H1N1 hysteria
Is it just me, or is everyone a little too worried about H1N1?
Yes, I know the risks are real but we've survived other health scares. Think SARS, West Nile and bird flu.
I don't mean to sound glib but I am personally more worried about saving for my kids' post-secondary education than swine flu ... in large part because I don't believe in worrying about things that you don't have a lot of control over.
This morning I was listening to CBC Radio and Vancouver residents were talking about asking coughing citizens to leave a public bus. I have allergies and this time of the year, I cough a lot. And I don't have N1N1. This leave-the-bus business is taking things a bit far, don't you think?
Speaking of control ... tell me how you plan to protect yourself and your kids from H1N1. Will you - and they - get the vaccine?
Let's talk. I want to hear your opinions.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
My daughter and I will get both the regular flu shot and the new H1N1 shot as well. Whatever we can do to prevent getting sick is worth it. I have a bottle of hand sanitizer in the: kitchen, bathroom, and car....not to mention, tissue paper boxes everywhere!! I've been washing my hands so often that they are drying up...I've had to go out and buy more moisturizer!!!
All we can do is: get good rest, eat healthy, exercise regularly, always wash/sanitize our hands...and cover our sneezes.
To add on to this, I've told my daughter to not share cups/straws at school....and to open/close doors with a tissue.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I have a container of wipes in the car and get my kids to give their hands a good going over after school or whenever we are out in public places. I remind them to wash their hands. My husband is all for getting them the H1N1 flu shots. I prefer to try and build their immune systems with vitamins and fresh fruit and vegetables. They always get sick after Halloween because of all the sugar ingesting, so I try and get that healthy buffer in them before and after the onslaught of candy
October 15th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I think if you are going to get it you are going to get it. My son is 7 and had been sick for three weeks before they finally figured out that he had it. He has missed half of the school year already but my other two boys ages 3 and 9 months have not had any symptoms. I think in a way it is over blown but on the other hand I can tell you that once a person has it it is very hard to get rid of.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I will not "rush out and go get the shot" but I will probably go and get it done. Just so we do not spread it, more so then getting it.I would hate to catch it and make an elderly or pregnant women sick, and have complications. We are planning on traveling in February, so I will be getting it before leaving the country.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:41 am
It al depends on how you view flues and colds. I personally are not infavor for getting shots for viral issues which are tending to change without notice. In that way I am 'old school'. Our children (4) grow up with the idea that their immune system should be able to build resistance to these colds and flues, so no flue shots for us. But our family is blessed with a good health and we live in a rural area. If my children had astma or other respiratoire problems I would maybe talk different. About the hysteria - 1 I personally question who is pushing this so hard and for what reason, 2 The fact we are fighting all these virusses (and paying for this industry) - does this guarantee there is no flue with an other twist next year? 3 Questions about the mercury issue makes me reluctant too. We cannot have the old fashioned thermometers anymore because they are to 'dangerous' but it is OK to get it shot into your system? Again - everybody has to do what they think is best. I find it hard to be sure what info you can trust...
October 17th, 2009 at 1:21 am
There have been a lot of reports that suggest that Vitamin D may help ward off the flu, including H1N1 flu. So I am going to keep using Baby Ddrops Liquid Vitamin D for my son, and I am using the adult version, Ddrops Liquid Vitamin D. It`s easy because all you need is just 1 drop for the entire daily dose.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:37 am
Hello.The H1N1 is NOT hype .This is understood as a first hand scare,my sister-in-law is in The Calgary Hospital right now and we are waiting to hear what is going on for her.To top it off, they did not take her medical history into focus and errors were done.NOT HYPE till you loose someone.
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:49 am
I can't understand what all the hype is about....
I read the symptoms on Health Canada and it just seems to be a cold like virus. It seems everyone is panicing for no need.
Why all the worry over a runny nose and cough?
Sounds like a big overblown scare to profit the drug companies and keep us all scared. Kind of like bird flu, killer bees, orange alert terrorist warnings (someone somewhere might blow something up sometime in the future, maybe).
October 24th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Well, first of all, influenza - either the regular old "seasonal" flu or H1N1 is not just a cold. Both my husband and I got the "flu" when I was in my late 20's and I really felt like I was going to die. It was the sickest I have ever been. Influenza also has the potential to turn into pneumonia. Is there too much hype? Maybe. But we all should take precautions such as washing our hands and staying home when we are sick. Everyone should consider getting immunized AND boost immunity by getting rest and eating well. One important way to stay healthy is to not live in fear. Enjoy life! Continue to do what you would always do. Just use common sense.
October 25th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Stay informed and up to date about H1N1. Both the federal and provincial health ministries have plenty of good and current information available and your local public health unit has REAL facts and information about H1N1. Read and stay informed before drawing conclusions that it is all "hype" - also take note that in the USA, President Obama has declared this pandemic a "national emergency" with more than 1000 deaths so far, including almost 100 children. As of October 24th, 86 Canadians have died. There are priority groups of people who are "first-up" to get the vaccine, again all of this information is readily available on provincial and federal health care sites. The World Health Organization has now called this a pandemic at their own rating level of "6" - the highest rating the WHO gives. So, seek accurate and timely information to enable you to make informed decisions.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
With everyshot there are risks. I am currently pregnant. But I have my serious doubts about if I am going to have the flu/HINI shots this season. I have never had a flu shot. But I am not against it for those who want to take precautions. Check out the link below. You may feel indifferent about the shots that you place yourself and your children under. The risks are real.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mScGC7nFDxM
October 26th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I actually started to consider the H1N1 shot for my family even though we have never had a seasonal flu shot but the more I learn about H1N1 the more it sounds like yet another strain of "the flu". I do firmly believe we are making ourselves more and more vulnerable by killing all our natural immunities and creating all these "superbugs" that funny enough, we don't hear that much about anymore. Kinda makes you wonder.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I will not be vaccinating myself or any of my 4 kids.
I am tired of the hype...do I think people are dying of this flu-yes, people die of flu and viruses every day of the year all around the world but the paranoia over H1N1 has gone to far and it is driving me insane. No one here thinks their kid has a cold..oh no every kid that coughs sniffles or has a even just a minor fever suddenly has the flu...it's ridiculous.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I am definitely getting the vaccine and hope to encourage my adult children and husband to do so as well. I was one of those remote people who got stung with being quarantied because I had been somewhere with someone who they thought had SARS. Enough with the propaganda stuff!! We would still have many diseases had we not been vaccinated.
Line up for the flu shot.....if not for you for others who are more vulnerable.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
If you get H1N1, you will probably survive it well and be fine. So yes, we should avoid the hype, but not the reality. Think about if you get it and pass it on to someone who can't handle it as well as you. If one-third of the population get H1N1, then it is estimate 10,000 people could die. That's a lot of people who have to die from something we could have prevented. If you're not worried about getting H1N1 that's fine. But, give some thought to what might happen if you pass it on to someone else.
October 27th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I am getting the H1N1 vaccine tomorrow, not only to protect me but the young children I work with at school. I hope I am making the right decision.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I'm just not sure about this...I have 2 small children so I am concerned for my family but on the other hand I don't want to vaccinate just because of the pressure of everyone else doing it. I need to know that if we get the vaccine that we are definitely not going to get H1N1 and that the vaccine is 100% safe. I have my doubts and I know that pharmaceutical companies are really pushing it and I think there's too much fear-mongering going on. This is a strain of the flu but that doesn't mean it equals death if you do get it. For now, I'm not getting the vaccine and will wait until I educate myself further on it. It's a tough decision...I don't want to put my family at risk either way.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I found this on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website;
"Who will be recommended to receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine?
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it first becomes available. These target groups include
-pregnant women,
-people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age,
-healthcare and emergency medical services personnel,
-persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old,
-and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems."
This site might also be helpful to you. It's a search engine that helps you find out where to get vaccinated in your neighborhood.
http://www.medtipster.com
October 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
If you like to play Russian Roulette, then do not get the shot. If you value your child's life and yours as well, then get vaccinated. I refuse to hold a dying child if I can help it.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Kudos to you Kathryn for injecting some much needed common sense. This is nothing but a big money maker from the same industry that brought us "restless leg syndrome". People's hysteria would be laughable if it were not so disturbing to have to watch one's fellow countrymen pushed to this pitiable state by a relentless media storm of manipulated statistics and hysterical reporting. If you want to know what will happen, simply look to the southern hemisphere. They have now finished dealing with their flu season and the result was virtually nothing! Why do you think we were able to buy surplus vaccine from them? They didn't need it! Australia has a population of about 20ish million and they had a total of about 120 deaths. Not to belittle these unfortunate people but, statistically speaking, this is nothing of any consequence.
Be happy, be well.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I am a 21 yr old mother of a 20 month old boy. I am personally scared for my son. I do not want him getting this H1N1 flu, but I am also very scared for him to get the vaccine. I have worried myself insane, I sanitize everything someone else has touched in my house, I have even drifted away from my Fiance because I am so worried about getting this flu. Does anyone know the chances of my son and I actually getting this flu ? Because I am really thinking that we will not be getting this new vaccine.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Yes, my 12 year old already has both flu shots. She has an "underlying disorder". Type one diabetes (juvenile, insulin dependent). And flu could turn deadly for her. Our entire family is encouraged to do the same, and we will when the vaccine becomes available for everyone.
October 31st, 2009 at 11:08 pm
I echo your sentiments Derrick.. People need to take the media's over-dramatization of this "pandemic" flu with a grain of salt. We need to question who is pushing this vaccine so hard and why. There are obviously political and huge financial gains to be had in all this. I actually sent an email to CP24 blasting them for their over-hyping of this story.
I have never vaccinated my children or myself against any flu virus but did consider getting the vaccination for H1N1. However, my fear of the possible repercussions down the road from this not-completely-tested cocktail has me decided against giving it to my family; what about the side-effects of the adjuvant, Squalene? What about the preservative, Thimerosal???? My oldest son has Aspergers... I avoided giving the MMR to my two younger children until they were at least 4 yeasr old. Why would I want to inject that into them now??
Good for you Derrick for being a voice that people need to hear. Finally some logic and objectivity!
November 1st, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Hysteria or not, hype or not, drug company funding or not, the point is that we live in a free company, where you can choose to listen to the media reports or not and you can choose get the shots or not. There are risks on both sides of taking the vaccine or not taking the vaccine. You have to listen to your gut and decide what risk is the lesser of the evil.
However, I find it somewhat amusing that people are complaining that the government/media is creating hype about it. I ask you, if the government/media did not advise you of a possible deadly virus that a vaccine was developed for and was available to ever Canadian and you or a loved one became ill and died or possibly became very seriously ill, would we all be up in arms about the government not telling us?
The point is you can make your own decision. You can turn off the radio/TV or not read the paper/bogs (why are you reading this one, is this not creating a hype too) etc. You can also make your own decision as to if you are going to get the needle or not.
Good luck in your decision
November 1st, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Squalene, thermarisol, formaldehyde, potassium chloride to name a few...uh, no thanks! Influenza is tragically serious. It always has been but even the flu shot hasn't changed anything statistically. In past years, deaths have not been individually splashed on the news as we are seeing with the H1N1 media hype causing this panic. I think it is highly negligent that the public isn't clearly informed of the ingredients and risks of the vaccine. You want a REAL scare? Look up the ingredients on the H1N1 vaccine package inserts. Do some research and then decide what you are more afraid of.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Was on the fence.....however I am travelling to Cuba on Nov 13. My dr advised me to get our vaccine but now I can't because I don't fall in the high risk category. So I will have to wait until such a time that it is offered to all. In the meantime I am using common sense....proper diet, vitamins, rest....and plenty of hand washing.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:46 am
we have a lot of autoimmune disease in our family...from lupus to diabetes and we usually get vaccinated for flu...me and my children are getting the H1N1 shot...why? well besides the autoimmune problems, its mainly because we dont want to miss out on life and activities for a month...i dont want to miss work, or any of the kids activities...i found the greatest hand sanitizer, and bought about a dozen of them...it comes out as a foam, and had a mild fruit aroma instead of the super/floral/alcohol smell they normally come in. we were always hand washers...we always wash our hands the minute we come into the house...we have always had that rule since before i can remember...i think i got it from my mom growing up as a child, we always had to wash our hands...so far we havnt been sick and we wont be getting shots till next week...
November 5th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I'm with Derrick too. This is a lot of media and government hype. Of course some people will unfortunately die from this flu, as with any other flu, but it is not going to be any worse than the seasonal flu imo.Everyone needs to settle down and do some research before lining up and having some unknown substance pushed in to their bodies.Shouldn't we be more afraid to inject oursleves with something we know NOTHING about than to fight off a sore throat and cough? My son has asthma and I still refuse to do this.I hope the side affects don't do more damage...see the results of the 1976 vaccinations for the same flu. God Bless and be healthy!