Will you PERSONALLY survive the KILLER Flu??

[Silverhair]

This has the potential to be far more serious than any Partisan politics.

FACT: In 1918 the great flu epidemic killed over 675,000 Americans. That was from a population base of 100M. Worldwide fatalities are estimated as between 50-100M from a population of 1B. So, although we think of flu as a minor disease, like a bad cold, it can be a serious killer. Google around and read what life was like during that epidemic. Basic services ceased in many places.

FACT: Of the last 23 known cases of Asian Bird Flu, 18 have died. A human who is in close contact with infected bird can catch the flu from them, but human to human transmission is not yet known to have happened. However, pigs can easily get both human flu and bird flu. If a pig catches both at the same time, or a human does, then the flu viruses wpould mix while in the same host. A new form would be almost certain to emerge that could be as contagious to humans as the normal flu, and still have the same lethality. The World Health Organization is very worried about it.

From what I have read, a vaccine can't be ready until 2007. If this flu makes its break before then, we could all be in deadly danger.

So, if this flu goes on a rampage, there will be little that governments can do about it. Personal survival will be up to us as individuals.

Therefore, I ask this question: What can we as individual do to realistically increace our personal chances.

Obviously, we can all wear medical masks if it breaks out. That alone may be enough. In China, when SARS broke out everyone started wearing masks and SARS stopped. Did the masks help? I can't say they did, but they didn't hurt. Masks do stop you from inhaling virus laden droplets of moisture sneezed and coughed out by diseased people. I bought a couple of boxes of masks for the house. That way if it breaks out, I will be ahead of the rush on the stores for them. If it doesn't, well I use them anyway when I am doing certain jobs around the house. (Power sanding to avoid breathing the dust.)

Frequent hand washing is a must. Many of the things you handle will be contaminated.

Kleenex cooperation has marketed a facial tissue that has a middle layer of virus killing stuff. If you cough, sneeze, or spit into it, the virus stop there. If I worked in an office, and this flu starts spreading, I would see that everybody had a box of these new Kleenex at their desk, even if I had to buy it myself. NO, I DON'T OWN ANY KLEENEX STOCK!!!!!!

What other reasonable things can you think of that could help one avoid a killer flu, beside leaving for the desert and living in a cave?

[bryant69]

1. Well what we need to do

is sic those killer bees on it. Bees, being much bigger than flu germs or viruses would have the natural advantage. Aren't those killer bees supposed to be getting her about now?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[notadmblnd]

2. Stay home when you are sick!

keep your kids home from school when they are sick. People you are not indispensable. If you die today, your company will have a replacement tomorrow. Stay home, get well and stop spreading disease through schools and workplace.

[Habibi]

38. That pretty much only works for people

who get paid time off. The rest of us have to drag our sick asses out of bed and get to work, otherwise we don't get paid.

[AlienGirl]

43. At my work there is TREMENDOUS pressure to work sick

If you take sick days, word gets around that you're an unreliable wuss. And if you take many of them, you'll be fired for excessive absence.

Tucker

[uncle ray]

39. actually

that's exactly why people DON'T take sick time off, because their replacemnet can be had that quick.

[K-W]

3. My dilligent mother

repeatedly kept flu from spreading through our family by very careful disinfecting and making us all very careful about what we touched, how close we came to people and stuff.

Never eat food or drink anyone has had already.
Keep your distance from faces.

A mask would potentially help.

[mirandaod]

4. Take care of our immune systems

by getting a lot of rest, eating properly, and good hygiene measures.

If flu starts breaking out, it probably is a good idea to avoid crowds if possible.

[MatrixEscape]

5. I think that

getting some nasal saline spray, (no chemicals in it) and "douching" your nasal passages is a good idea, as well. Okay, don't laugh. I didn't say douchebag. Well, I did say it, after all.

[sam sarrha]

6. Recent study showe the Children are the Conduit for the flue.. if the

school children were vaccinated in mass.. the flue would be reduced about 35 to 45 per cent.

they spread it in the classrooms and take it home then you take it to work.

[Silverhair]

7. There won't be a vaccine before 2007. What do B4 then? NT

[Woody Wood]

10. as kruger would say

im not too worried about it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Vaciine trials and limited production start next year

See this thread in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1056783#1057568

Besides making H5N1 vaccine for the clinical trials, Aventis Pasteur has a separate contract to produce 2 million doses of the vaccine. Fauci said the purpose of that contract is to provide vaccine for public health and laboratory workers and to prepare for mass production of the vaccine in case a pandemic erupts.

"It's going to be much easier for Aventis to go from 2 million up to 50 million than it would be if they were stuck at a pilot of 8,000 to 10,000 (doses)," he said.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/hot/flu/news/nov1704niaid.html

[Silverhair]

22. That is excellent news. Thank You. NT

[bleedingheart]

8. If I caught it...I would die and so would my two kids

we all have asthma...which puts us at the highest risk.

However we do our best to eat right, wash our hands and get enough rest.

[ellie]

18. Make sure you never

touch doorknobs. EVER. Use your sleeve or the bottom of your shirt.

[RUDUing2]

9. forget the hand washing...keep a bottle of purell or a bottle of

rubbing alcohol and use continually to clean your hands...

[SmokingJacket]

24. Actually, nothing beats soap and hot water.

Use the other stuff when you can't wash your hands.

[RUDUing2]

29. true..IF you wash your hands completely and correctly...but most dont

a study found that even doctors and nurses dont...which is why hospitals have switched to the anti-bacterial gels...

The cancer ward my mom was in actually has purell cannisters mounted on the walls in the ward for use by visitor and staff...

[SheilaT]

11. One of the reasons the 1918 flu

(also known as the Spanish Influenza) spread so rapidly and so widely was that the United States continued to ship soldiers out of army camps where the flu was already raging, thus spreading it wide and far.

There also weren't any antibiotics to deal with the infections that can result. And hand-washing wasn't as widely practiced -- people in slums often didn't have running water.

Of course, it was still a nasty flu, and if something like that got loose today it would still kill a relatively large number of victims. But you can be sure there would be travel restrictions to and from areas affected, which would help.

[dryan]

13. I take Immune 26....

haven't had a cold - even the sniffles in 3 years.

[RobinA]

28. Flu Deaths

Apparently, most people who died in 1918 died of pneumonia, which we are much better at treating nowadays, so no one really knows what would happen if there was another 1918-type outbreak. Personally, I think this is just more hysteria. Code Orange, anyone? Known anybody with smallpox lately?

[NoPasaran]

14. Given the way the country's going these days

I would welcome death.

[TalkingDog]

15. Wear cotton wool in your ears!!!

Whenever you go out. There are doctors who believe that viruses don't just enter through the nose and mouth, but through the alimentary canal that equalizes pressure in the ear. (in fact, my mother's allergist tells her to wear cotton wool in her ears when she does yard work for this reason)

Another easy remedy: Hydrogen Peroxide in the ears. Be sure to warm it a little first, cause damn it's cold otherwise.

Sometimes it won't do anything, but sit there in your ear. If you have germs, viruses and such it sounds like Popcorn in your ears. We've warded off a number of colds this way.

[graywarrior]

16. That's about the most interesting thing I've ever read on DU

[minerva50]

19. That's interesting, about protecting your ears.

I worry about my 79 year old mom, and I'm not getting any younger myself. One of the peculiarities of the 1918 epidemic, though, was that it was often those in their prime who died. Old people and young children often survived. That's why there were so many orphans, including some of my dad's cousins.

[FlaGranny]

21. My mom nearly died in that epidemic -

she was 11 or 12 years old. She got pneumonia, which was the extreme killer back then, with no antibiotics. My grandfather told me that so many people were dying, they couldn't make coffins fast enough. Many people were buried without them.

[Bunny]

27. Yes, the ones most effected by the flu were the young and healthy.

And the scary part was that many went to bed fine, woke up feeling bad, and were dead by nightfall!! :scared:

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. Hmmm - does this mean the viruses pass through the eardrum?

I would expect the 'popcorn' sound is your earwax reacting with the peroxide, not bacteria or viruses.

And it's not the alimentary canal - that's your gut. The ear canal is the eustachian tube, if you want a scientific name for it.

[TalkingDog]

44. hahaha!!!.... I'm such a dumbass!

You are right, thanks for catching that. Well, at least I got named a part of the body instead of some made up name....

I've never researched the studies behind the whole ear thing and how viruses may enter. All I know is that I've heard of at least 2 doctors, one local one in a national newsletter, who espoused the same idea.

But, as for the peroxide, that I have done some reading on. Earwax is there to catch bacteria, viruses and so on. If the peroxide reacts to earwax then the popping should happen consistantly. But that does not happen. If we go out into a crowd in the winter, we will use the peroxide consistantly. Sometimes it reacts, sometimes it doesn't.

It's like chiken soup. It may not help, but it surely can't hurt. And from lots of anectdotal evidence and a few studies...it does the job.

[bicentennial_baby]

33. I assume you mean the auditory canal

and as a former science major who tutors A&P and Microbiology, I have never heard that one...

[robcon]

17. I think the risk is exaggerated.

Like SARS and West Nile virus, there have been numerous candidate viruses that MIGHT break out. My opinion is that if there is another pandemic, we will get no warning.

btw, I've never heard of a substance that would be effective against a broad array of viruses that could be put on a Kleenex. Anti-viral chemicals often have side-effects.

What's the name of the anti-viral agent?

[robcon]

20. I looked up the anti-viral ingredient...

from the Kleenex site:

* Virucidal against: Rhinoviruses Type 1A and 2 (rhinoviruses are the leading cause of the common cold);
Influenza A and Influenza B (causes of the flu); Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV, the leading cause of
lower respiratory infection in children).

I don't believe this will affect the Asian avian flu.

[SKKY]

23. I have the flu right now..

..and oh how I wish someone would kill me. I feel horrible.

[RobinA]

30. Had a Bad One

in '78 or so when I was in college. Russian, I believe. At the same time I was afraid I was going to die I wished I would die so I didn't have to feel that way anymore. I've had pneumonia, and the flu was far worse than pneumonia. Almost worse than the acute illness was the two weeks afterwards when you feel so weak you can barely get up and out the door. I thought I would never be normal again.

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Had a nasty strain of flu in '98. It's no fun

------------------------------------------------------
Join the NEW Boston Tea Party!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/index.htm#shopping

[ebayfool]

35. Mine was '79 - Hong Kong flu ... her name is Teela & she's 25 now!

LOL - took the doc a while to figure it out, morning sickness that lasted all day & not the flu. Pretty good considering I had given up on having a 2nd child after @ 9 years of trying (shield IUD, nasty little piece of medical technology). I'm veerrry careful NOT to get the flu now!

[KitchenWitch]

26. Unfortunately

I am immunocompromised and both my kids have asthma, so if we get this flu, we probably will not survive. We had planned a trip to Thailand last winter and decided to scrap it because of the avian flu. Was disappointed at the time, but it was the best decision in retrospect.

[sadinred]

31. you know what's really scary?

Coincidentally I am currently reading a book about the 1918 Flu and the political atmosphere was just as (if not more) frightening than today's!!! Do they go hand in hand the political weirdness and the Big Flu?
How to protect ourselves? I really don't know...stay away from crowds for one thing.

[Artemis Bunyon]

34. Bring it on.

We need a good dose of chlorine in the gene pool.

[cheezus]

36. shit happens

I'm still much more worried about dying in an automobile accident

[Ms_Mary]

37. I refuse to freak over the flu. Raw garlic, vitamin C and rest.

[Feron]

40. Personally,

i think the flu hysteria is geared to make money for the pharmacutial companies. While some people do need the vaccine, i think that the threat is way overhyped.

According to the CDC, only 753 people died of the flu in 2002. The reason why the statistic of thousands is cited is because they lump the flu and pneumonia together.
2002 report in pdf format(page 16):
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_13.pdf

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. My grandmother was living in a small town in North Dakota

when the 1918 flu struck. She and my grandfather survived (he was a schoolteacher), but two young teachers, just out of college, died. An entire family of five also died, but they lived on an isolated farm, and it was a couple of weeks before anyone realized that they hadn't been seen for a while.

More U.S. military personnel died of the flu than in battle in World War I. They caught it in crowded boot camps or on troop ships.

If any near future flu epidemic were as virulent as the 1918 one, the people I would worry about would be college students in dorms, living in close quarters, not getting enough sleep, and eating low-quality food.

[AlienGirl]

42. I probably won't

My immune system has been kind of permanently messed up from my bout with cancer a couple years back. So when the killer flu hits, I will no doubt be among the casualties.

Tucker

[HeeBGBz]

45. The flu kicked my ass this time last year

Missed my company Christmas party.

I don't want to feel that sick again any time soon.

[bobd]

46. I fully expect to die from this flu

It's inevitable. It has the potential to kill, literally, billions of people. I'll be dead for sure by 2007 at the latest.

The good news: Dying from this flu means that we won't have to die in Bush's camps or in the inevitable nuclear holocaust.

Bottom line: This planet and humanity sucks.

Bah!

Bob D.

[Itchinjim]

47. 1918; My Grandfather was a doughboy.

He caught the flu and never made it to France. So the flu kept him safe and out of the war. Two of his sisters however caught the flu and died. Ironic hunh?

[Kitka]

48. I'm just getting over the flu.... of course, not the bird flu....

but I'm having a really hard time getting over it. I've never had the flu before in my life. Thankfully, my kids (though I even co-sleep with my son) haven't gotten the flu from me. We just wash our hands a lot, cover our mouths when we cough, use kleenex, and comon sense to not spread it. We also keep our immunity up by taking vitamins, eating well, etc. I have no idea what else to do.