Swine Flu: Done
Somewhere I read of parties thrown overseas to deliberately get the swine flu in the hopes of becoming immunized. Well, somehow I managed to come down with the flu without a party. Actually not me alone. My wife showed her first symptoms a few hours after mine started. Yes, it seems to spread that fast.
No idea if she brought it into the family or me. There was this guy coughing in the Skytrain, but she had been at some seminar upcountry and was at an Xmas party … No, not a get-the-flu party. Whatever. Was the flu bad? Not too much. Rather felt like a major discomfort.
A first test confirmed an Influenza A virus, with the swine influenza H1N1 being an Influenza A subtype. Final test results just came in. H1N1 2009. I’m fine, but my wife has a more serious version it seems. She came back from hospital with a whole little pharmacy. Including Tamiflu. The doctor though didn’t say a word about quarantine. Keep away from people as long as you’re not well. Should you be afraid?
It started with an itchy throat, then some fever, but not too much, a funny dizziness, sweating, a mild headache and yes, I felt tired. The cough turned bad with thick yellowish sputum. After three days the fuss went up in smoke. Still, the fifth day after the fever kicked in it felt like after a big night out. That’s it. Are you alarmed?
All I took was Aspirin. Don’t ask if that’s good or stupid. Thought that’s the thing to take against what felt like a strange kind of mild flu. My wife though, as said, came down with a more serious variety. She felt her stomach churn and spent the better part of quite some days in bed.
Still, I had much worse fevers in Thailand and you cannot but wonder what’s all the panicking about. I’m neither super robust nor hyper healthy. Just normal. And still dizzy …
Would I go for a vaccine? Yes, a little sting doesn’t hurt, but to my knowledge there’s still no proper vaccination available yet in Thailand. Looks though like you can get a vaccination from January 11th, 2010, onwards at public and private hospitals.
Got the bugger a few weeks too early … and don’t need no vaccine anymore. Chances are that once you had it you now have immunity to that specific virus for some years, depending on how the virus mutates.
And chances are that sooner or later you and you and you will catch the virus. There’s no reason not to keep your cool. Yes, maybe better wear one of those surgical masks. But whatever you do to protect yourself I assume there’s no sure way to prevent an infection.
That virus sure is aggressive, while the flu itself is nothing to be scared of. Incubation time is relatively short with an average of two days. And you can still infect others a week after the first symptoms occur.
Still, this flu, is it all a healthy paranoia, silly panic or plain propaganda? I’d say a bit all of it.
Swine flu, the mildest pandemic on record? The numb feeling is irritating, as if less blood circulates. But pandemic?
Now this being the festive season … Wanna invite me to a party?
I recently had the swine flu vaccine here in the U.K. and so I guess I’ll be off most people’s party list. One day after the jab I felt totally lethargic and ached all over especially my legs and lower back. It was just a normal reaction to the vaccine and within 24 hours it was gone.
I’ll be heading to the LOS in 10 days time knowing the passengers can cough the plane all the way from Heathrow to Bangkok and it won’t matter to me. That’s a real good feeling.
Thanks for being so open, it certainly gives food for thought, i.e. to watch out and try to avoid crowded areas.
I hope you all will get well soon, especially your wife who seems to be in deeper trouble. Please greet her and wish her all the best, and we cross our fingers and hope, you both will be fine soon!
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I really wonder just how effective those face masks are … or if their main benefit it the same as the talismans Thai soldiers wear to ward off the bullets in the south.
Our other two people in the household seem OK so far without us wearing face masks. At first.
Wore one today though to not endanger guests …
Also, it seems essential to have clean hands as the virus can survive on the skin or a spoon, a bottle or whatever for several hours.
Again though, the flu was more of a nuisance.
BangkokDan
Glad you’re feeling better and hope the wife is up and around again soon too.
Everything I’ve read and seen makes me think that a lot of the fuss surrounding the swine flu is just propaganda. Yes, the virus is very aggressive, but it doesn’t seem as if the actual flu itself is any more dangerous than any other years flu. Here in the U.S. they aren’t even suggesting the elderly get the vaccination. My doctor said that he thinks this variation of the flu actually made the rounds several decades ago and many older folks have already had it and are thus immune … not sure if there’s any truth to that.
And like Thailand, there is very little vaccine to be found anyway. You can get the nasal variety of the vaccine, but since my wife is pregnant she can’t take the nasal variety because it is based off the live virus. Just gotta try to stay away from sick people and cross our fingers.
I’ve been sick as a dog for the past week with the same symptoms in the States. I don’t know if it’s H1N1 but I do know it sucks.
I have never put much stock in flu shots because for the most part they are educated guesses at what strain might be hitting this year. When they actively make a shot for a strain such as H1N1 the variances are usually great and the strain usually changes.
As for the mildest pandemic there was a confirmed pandemic back in the 70s in Fort Dix in New Jersey … not the county the actual fort. 76 people were affected. You’d be amazed at what the CDC and WHO consider a pandemic these days.
(BD: Hope you feel better soon Talen! Let know if it was the “2009,” as they call the swine flu in Thailand.)