Worried sick about all this swine flu business again :(

[87sal87]

As some of you may have heard on the news/papers etc. Swine flu is apparently back :weep:
I'm worried sick because I'm scared I'm going to get it & it's gonna make me really ill over Christmas or even kill me!
I know they say you need to have underlying problems for it to be a risk but then I worry that I have an underlying problem that hasn't been discovered yet :unsure:

My Mum & Dad are currently ill with the flu & I'm worried sick that's what they've got & one of them or both is gonna get worse & die :weep:

Do you think it's just scare-mongering or do you think we need to go to the GP & get checked out?
I'm not planning on leaving the house at all now, I'm too scared...

[AnxiousM]

Hey there,

Unless you have a compromised or weak immune system it's unlikely you'd be troubled. At worst it'd give you the flu for a couple of weeks. The first pandemic was made into hysteria by the media. In actual fact the regular flu kills more people than swine flu has but it's the elderly it can hit hard and I suppose only if they are alone as they gave the danger of dehydration.

Don't let a sweaty pig with a cold worry you!

M x

[rosi]

Swine flu is harmless for the vast majority of people. The flu vaccine now carries the swine flu strain so if you're really worried pop along to your doctor and see if you're eligible for a flu shot or you can go to a pharmacy and get a vaccine for about a tenner.

[ditzygirl]

Go and get the jab to ease ur worry.

I had Swine Flu last year - it wasnt very nice but I'm still here. It took the stuffing out of me but a bad bout of flu will do .

If you do pick up symptoms contact your surgery - last year they were happy to dish out antibiotics which in the past they didn't do for flu. And the surgery kept a close eye on me for 3 months.

Worrying will lower your immune system too so try not to worry- I know its easier said than done. make sure you are eating a healthy diet too - lots of vitamin C and not burning the candle at both ends too much.

Hope this helpsxxx

[harasgenster]

I agree with all the above. Swine flue was blown way out of proportion by the media. They just need something to talk about. It kills less people than normal flu and can even be much milder than the normal flu! The only reason medical professionals were worried about it is that it's new so most people don't have an immunity to it (which means that it could have spread much faster and further had it not been well contained and it might have caused some people to get quite ill).

Don't worry yourself. Even if you got it (and I don't think you need worry too much) you'd be fine after some soup and a lie down :)

As for your parents. I assume it's difficult to tell if they have swine flu or normal flu because they are quite similar. Even so, just ask yourself: have your parents had flu before? Last year maybe? Have they suddenly contracted HIV, had chemotherapy or became severely ill since then? If the answer is no, you have nothing at all to worry about. And if the answer is yes then I am sure the doctors will be taking good care of them as they'd be in a risk group!

[debs71]

This media hype of swine flu makes me incredibly angry.

I worked all through the last apparent big swine flu outbreak in A&E, having no jab, working daily with supposed suspected swine flu patients and caught NOTHING.

In actual fact, without extensive testing (as diagnosis of swine flu is not easy to confirm) most people will never be aware that it is or isn't and the answer is that it probably isn't, and is just either a viral illness or 'normal' flu.

'Normal' flu kills millions every year around the world, and yet just because this was a new strain everyone is up in arms about it and scared stiff, thanks to media blowing up of it all!

Do not waste any more time and energy stressing over this nonsense.:mad:

[87sal87]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. My parents are otherwise fine, no underlying health problems as far as I know, well, my Mum has blood pressure problems but I don't know if that would count as Heart Disease.
They seem abit brighter today anyway...so that's a relief.
It didn't help hearing that a 29yr old girl died of it in our local hospital this morning :( Poor girl :(

But I agree the media love scaring people, I just wish they'd give HONEST facts instead of trying to cause hysteria :(