Estimated 47 million americans had h1n1...

[Cliff]

From april to mid-november. One in 6 people in this country. I suspect the number is really higher as the symptoms are varying so much. A fair number of people are even thought to be asymtomatic.
There have been as many people hospitalized with h1n1 as are normally hospitalized in a year with the regular flu, and regular flu season hasn't even started.
Almost 10,000 ppl have died from h1n1 so far. That we know of.
There are normally 3 waves with a flu like this, so far we've had 2. With the regular flu season about to crank up hopefully h1n1 won't mutate in a bad way by them combining.
We've been fortunate that morbidity and mortality haven't been worse with the tremendously high infection rates we've seen. I can't imagine the devastation if it were to combine with say the avian flu with it's high mortality rate.
Maybe mother nature has decided it's time to cull a few humans? We have basically become a plague upon the earth...

[Melissa]

I really think I had it in October when that horrible sickness hit me. I had never had such body aches and had anything hit me so fast. On our local news they basically said if you had the flu at that time it most likely was H1N1.

[texican]

I think H1N1 was a hyped up scare... people die from the flu each year... I'm wondering what the statistics are comparing h1n1 vs. the latest flu du jour. Of course you know what they say about statistics.

The same demographics that swine flu has taken down, imho, are the same folks that are always susceptible to the flu.

If h1n1 were to indeed mutate into a more deadly variety, we'd all be in trouble, as there'd be no vaccine or cure available in time. So, we dodge the bullet again. If, we know about a flu variety a year in advance, it's not going to be a threat to humanity, as we can get the strains into labs and prepare vaccines.

[Cliff]

Originally Posted by texican

I think H1N1 was a hyped up scare... people die from the flu each year... I'm wondering what the statistics are comparing h1n1 vs. the latest flu du jour. Of course you know what they say about statistics.

The same demographics that swine flu has taken down, imho, are the same folks that are always susceptible to the flu.

If h1n1 were to indeed mutate into a more deadly variety, we'd all be in trouble, as there'd be no vaccine or cure available in time. So, we dodge the bullet again. If, we know about a flu variety a year in advance, it's not going to be a threat to humanity, as we can get the strains into labs and prepare vaccines.

The same numbers of people get sick with, are hospilized with, and die with the regular flu each year as have happened with h1n1 from april thru the middle of nov this yr. So you can figure that if nothing mutates we will have twice the amount of illness and death from flu by the time regular flu season is over than we usually have.
And the demographics have not been the same with h1n1, almost the opposite of normal flu demographics in fact.
Yes, the big trouble will come if we have a mutation on the third wave of h1n1, or if it mutates with the avian flu during the asian flu season.
The flu vaccine isn't a panacea. I'm very leery of taking it as I have a few auto-immune issues and the risk for guillian-barre syndrome seems to be higher for people with auto-immune disease.

[therunbunch]

DH and I had swineflue while in El Paso with his job this past April. When we asked the doctor what we had, he just said, "Well, we don't quite know yet, but it has been taking out entire families." Nice. 2 weeks later, swine flu was all over the news.

It was THE worst illness we've ever had. Miraculously, our children didn't end up with it. We are not vaccinating against it though.

[manygoatsnmore]

I am not sure if what I had was H1N1 or not - I wasn't as sick as a lot of folks, but had to rely on my inhaler, which I don't normally have to do much, and I slept and slept. Never had a high temp, but had a low grade one that kept me off work for over 2 weeks (RN, hospital has a must be totally afebrile without fever reducing meds for >24hrs policy).

We did and are seeing a lot of H1N1 flu at our hospital, and it's not slowing down. If anything, it is escalating. Add to this, the regular flu season which is normally starting up by this time of year here, and that adds up to quite a lot of sick people. It doesn't matter what statistics you are looking at, if you are the one sick, it's 100% for you.

eta: Cliff, I know you are an RN in ICU - what are you personally seeing?

[Cliff]

The same as you. A steady/maybe increasing (r/t thanksgiving holiday travel?) number of patients. We're having a really hard time keeping isolation supplies.

[simplemaninPR]

The Swine flu showed up in the 1970's and the immunization killed many people. What is it to say that this will not happen again? I personally, will take my chances and avoid contact and immunizations. Too much hype on TV to get your shots. I just don't trust any of it.

Ernest

[DQ]

From april to mid-november. One in 6 people in this country. I suspect the number is really higher as the symptoms are varying so much. A fair number of people are even thought to be asymtomatic.

There have been as many people hospitalized with h1n1 as are normally hospitalized in a year with the regular flu, and regular flu season hasn't even started.

this flu season starte earlier so it stands to reason that more people have had it and been hospitilized then would have had the regular flu in a regular year at this time.


Almost 10,000 ppl have died from h1n1 so far. That we know of.
There are normally 3 waves with a flu like this, so far we've had 2. With the regular flu season about to crank up hopefully h1n1 won't mutate in a bad way by them combining.

more people have been exposed, so more people will have natural immunity now. this hasn't followed the normal pattern so I don't think the normal pattern has very good predictive value.


We've been fortunate that morbidity and mortality haven't been worse with the tremendously high infection rates we've seen. I can't imagine the devastation if it were to combine with say the avian flu with it's high mortality rate.[I]

generally speaking the more severe a virus is the less communicable it is. if it make people really sick and die then it is passed on less frequently. the high infection rates are indicitive that it is mild enough that people are staying out and about passing it around, just chugging nyquil.


Maybe mother nature has decided it's time to cull a few humans? We have basically become a plague upon the earth...

[AR Cattails]

Well, I hope we made the right decision. Only time will tell. Yesterday the health department was giving free flu shots, both the regular and H1N1. I had already received the regular flu shot from an earlier flu clinic when H1N1 wasn't offered to the general public. But I decided not to go yesterday and receive the H1N1 when it was offered.

My youngest son went yesterday and he, too, chose to only get the regular flu shot. My oldest son, who is scared of needles, doctors, nurses and anything medical, chose to receive neither. I pray he doesn't get it as his overall health is not good.

Like I said, only time will tell whether we made the right decisions or not.

[Shagbarkmtcatle]

A guy that we do some subcontracting work for has a wife that works at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md where she, "Plays with germs" as he terms it, he said last summer that scientists wheren't really concerned about H1N1 that it was the media that was blowing it all up. But, there was something else they were more concerned about and they were watching closely but she wasn't at liberty to talk about it even with her husband so he didn't know what it was.

[Wayne02]

When does 'flu season' end?

[Kipper]

Originally Posted by texican

I think H1N1 was a hyped up scare... people die from the flu each year... I'm wondering what the statistics are comparing h1n1 vs. the latest flu du jour. Of course you know what they say about statistics.

The same demographics that swine flu has taken down, imho, are the same folks that are always susceptible to the flu.

If h1n1 were to indeed mutate into a more deadly variety, we'd all be in trouble, as there'd be no vaccine or cure available in time. So, we dodge the bullet again. If, we know about a flu variety a year in advance, it's not going to be a threat to humanity, as we can get the strains into labs and prepare vaccines.

I'm with you on this one, Tex

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm with Tex. Hype. :baby04:

[Tbird79]

Nothing irritates me more than stubborn people who are basically in denial when they are sick with anything. From a cold to a flu. Dang it...if you are sick...Don't spread it around...STAY HOME! Period! I get so tired of people who just flat deny that they are sick. Nevermind that chartreuse colored loogie I just hacked up. I'm not sick! Geeze! There would be a lot less spread of illness if people wouldn't go out when they're sick!

[Kipper]

Originally Posted by Tbird79

Nothing irritates me more than stubborn people who are basically in denial when they are sick with anything. From a cold to a flu. Dang it...if you are sick...Don't spread it around...STAY HOME! Period! I get so tired of people who just flat deny that they are sick. Nevermind that chartreuse colored loogie I just hacked up. I'm not sick! Geeze! There would be a lot less spread of illness if people wouldn't go out when they're sick!

I agree, most things are just not sooooooo important that they can't wait a few days to get done.

[Quiver0f10]

So 47,000,000 people ( but est are higher) had swine flu and 10,000 died. Sounds like media hype.

[Cliff]

Easy for you armchair quarterbacks to say it's media hype. Agreed it's nowhere near as bad as it could be, but it's killing young normally healthy people. The really scary thing is seeing how many people have gotten it and realizing how bad it could be with one small mutation. That was sorta my point.
Had to bag and tag a previously healthy 40 yr old who it killed last week. His lungs were destroyed and he died a miserable death. He left behind a wife and 3 kids. I don't think he or his family thought it was hype that killed him.

[Quiver0f10]

Originally Posted by Cliff

Easy for you armchair quarterbacks to say it's media hype. Agreed it's nowhere near as bad as it could be, but it's killing young normally healthy people. The really scary thing is seeing how many people have gotten it and realizing how bad it could be with one small mutation. That was sorta my point.

Had to bag and tag a previously healthy 40 yr old who it killed last week. His lungs were destroyed and he died a miserable death. He left behind a wife and 3 kids. I don't think he or his family thought it was hype that killed him.

Yes, it does kill and yes it is awful when that happens. But, like I said before, 10K out of 47 million( and probably a lot more than 47 million according to the original post) is not a deadly flu and therefore I stand by my original post that the media hyped this up. I think the seasonal flu kills more annually.

[Hears The Water]

Well, if the bug I had in Sept. was the Swine Flu, I can understand how come it is killing people. Most of the folks that are at highest risk (from what I have read) are those with lung issues. Asthmatics, the obese, heart patients... etc.

While I was blessed that what I had didn't knock me on my keester, It messed with my lungs. I am STILL coughing. Just not as much. It wasn't that what I was coughing up was colored (in my book that is infection and time to get some antibiotics if it lasts any lengths of time) It was that I just kept on producing sticky, milky colored phlem. Lots of it at first, not so much now. But it went through deffinate stages and I really struggled with it. I had to use my girls' nebulizer three times a day with just saline for about a week. I was so glad that I had that too! John got sick with it too and he had a cough forever! We were both exhausted, but no aches or fever. I coughed so hard that I pulled muscles all over the place.

Then about three weeks ago I cought something else, and this one had fever (I think) for three days and I really knew I was sick again.

But Devon, my asthmatic, didn't catch either one, and she works with children all the time. I am so glad! You want to know the hardest thing with all of this chest junk? I can't sing. I miss singing! I either sound like a frog or I start to cough. I LOVE to sing and can't. Stinks!
God bless you and yours
Deb