Swine flu

[Bruce Brakel]

I highly recommend getting the swine flu before it mutates into something more deadly.  This is the wussiest flu I've ever had.  Cough, cough.  Hack, hack.  Day three and I'm starting to feel a little better, other than the cough. 

[Chainmeister]

Sure. Send Me one Innovq, one Discraft and one of your used tissues.   

Feel better.

[Bruce Brakel]

It's a really dry flu.  Not much tissue to send. 

[Jon Brakel]

How do you know it is the H1N1?

[dana]

Just got a text from a friend that is a grade school teacher, he is missing 14 out of 18 of his students today...

[Bruce Brakel]

How do you know it is the H1N1?

H1N1 is supposed to be a mild flu and this was a mild flu.  There isn't a lot of other flu going around in Michigan right now. 

[CEValkyrie]

I'm pretty sure I had the swine flu last month. I talked to the nurse at school and she was pretty positive it was the swine flu. Usually when I have the flu i'm totally knocked out in bed. With this flu I had a fever for several days but I was able to get out of bed. I felt bad but not over the top bad. It just lasted a few days longer than the typical flu i've had.

Last week St. Charles East HS shut down for 3 days. Over 900 students/staff called in sick.

[Jon Brakel]

How do you know it is the H1N1?

H1N1 is supposed to be a mild flu and this was a mild flu.  There isn't a lot of other flu going around in Michigan right now. 

I wouldn't say that the patients that Becky has treated for H1N1 as having a mild flu. You have to be pretty sick to get admitted to the hospital. I'd rather have the vaccination than the flu. We all had our regular flu shots in the last few weeks. Becky had her H1N1 vaccination last week. Maddisen and I have to wait for the H1N1 vaccination to reach the "gen pop".

[Bruce Brakel]

Also, I get the regular shot every year, so I'm probably immune to most of the regular flus. 

From the CDC:

"Forty-six states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: ... Michigan... .  Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses." 

[Bruce Brakel]

The CDC disapproves the practice of intentionally exposing yourself to H1N1 now in order to have immunity when it mutates into something more deadly.  I guess some people are having swine flu parties and doing just that. 

[pickax]

Of course the nasal vaccine is exactly that. You're snorting the live virus.

[Jon Brakel]

Of course the nasal vaccine is exactly that. You're snorting the live virus.

I believe the nasal vaccine is a modified live virus. From my understanding is like if you had a red truck full of explosives and substituted a red truck full of sand for training purposes. Your body is exposed to something that looks just like the H1N1 virus but the payload has been removed or altered. But that's one reason it is not recommended to be used with pregnant patients. There's no way of knowing what the altered payload might do to a developing baby.

By the way, if the H1N1 virus mutates too much the vaccines and natural immunity through exposure might not matter.

[can't putt]

You're snorting an attenuated live virus.  If that bothers you, get the shot which uses killed virus.