Swine Flu
Fri, Sep 18, 2009
There’s a lot of news lately about the swine flu (aka. 2009 H1N1). I was on Twitter the other day and there was a trending topic for “H1N1”. The tweets just kept rolling in about concerns, questions, and some jokes.
I’m not too worried about it. I stay pretty sequestered in my daily life. My typical day is just going to school and coming home to my wife. I’m health conscious, too. I take my vitamins. I wash my hands. I don’t cough or sneeze on anyone (I always face away and sneeze into my elbow). But I am in close proximity to one of America’s largest cities, Chicago, and I have friends that commute to school from the city. We’re adults. We should know our bodies and know what we need to do if we get sick.
Children, on the other hand, are already at risk for the regular influenza viruses. And they may not know what to do to prevent getting sick. I think it’s great that even Sesame Street is getting involved with educating our children on better hygiene practices. However, it still comes down to parents reinforcing the fact that you need to wash your hands (especially before you eat), avoid touching your face, and sneeze into your arms and not onto your hands. We can all learn from Elmo and use this in everyday life.
We’re also faced with information coming from the White House that states that upwards of 90,000 Americans will die of H1N1 this season. I’m also seeing a lot of articles on that state that the vaccine is more dangerous than the actual virus. Now, I can’t say for certain the dangers or efficacy of the vaccine, and I’ll leave that information to those testing it (although I don’t really know how much can be gauged by a few months of tests and no real long term effects). It seems like it’s being shipped out too quickly, like a computer program with some bugs they hope to work out later. In my opinion, I’ve never felt that any flu vaccine helped me. But like I said, that’s me. I’m sure there are people out there that swear by vaccination, and we’ll see how this vaccine will work once out in the population. With the southern hemisphere coming out of its winter months, they have their own feelings about the swine flu and its vaccine.
This isn’t a post that is meant to be disparaging and convey a message of “all hope is lost.” It’s just to give a level perspective. We’re entering the season where we’ll be huddled close together in buildings and our immune systems may be weakened already. We should most definitely focus on the prevention of any influenza virus, whether that’s by the physical means (via Elmo’s teachings), eating healthier (getting Vitamin C, E, zinc, etc.), or vaccination. Falling short of that, we must at least be familiar with the symptoms.
If you’re having the normal flu like symptoms, stay at home and get some TLC. If it’s the worst flu you’ve had or if you’re also experiencing diarrhea or vomiting, CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Your doctor will let you know what steps to take. Just be sure to stay vigilant and take action immediately. I feel there’s no harm in calling your doctor if you have questions.
Doctors, study up and help your patients in any way you can.
Image Credit: slightlyfamous
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I’ve only had the flu vaccine twice and never had the flu, but I think from now on I’ll be regularly getting the vaccine. It’s just miserable to have the flu, I don’t want to be passing it around and giving it another chance to mutate, and flu shots have been around for long enough that I believe they should be safe enough. Likewise, I will be getting the Swine Flu/H1N1 vaccine if it’s offered to me. Although it may be a new flu strain, it’s still the flu, so I feel the vaccine should be trust-worthy enough.
I recently read some exchanges of parents being concerned about unvaccinated (by parental choice) children in schools and it’s made me think more about the larger societal implications of keeping yourself healthy.
Hey Aba,
Thanks for the comment. First off, if you feel better getting the vaccine, go for it! I definitely feel that at least half of our health is psychological, so if you (and anyone out there) feel that it helps your immune system then it’s something to look into.
However, for those out there that are skeptical or get it just to get it, you may want to focus on physical prevention (like hygiene) and identification, as opposed to vaccination.
Also, you mentioned that you didn’t want to give it a chance to spread and mutate. Well, mutations always occur no matter what, and the vaccine will always be outdated in a way (the regular flu vaccines don’t vaccinate one of the most common flu viruses, the rhinovirus). I just found it weird that we don’t know how h1n1 acts and we rushed a vaccine out there. They tested it when h1n1 was on the downturn – I don’t know, there’s just a lot of unknowns about the vaccine and the regular flu vaccines have just so many strikes with me. I think we’ll really see this pan out after a year.
Hi James,
I know there’s a lot of unknowns, but I feel that the Swine Flu vaccine is more likely to simply not work than to cause any complications (in contrast, I am a bit wary of Gardisil).
Physical prevention and identification are definitely the most important aspects of avoiding the flu (and many/most? viruses in general), so I very much agree with you on that, but I think the vaccines are a nice back up measure.
Hi Aba,
Looks like we agree, actually. I feel that most vaccines are more likely not to work than to produce huge complications. I did just want to stress that as far a vaccine for H1N1, I’d trust it more if it wasn’t rushed and was tested for at least a full year, after we see how the virus and the vaccine acts.
Before I forget, it’s been great talking about this with another student in the medical field!