I am coming off a virus that had me unplugged from life as usual. It began last Friday afternoon after visiting my dad in the hospital where I am certain the bug came from. They had antiseptic hand wash all over the place and I wasn’t shy to scrub often. It didn’t help. My sister also came down with the germ and yesterday my wife got into the act. It’s contagious stuff.
Never being one to rush to a doctor for a sniffle or fever symptoms all I do is rest, drink fluids and take Nyquil to aid my overnight sleep. Just sweat it out. Over-the-counter stuff is usually good enough to at least make me more comfortable along with old Bonanza and Gunsmoke reruns on TV Land while I relax in the long, thick terrycloth robe and comfy Realtree® camo slippers (I ain’t about to wear one of these).
Was it the evil pandemic pig flu that the government and media seem to have been hoping for? Hard to tell. I went online to check the symptoms and discovered I had all but one. What to do? Well, I stayed inside, drank fluids and slept as much as possible. Now it is on the wane just in time for my favorite three months of the year. Hopefully I got mine early and will be immune for a few months at least.
Being old enough to remember past health scares this pig flu doesn’t alarm me too much. But national media sources and political opportunists seem to be making a case for impending doom. Again. If they can tie it into the healthscare crisis and global warming they may own a political trifecta sure to earn votes from those among us who crave to be treated like child wards of the state. Bad news for quick political expediency is the new common sense in D.C..
In the late 70’s there was a swine flu scare. I remember getting a free flu shot in the lobby of 111 E. Wacker where I worked at the time. The government funded it. I still got the flu a month or so later. I lived. No predicted swine flu pandemic ever happened.
Recently there have been pandemic threats of West Nile virus and avian flu. Internet and MSM mages of Chinamen wandering around wearing those surgical masks were published everywhere. The WHO and our own government go into hypermode when new flu strains appear to justify preparing and spending for impending doom each year it seems.
Why, I remember when it was hyped that we would all be getting AIDS from mosquito bites.
What’s most disturbing to me is there is always the possibility of a serious disease, germ, virus or plague pandemic. When one does actually occur will we all have become desensitized to the “chicken little” media and government warnings?
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4 comments:
35K people die from the common, ordinary flu strains every year in the US. Should be big news.
600 people die from Swine Flu WORLDWIDE and it is on the front page of every paper.
People missing work because they think they have the deadly Swine Flu will cost the country billions I predict this season. The media has set it up perfectly.
Sniffle? Better not go to work, might be the swine flu.
Schools will shut down for no real reason other than uneducated, media fueled panic. Some business will also be forced to close since their workers will now have to be home to take care of the kids.
Coming soon to a town near you.
Glad you are feeling better
I had the flu a year ago and was just a zombie for a week
What is strange is that maybe all the coverage of swine flu is net SAVING lives because of heightened interest in treating people with flu symptoms, meaning those typically at risk and filling Dan's 35k figure, above
The swine flu vaccinations are completely separate from the standard flu shots so no dice. As a kicker, the swine flu vaccinations are a two shot deal, and take a month to become effective. To me it is already too little too late.
I am skipping the swine flu shots to save it for someone who needs it more than me like an old person or kid.
I always skip the common flu shots, just get sick once or twice a season, usually missing a total of one day of work.
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