Flu FEAR

[sebinkent]

Hi all,

Haven't posted for a long time but I just wanted to share my thoughts and fears about the lasted news on the bird flu in China. I happened to discover it online this morning, only because it popped up on my e-mail page. This hasn't made headline news, probably because it's not a big deal (I hope)
I don't want to alarm any of you guys but this is something that really scares me. I always imagine and fear the worst case scenario. Yesterday I discovered a dead pigeon at the bottom of my garden and freaked out thinking it had died of bird flu and if I went anywhere near it, I might catch the virus too. I'm hoping it will be eaten by a fox. Of course I realise that there are a hundred more likely reasons for this pigeons demise.
The news in China is something that just plays on my mind a lot and I become obsessed with reading the latest news on it. It makes me really anxious.
Anyone else relate to this - I wish I could just forget about it.

:weep:

[bernie1977]

I'm the same. When I read about SARS, swine flu I went into panic mode and I'd scan the media for latest stories. I'm the same with norovirus but I'm trying to stop myself as its causing unnecessary anxiety.

[cattia]

I was the same with swine flu. There were epidemics of it during both my pregnancies and the news was full of stories of pregnant women dying. They wanted all pregnant women to get the vaccine but then thdee were all sorts of scare stories about it not being tested properly and I am not a lover of the flu vaccine at the best of times. I actually got really OCD about it and wouldn't touch door handles etc, almost got a bit agrophobic, not helped by the fact that they were telling pregnant women to avoid public places! In the end I didn't have the vaccine and I didn't catch it. There is no evidence at the moment of Hunan to human transmission and it's only been detected in China so far. The media do tend to dramatize these things so try not to worry (easier said than done I know!)

[sebinkent]

Thanks for the replies. Just heard on the news that apparently if the virus mutated and spread from person to person, it would most likely be a milder version of the strain, which is a bit more comforting..

[little wren]

Yes I was really ocd about it - there is an old maggoty bird table at bottom of my garden which I used to feed birds on until I got ill (not bird flu - ocd). I cannot stand my dog going anywhere near it.