifetime immunity from it. Something you DON'T get with a vaccine.

And you most certainly do get some measure of resistance passed on from your parents, that's what evolution is all about. If both parents lived through Spanish Flu, you'd be much better equipped.

Also, I have been doing a fair amount of looking. Do some Googling about the rate of use of the new "wonder drug" in 1918....ASPIRIN.

Seems the treatment at the time was 8000-32000mg/day(!) of aspirin. More than enough to be nearly lethal on it's own.

I wonder how many of the recent deaths have tried to "break" their fever by using aspirin or something similar. Acetaminophen is nearly as an effective blood thinner as aspirin.

People don't allow their body to work the way it was designed to do. Fevers must be managed of course, but having an elevated temp is your body's defense working. If you short circuit it with something, things aren't going to work right.

And these vaccines do the same thing. I think we have traded short term discomfort for long term health.

I can't say for sure I've ever had the flu, but I had something that fit the description once. After three days, I had to call 911 because my electrolytes got so low, my muscles started to spasm. Again, my body worked as it was designed to do by spasming the extremities first. But your diaphragm and your heart are muscles too. At the last minute, I was finally able to keep some Gatoraide down. When the EMT's showed up, I signed the refusal and send them away.

If you are worried about this flu, I suggest keeping Gatoraide or Pedialyte on hand. It's much better than water for keeping your electrolytes up.