Ebola - Media

[RyanM1994]

Wow,

I literally just went onto msn.com (it's my homepage and was trying to get to my works intranet) and theres several scary stories regarding Ebola.

I know the chances are low, but this media coverage is terrible.

Why is it once I read this, I then start trying to relate. Even though I know damn well (and hope) that I don't have it?

Why does the media try to scare us so much?

[ColourODarkness]

I suppose they want us to be aware... But I agree, they really do try to scare us. A lot of my family right now are coming down with terrible sore throats :unsure: its made e pretty wary

[RyanM1994]

It's horrible. I never knew anything about it earlier.
Now I'm making up symptoms in my head.

They really shouldn't do this, or at least don't put it on the homepage

[Catherine S]

Ive been reading about this over the past few days and was wondering how long it would take somebody here to get anxious about it :D There are other diseases transported across the world besides this so this is obviously the disease of the month for the media, and I guess they can't think about people with health anxiety and stop publishing stuff like this. Influenza for example is transmitted far easier than Ebola because its airborne, with Ebola its transmitted much like Aids is so you can take precautions against it in the same way. There will always be awful diseases around the world but most of them not in Britain thankfully, and you can drive yourself crazy worrying about them all!

ISB x

[MotherofDragons]

I just posted about this the other day! Diseases like this stress me out so much!

Whatever you do, do not read the dailymail and never, I repeat, never, read the book -- The Hot Zone!

[Fj2014]

Heyy!
I got slightly freaked by this Ebola thing too ... Then I remembered that before being an anxious nut I'm a news reporter and things make the news because they're rare.
To write.. 'Noones got Ebola' wouldn't be a story, it wouldn't sell papers or get web hits in the same way 'cancer patient diagnosed and treated wouldn't' so try not to let media coverage scare you - at the end of the day it's just entertainment really :)

Xox

[Catherine S]

Well thank goodness for you being on here Fj and cool job...or not so cool maybe? :D

ISB x

[Ats666]

I'm getting so anxious about this Ebola business, but I can't help but read the media releases!! I also red the hot zone many years ago, why do I do stupid things??? X

[swanick15]

Its unlikely to infect more than a few people, they'd probs be people with low immune systems and we have more grounded and better medical facilities than the areas affected so it wouldn't be as bad, not as bad the bird flu epidemic, I'm still waiting for the next disease yet; cat flu, goat flu, dog flu, iguana flu ... The list of these diseases goes on!

[MRS STRESS ED]

Arghh bloody media always scaring people half to death do as I do dont read or turn over your telly the news ia hardly ever good news xx :mad:

---------- Post added at 21:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:55 ----------


Its unlikely to infect more than a few people, they'd probs be people with low immune systems and we have more grounded and better medical facilities than the areas affected so it wouldn't be as bad, not as bad the bird flu epidemic, I'm still waiting for the next disease yet; cat flu, goat flu, dog flu, iguana flu ... The list of these diseases goes on!

Love this but dont forget the old favourite anxiety flu xx :ohmy:

[RyanM1994]

Hey guys thanks for all of the replies and help.

I'm feeling rather anxious about this today.

I have woken up with a sore throat, and feel rather sick.

My brain is convinced that I've now contracted it, which isnt impossible but the odds are very low.

Why does this happen? I have my sedation today and I now feel to just cry my eyes out.

[Hypo]

Well, I won't panic until someone in the UK actually gets it.

It isn't over here so the chances of one of us getting it right now are so tiny you have more chance of a bus coming into your house and running you over.

If it comes to the UK then we can panic, because it would be completely normal to worry if it was over here.

Until then stay calm as you can everyone. Ebola is not in the UK and hopefully never will be. When it is over here we can worry. Hopefully they can contain it enough so that will never happen.

---------- Post added at 10:39 ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 ----------

This might help put your mind at rest

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/06/30/could-ebola-spread-to-united-states/

I know it says the US but it's the same for the UK too.

[Fj2014]

Well thank goodness for you being on here Fj and cool job...or not so cool maybe? :D

ISB x

Haha! It is a great job but a bit intense on anxious days when I get sent out to police seiges... Still, it takes my mind of it though!

[Dolphin8808]

The media is awful! Remember H1N1 and how they had everyone in an uproar to get vaccinated? I waited in line for 4 hours with my kids because they had the community so scared. The media feeds off of this stuff, its horrible!

[swanick15]

they'll probably be looking for signs of ebola at airports when people fly in from the high risk areas when they do security or passport checks

[beermaestro]

(from another thread)..

Well, viruses themselves are quite fragile, actually. The reason that viruses like Ebola can spread in these countries is largely due to highly unsanitary conditions which can aid the spread of any bacteria or virus. These are some of the poorest countries in the world, with a lack of even basic sewage systems and clean drinking water.

Also, the Ebola virus is unable to spread effectively because, as morbid as it sounds, it kills its hosts too quickly and is unable to spread due to a very short incubation period.

[Woodward]

I have been feeling the same. But, one thing that alarmed me to this being a "flavour of the month" with the media is how they have given this very serious and tragic situation in West Africa very little attention since its reported outbreak in February. Two Americans die (in West Africa by the way also) then the media sees a way of generating fear and this selling more. It will dissipate. I have a viral infection and my imagination can't help but go into overdrive with this current event. Sadly, these things will always be blown out of proportion.

[Green_tea]

Ive been starting to worry about this too. I knew a minimal amount about it and know from the past googling stuff is a bad idea! Its good to know its hard to spread and not airborne.

This is a great site for finding out information but without the tiny risks spelled out as my mind always latches onto those.

[Fishmanpa]

My brain is convinced that I've now contracted it, which isnt impossible but the odds are very low.

0% chance is pretty low I agree ;) Wanted to add... Worrying about contracting ebola living in the UK is like worrying about contracting lyme disease having never been in the woods.

Hope you feel better soon!

Positive thoughts

[RyanM1994]

Thanks guys.

Thanks especially Fishmanpa, and sorry if you felt I ignored your reply on my other response.
You really helped me by being harsh (in a way). I did in face seek professional help for that, and now I feel like I am at ease (for now anyway).

[*Fallen Angel*]

This worries me too. Surely, at some point someone is going to inadvertently bring it into the UK? What about those that are not symptomatic when they arrive?

[Fishmanpa]

Having been on these boards for a while, I've seen reactions like this to media reports. When that young woman died a while back (can't remember her name), there was a thread about sudden death that went on for pages and pages. All of a sudden there were threads about fear of sudden death. Turned out she OD'd.... threads stopped. Just a couple of weeks ago, there were a rash of node threads. It's like everyone got node symptoms from osmosis. I get it, I really do but somewhere inside there still has to be a smidgen of logic that can quell something like this. This is not like you have aches or pains, it's a news story.

The reality is that this is in no way, shape or form a threat. It is however news. But to the HA sufferer, it's going to be an uncontrolled outbreak and you're already envisioning scenes like the "Bring out your dead" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv25TQibN8g) scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Positive thoughts

[anthrokid]

As someone who does a fair bit of travel in regional areas in countries where there is not clean water and a lot of water-borne disease, I wouldn't be too concerned. I've never contracted anything in areas rife with such diseases, so I honestly wouldn't even pay heed to a few cases in the US.

[Glyph]

My own personal feeling here is simple: I don't trust the media. I have been this way for a long time, not just because of health anxiety but also because newspapers which so claim to be impartial are absolutely not. I remember being taught in secondary school that one of the primary differences between broadsheets and Tabloids was that broadsheets were "more impartial". Ha. That's as far from the truth as is possible.

Sorry, I probably sound like a mad tin foil hat conspiracies here XD Don't worry, there are no aliens. The fact is that newspapers are all owned by someone and every single one is pushing some agenda for someone.

I wanted to think that people on the media just want us to be aware of a threat but honestly I have come to see that thinking as naïve of me. See, the media is a business like any other. What any specific media group wants is to draw attention to their websites, to sell their newspapers and to have people reading their media.

And more dramatic headlines sell more (and make people click links more) That's all there is to it. Right now, dramatic stories about Ebola are what will draw peoples eyes.

Ebola is a virus that pops up quite regularly in Africa, and it's a horrible, deadly disease which has needed more research ploughed into it for a long time, yes. But it's funny how it killed over 700 Africans so far this year alone, yet we barely heard a word... then the second it takes down two Americans? Suddenly it's news. Something that we will actually pay attention to and thus, that the news can sell us. Half the reason it spreads so well in Africa is because of a lack of medical education there (some less educated cultures even blame it on witchcraft, or think the hospitals are causing the deaths because a) people are usually surprisingly healthy until the symptoms come on, and b) They see that 9 out of 10 people who go into that hospital aren't coming out again: I guess I can see how that would look if you didn't realise Ebola was as deadly as it is. So they assume the hospitals are to blame, don't go in for treatment, and get sick anyway, thus infecting others outside of a sterile environment. The vicious cycle continues.

There's also the fact that Ebola has VERY LONG incubation period, and as mentioned, you can seem relatively healthy up until the final stage. It is also ONLY INFECTIOUS in those final stages. You're not going to be walking around with Ebola and killing countless others for weeks before you get ill yourself. You won't even be able to infect people until you are very sick. I don't want to encourage the idea here that people should start worrying and taking preventative measures (because you're probably NOT going to get it) but if you're ill, you just try not to go out or near anybody :) The people in disease control need t be very careful, but hey are people who are being very careful every day of their lives, handling all manner of deadly diseases and viruses. They know what they're doing.

The idea of Ebola terrifies me, don't get me wrong. My health anxiety isn't just going to vanish overnight especially not with the papers shoving it in my face in 120 point font capslock,but we are not facing the end of civilisation as we know it.

[Rennie1989]

Based on how contagious it is and how lethal it is I won't lie by saying that it has not worried me.

But in saying that, the reason why Ebola has spread so wildly in Africa is because:
- They do not have the high level of sanitation as us
- Their quarantine facilities are not fantastic
- Their disposal of dead bodies and funeral rituals means that people are contracting the virus AFTER the person has died.
- They have tight knit communities
- Understanding of the virus is low

If we look back on the Swine Flu pandemic, did you notice how only a small fraction of people contracted it here (and only a few died - but they had complications themselves) as opposed to Mexico? Once it landed here the government were quick in setting out guidelines on quarantines, distributing TamiFlu and self-help guides. The spread of the disease was incredibly slow and died out very quickly (says the unlucky bugger who contracted it).

Baring in mind that Ebola is more fatal the government would already have plans in place to monitor people entering the country from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and possibly other West African countries. Any signs of the disease will be dealt with on the boarder. The NHS is a fantastic system and has facilities for the most contagious and fatal diseases. Ebola would have a hard time getting to this country and IF (a very unlikely IF) it did it would die out very quickly.

For those waking up with 'Ebola' symptoms, just ask yourself this:
'Have I been West Africa in the last couple of days?'
If you answered 'no' then you don't have Ebola.