my pediatrician's comments on swine flu

[muffinmom]

We had to take dd in today for a rash. After the dr. examined her I asked him about his recommendations for the swine flu. He said he wished the media would lay off it and wished he would be interviewed...he said he would take the media down 6 notches.

 

He said they are only reporting on the "sensational variations" of the flu and not reporting the facts. He said his office (4 or 5 docs) had seen 500 kids with it, had talked to 500 more who may have it. He said it's everywhere, but "not one of those kids even halfway had symptoms that would warrant a hospital visit." He said it has been far milder than regular flu.

 

He was pretty hot under the collar about the media frenzy and fear mongering. He is a prominent physician in the area--sort of a doctor's doctor, who is very much in the know about the latest on everything in his field.

 

So...that made me feel better.

[Scarlett]

We had to take dd in today for a rash. After the dr. examined her I asked him about his recommendations for the swine flu. He said he wished the media would lay off it and wished he would be interviewed...he said he would take the media down 6 notches.

 

He said they are only reporting on the "sensational variations" of the flu and not reporting the facts. He said his office (4 or 5 docs) had seen 500 kids with it, had talked to 500 more who may have it. He said it's everywhere, but "not one of those kids even halfway had symptoms that would warrant a hospital visit." He said it has been far milder than regular flu.

 

He was pretty hot under the collar about the media frenzy and fear mongering. He is a prominent physician in the area--sort of a doctor's doctor, who is very much in the know about the latest on everything in his field.

 

So...that made me feel better.

 

Thank you!

[Ibbygirl]

That is reassuring. I am trying not to get caught up in the frenzy myself but it's so hard to just find the truth in the midst of all that is out there. Thanks you for posting this. Did your pediatrician say anything about the prescribing of Tamiflu?? Are they prescribing it for the kids who have the swine flu or just letting the virus run it's course and treat symptoms OTC?? Thanks. :)

[BikeBookBread]

Thanks for posting this! Two of us have had it (I'm 99% sure) and it was uncomfortable and disagreeable, but other than that, I'd take THIS flu over any other flu I have ever had.

[justamouse]

VERY cool to hear.

 

Just talked to a fiend yesterday who said that Cornell had 200 cases.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Ibbygirl]

VERY cool to hear.

 

Just talked to a fiend yesterday who said that Cornell had 200 cases.

 

LOL Did you mean to say fiend?? is that a typo? a friend maybe? Either way that is really cute! hehehe :grouphug:

[muffinmom]

That is reassuring. I am trying not to get caught up in the frenzy myself but it's so hard to just find the truth in the midst of all that is out there. Thanks you for posting this. Did your pediatrician say anything about the prescribing of Tamiflu?? Are they prescribing it for the kids who have the swine flu or just letting the virus run it's course and treat symptoms OTC?? Thanks. :)

 

 

You know...I meant to ask about that, but he really went on a long time about it, clearly very frustrated, and so I forgot everything else I was going to ask him!

[muffinmom]

This is almost exactly what our pediatrician had to say about it. That the whole H1N1 thing has been way overblown by the media and is no way worse than the regular ole seasonal flu. For some segments of the population, of course, it is a concern -- very young, very old, those who already have health problems -- but that's always the case.

 

It was his opinion that the 'scare' was wholly the creation of the CDC, a government agency, that (like all other government agencies) has to fight for funding. Create a scare ... show how valuable your services are ... increase funding .... increase salaries. That was his take, anyhow. :lurk5:

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised, frankly.

[Ibbygirl]

You know...I meant to ask about that, but he really went on a long time about it, clearly very frustrated, and so I forgot everything else I was going to ask him!

 

 

LOL That is SO something I would do too! I have to wait 2 hours every time to see my pediatrician and by the time I actually get in there I forget everything I wanted to ask her. hehe :blushing:

[danybug]

Thanks for posting this! It is reassuring, definitely.

 

I have tried to avoid the mania about it and have thought all along that it is mostly sensationalist type media. I don't doubt that there are cases that are severe and that there is some concern, but that can really be with anything.

 

I will have to tell my mom, who keeps bugging me about it and worrying about the grandkids!

[LizzyBee]

I keep hearing about all the fear mongering in the media, but I must be reading/watching the wrong media because I haven't seen it. For ex. I read that 2000 students at Washington State Univ were thought to have swine flu, but most students were over it in 3-5 days and there were no fatalities. I've read a few similar stories and the impression I've gotten is yes this flu is widespread but for most people it's not a big deal. I do have one friend that was a little freaked out when she thought her dd had it, but that's because her dh has a bone marrow disease and is immuno-compromised.

[MariannNOVA]

We were at the peds office yesterday and she said essentially the same thing. She seemed nonplussed by it -- commented that the flu season is typically January and February around here (northern Virginia) and the practice would expect to see a flu outbreak beginning just about right now if the media hype was accurate. We were the only ones in the office and we were there for scrip refills - no one was there for sick or well visits. We had the usual conversation about the typical seasonal flu vaccine, she did not mention an H1N1 vaccine. Fairfax County, Va has one million people living here -- their practice is one of the larger peds practices -- she did not seem concerned.

My mom told me today that my brother in law tested positive for H1N1 in the beginning of the summer and was sick for about 10 days -- he is an incredibly fit person, my sister is a doctor, I'm only hearing about it now - I'm getting ready to clear all of it off my screen beyond what common sense tells me to.

[secular_mom]

That is reassuring. I am trying not to get caught up in the frenzy myself but it's so hard to just find the truth in the midst of all that is out there. Thanks you for posting this. Did your pediatrician say anything about the prescribing of Tamiflu?? Are they prescribing it for the kids who have the swine flu or just letting the virus run it's course and treat symptoms OTC?? Thanks. :)

 

8yos was sick, we needed a Dr.'s note so I took him to the Ped Clinic. They did the rapid flu test which came back positive- they said to just let it run it's course, treat the symptoms when we need to, etc. The Dr. said to watch him carefully, if he got any worse to bring him back to make sure he didn't end up with bronchitis or pneumonia. The next day I had to take him to the ER because his fever had gone away and then come back suddenly (that's never good), and he had a rash on his chest and was just lying on the couch miserable. They did a rapid Strep test at the ER that came back positive. He went back to school Tuesday and is fine now (still taking antibiotics). 14yod, 5yod, 4yod and myself have all been sick too, pretty much the same sypmtoms but no strep. None of us saw a Dr., but we're assuming we also had the flu- it wasn't that bad- I was just REALLY tired.

HTH

[muffinmom]

I keep hearing about all the fear mongering in the media, but I must be reading/watching the wrong media because I haven't seen it. For ex. I read that 2000 students at Washington State Univ were thought to have swine flu, but most students were over it in 3-5 days and there were no fatalities. I've read a few similar stories and the impression I've gotten is yes this flu is widespread but for most people it's not a big deal. I do have one friend that was a little freaked out when she thought her dd had it, but that's because her dh has a bone marrow disease and is immuno-compromised.

 

 

Maybe there has been more hype here than where you are. A local kid (5yo) died from it 3 days after onset...but haven't heard whether he had underlying complications.

 

I have definitely seen the media report about any tidbit about the swine flu with sensationalism. They so love a good crisis. And the govt.'s comments from time to time haven't helped.

[secular_mom]

Oh, also AFAIK they are only giving Tamiflu to people who have health problems and are at risk for complications- my cousin who has seizures was given Tamiflu, but no one else that I know.

[Ibbygirl]

8yos was sick, we needed a Dr.'s note so I took him to the Ped Clinic. They did the rapid flu test which came back positive- they said to just let it run it's course, treat the symptoms when we need to, etc. The Dr. said to watch him carefully, if he got any worse to bring him back to make sure he didn't end up with bronchitis or pneumonia. The next day I had to take him to the ER because his fever had gone away and then come back suddenly (that's never good), and he had a rash on his chest and was just lying on the couch miserable. They did a rapid Strep test at the ER that came back positive. He went back to school Tuesday and is fine now (still taking antibiotics). 14yod, 5yod, 4yod and myself have all been sick too, pretty much the same sypmtoms but no strep. None of us saw a Dr., but we're assuming we also had the flu- it wasn't that bad- I was just REALLY tired.

HTH

 

Thank you. :)

[Tree House Academy]

Where in TN are you? I am in TN too and my dr office said the same thing. :)

 

As for tamiflu, I had a LONG conversation with my ped about it and he said that he really hated to give it at all, but would do so IF the parent wanted it. He does NOT recommend it nor does he use it. He said that his recommendations change when the child has underlying health issues.

 

I don't care - after reading about the sudden deaths and other issues caused by tamiflu alone, I wonder how many of the US 500+ deaths were caused by the FLU and how many were actually caused by the TAMIFLU!

[Mommyof4ks]

That is basically what our ped said too. Good to hear other docs are agreeing (I totally trust ours, but it is always nice to hear from others too). We have not had much media coverage recently other than the week school started when some schools had 1/2 of their students out due to flu like symptoms. As mild as some people have had it it is possible that we had it and thought it was a cold back in August.

[muffinmom]

Where in TN are you? I am in TN too and my dr office said the same thing. :)

 

As for tamiflu, I had a LONG conversation with my ped about it and he said that he really hated to give it at all, but would do so IF the parent wanted it. He does NOT recommend it nor does he use it. He said that his recommendations change when the child has underlying health issues.

 

I don't care - after reading about the sudden deaths and other issues caused by tamiflu alone, I wonder how many of the US 500+ deaths were caused by the FLU and how many were actually caused by the TAMIFLU!

 

Nashvegas.

[aggieamy]

Thank you for posting this. DH came home from a business trip with what appears to be the flu. Might be swine flu might be the regular flu but I don't know how to tell the difference. I think we'd have to go to the doctor. Anyway, he had me worried sick last night but he's doing better today - lots of chicken noodle soup.

[KidsHappen]

Where in TN are you? I am in TN too and my dr office said the same thing. :)

 

As for tamiflu, I had a LONG conversation with my ped about it and he said that he really hated to give it at all, but would do so IF the parent wanted it. He does NOT recommend it nor does he use it. He said that his recommendations change when the child has underlying health issues.

 

I don't care - after reading about the sudden deaths and other issues caused by tamiflu alone, I wonder how many of the US 500+ deaths were caused by the FLU and how many were actually caused by the TAMIFLU!

 

We are in Middle, TN as well and are hearing/seeing the same thing. If anyone has the flu around here, it is very mild. I just posted today that it looks like my family has strep instead.

[Blessedfamily]

We were at the peds office yesterday and she said essentially the same thing. She seemed nonplussed by it -- commented that the flu season is typically January and February around here (northern Virginia) and the practice would expect to see a flu outbreak beginning just about right now if the media hype was accurate. We were the only ones in the office and we were there for scrip refills - no one was there for sick or well visits. We had the usual conversation about the typical seasonal flu vaccine, she did not mention an H1N1 vaccine. Fairfax County, Va has one million people living here -- their practice is one of the larger peds practices -- she did not seem concerned.

My mom told me today that my brother in law tested positive for H1N1 in the beginning of the summer and was sick for about 10 days -- he is an incredibly fit person, my sister is a doctor, I'm only hearing about it now - I'm getting ready to clear all of it off my screen beyond what common sense tells me to.

 

Good to know what's going on here.

[Sue G in PA]

It's what I've been saying all along...happy to have a real MD backing it up.

[Amber in AUS]

My sister works for the Health Department here and she is saying the same things 'media hype' after just returning from Malaysia i am more concerned with Influenza A H1N1 which seems to be doing the rounds up there and they are having mandatory reporting and quarantine of patients with it. Maybe for precaution but it seems to be worse than Swine flu.

[Slartibartfast]

I agree, all this hype is ridiculous. I am not at all buying it.

[muffinmom]

My sister works for the Health Department here and she is saying the same things 'media hype' after just returning from Malaysia i am more concerned with Influenza A H1N1 which seems to be doing the rounds up there and they are having mandatory reporting and quarantine of patients with it. Maybe for precaution but it seems to be worse than Swine flu.

 

 

Unless I'm mistaken, "swine flu" is the H1N1 virus.

[tricia]

:iagree: completely with your doctor.

[TN Mama]

I haven't seen much hype on the local news networks about swine flu. I did have a conversation with several moms at our girl scout meeting last night and more moms at Bible study this morning about the symptoms they're seeing. Everyone has said they/their children have experienced a high fever and a flu that was anything but mild.

 

I figure we'll get sick. It is rampant in the elementary schools here and even though we don't attend, we are around those who do. I just hope we don't get sick until AFTER our Disney trip next week!

[fshinkevich]

I will be the odd duck out

 

I don't agree.

 

I think this flu is very different from anything I have experienced in my life time.

[fshinkevich]

I haven't seen much hype on the local news networks about swine flu. I did have a conversation with several moms at our girl scout meeting last night and more moms at Bible study this morning about the symptoms they're seeing. Everyone has said they/their children have experienced a high fever and a flu that was anything but mild.

 

 

 

 

I will agree here. I have no way of proving we had swine, since I did not get our family tested, but a few months ago we all got VERY sick. I really did have ER bags packed and ready to go, I have never experienced such terrible body pains, such high fevers, or so much vomiting. I am HOPING it was swine flu, maybe we will have some immunities to it.

 

I personally do not believe the "mild symptoms" or the "underlying health conditions"

 

There has not been a huge outbreak in the area I live, but we have already had five fatalities and I personally had a good friend who's daughter was in ICU for 4 days because of it.

 

I hope it's all hype, but I', not confident in that.

[mrsanniep]

My pediatrician is a laid-back guy and definitely not an alarmist, based on previous issues he and I've spoken about. That said, I was somewhat surprised when he recommended this summer that the kids get the "regular" flu shot and then the two-part H1N1 shot when it becomes available in October. My youngest is sensitive to eggs, can't be vaccinated and he definitely recommended we ALL be vaccinated as a result to further protect him. As of this week, he has now also referred us to an allergist to gauge whether we can pump our youngest up with antihistamines at the allergist's, vaccinate him and monitor for a reaction.

 

Huh?

 

Am I nervous? No. Am I going to follow the advice of our laid-back pediatrician who has gone out of his way to make sure we know how he feels about the H1N1 vaccine? You bet.

[Slartibartfast]

I would be surprised if an allergist would think that was a good idea.

[funschooler5]

I will agree here. I have no way of proving we had swine, since I did not get our family tested, but a few months ago we all got VERY sick. I really did have ER bags packed and ready to go, I have never experienced such terrible body pains, such high fevers, or so much vomiting. I am HOPING it was swine flu, maybe we will have some immunities to it.

 

I personally do not believe the "mild symptoms" or the "underlying health conditions"

 

There has not been a huge outbreak in the area I live, but we have already had five fatalities and I personally had a good friend who's daughter was in ICU for 4 days because of it.

 

I hope it's all hype, but I', not confident in that.

 

This sounds similar to what my family had a couple of months ago. DH and I caught it at the same time, and were in bed for days. I don't think I've ever ben that sick before. It started with my DS and worked through the whole family. I'm hoping it was swine flu!

[Alice]

We had to take dd in today for a rash. After the dr. examined her I asked him about his recommendations for the swine flu. He said he wished the media would lay off it and wished he would be interviewed...he said he would take the media down 6 notches.

 

He said they are only reporting on the "sensational variations" of the flu and not reporting the facts. He said his office (4 or 5 docs) had seen 500 kids with it, had talked to 500 more who may have it. He said it's everywhere, but "not one of those kids even halfway had symptoms that would warrant a hospital visit." He said it has been far milder than regular flu.

 

He was pretty hot under the collar about the media frenzy and fear mongering. He is a prominent physician in the area--sort of a doctor's doctor, who is very much in the know about the latest on everything in his field.

 

So...that made me feel better.

 

As another pediatrician this fits with our experience. We saw a lot of what was likely H1N1 this summer. We test in the office for Influenza A and if it was positive we assumed H1N1 (other sources say 95% of what is in the community now is H1N1 and we don't typically see Flu in the summer in VA). Most people had a fairly "mild" illness. Mild is somewhat in the eye of the beholder though. I saw a lot of people who felt awful, had fevers in the 103-104 range for 4-5 days, achy all over, bad cough etc. But they got better, weren't hospitalized and had no long term complications. To me that's fairly mild...to someone else that might be the worst illness they have had.

 

Talking to other docs in the area most are seeing the same thing. Fairly mild, although yucky illness. No worse than the seasonal flu and perhaps somewhat milder.

 

I do think there is a lot of media hype that is making this seem worse than it is. On the other hand, there was a Washington Post article a few weeks ago that explained the concern from a public health standpoint in a very clear way. Due to the fact that so few people are immune to this strain the sheer numbers of people getting it may be much much much higher than the usual seasonal flu. Yes, the rate of hospitalizations and severe disease and mortality may be less than or equal to the seasonal flu but if there are huge numbers of people worldwide getting it that could still become overwhelming from a public health standpoint. From an individual standpoint your risk of having severe disease/death is perhaps no worse than with seasonal flu, but again from the public health/global standpoint we could be looking at a lot more people who are very sick and a lot more deaths.

 

All of this is obviously somewhat unknown...it's "could be", "perhaps", "potential" etc. I do understand that from the public health people's standpoint they are in a tough place. They can either be accused of making this into a frenzy unnecessarily or they will be accused of not taking it seriously enough if it ends up being worse than expected. I don't believe that the CDC or other agencies are involved in some kind of nefarious plot to make it seem worse than it is. I do think though that the media is such that we hear soundbites and scare journalism rather than a real explanation of the possiblities.

 

Added to that is that fact that schools and other agencies are going a little berserk, IMO and making policies that make no sense. For example, my niece's very hoity-toity private school has a new policy that everyone who has a fever must report the actual temperature and that it will be recorded on a website for parents to follow (not the child's name but something like "5th grader...temp 101 on 9/10). That is just a silly policy that makes absolutely no sense medically but is likely being implemented to make it seem like they are really tracking the flu. All it is going to do is induce panic.

 

 

We were at the peds office yesterday and she said essentially the same thing. She seemed nonplussed by it -- commented that the flu season is typically January and February around here (northern Virginia) and the practice would expect to see a flu outbreak beginning just about right now if the media hype was accurate. We were the only ones in the office and we were there for scrip refills - no one was there for sick or well visits. We had the usual conversation about the typical seasonal flu vaccine, she did not mention an H1N1 vaccine. Fairfax County, Va has one million people living here -- their practice is one of the larger peds practices -- she did not seem concerned.

 

I'm in Fairfax also and as I said above our practice has seen a lot this summer. We expect to see a spike in cases in the next few weeks. Typically our office is very empty the first week or two after school starts and then we get really busy about 1-2 weeks after the kids are back in school and spreading around everything. We all expect that we'll start seeing more flu if we're going to see it in the next few weeks. We're getting a lot of emails from the hospitals and public health people and it sounds like that is the expectation also. So, I think she's right about the mildness of the disease but maybe it's too early to tell if we'll see a big spike in cases.

 

Also, we only have the seasonal flu shot to give. I haven't brought up H1N1 vaccine with people either because 1)we don't have it 2) we don't know when it will be available 3) we don't even know who will be giving it...we had to apply to be a location to receive the vaccine and don't know yet if we will, it may only be given at places like health dept., schools, hospitals etc. and 4) we dont' really have a lot of info on the vaccine. Right now I've been having the usual discussions about the seasonal flu shot with people and only talking about H1N1 if they ask...I don't really have much more info than they do so I feel like I can't discuss it very intelligently.

 

My pediatrician is a laid-back guy and definitely not an alarmist, based on previous issues he and I've spoken about. That said, I was somewhat surprised when he recommended this summer that the kids get the "regular" flu shot and then the two-part H1N1 shot when it becomes available in October. My youngest is sensitive to eggs, can't be vaccinated and he definitely recommended we ALL be vaccinated as a result to further protect him. As of this week, he has now also referred us to an allergist to gauge whether we can pump our youngest up with antihistamines at the allergist's, vaccinate him and monitor for a reaction.

 

Huh?

 

Am I nervous? No. Am I going to follow the advice of our laid-back pediatrician who has gone out of his way to make sure we know how he feels about the H1N1 vaccine? You bet.

 

I would be surprised if an allergist would think that was a good idea.

 

Actually, a lot of allergists here will give the flu vaccine to kids with egg allergies. They typically test them in their office and give it there. There is more and more data that this is safe to do and if a child has egg allergy and another strong reason for getting the vaccine (asthma or other chronic medical condition or otherwise high risk for flu) a lot of allergists will do recommend it. We have had more of a problem with people with egg allergic kids wanting us to do it in our office. We won't do it until the allergist signs off that it is ok, and what I am finding is that more and more of them do.

 

 

And finally, can I just say how glad I am that I start maternity leave Monday. :D I chose well this year.

[muffinmom]

As another pediatrician this fits with our experience. We saw a lot of what was likely H1N1 this summer. We test in the office for Influenza A and if it was positive we assumed H1N1 (other sources say 95% of what is in the community now is H1N1 and we don't typically see Flu in the summer in VA). Most people had a fairly "mild" illness. Mild is somewhat in the eye of the beholder though. I saw a lot of people who felt awful, had fevers in the 103-104 range for 4-5 days, achy all over, bad cough etc. But they got better, weren't hospitalized and had no long term complications. To me that's fairly mild...to someone else that might be the worst illness they have had.

 

Talking to other docs in the area most are seeing the same thing. Fairly mild, although yucky illness. No worse than the seasonal flu and perhaps somewhat milder.

 

I do think there is a lot of media hype that is making this seem worse than it is. On the other hand, there was a Washington Post article a few weeks ago that explained the concern from a public health standpoint in a very clear way. Due to the fact that so few people are immune to this strain the sheer numbers of people getting it may be much much much higher than the usual seasonal flu. Yes, the rate of hospitalizations and severe disease and mortality may be less than or equal to the seasonal flu but if there are huge numbers of people worldwide getting it that could still become overwhelming from a public health standpoint. From an individual standpoint your risk of having severe disease/death is perhaps no worse than with seasonal flu, but again from the public health/global standpoint we could be looking at a lot more people who are very sick and a lot more deaths.

 

All of this is obviously somewhat unknown...it's "could be", "perhaps", "potential" etc. I do understand that from the public health people's standpoint they are in a tough place. They can either be accused of making this into a frenzy unnecessarily or they will be accused of not taking it seriously enough if it ends up being worse than expected. I don't believe that the CDC or other agencies are involved in some kind of nefarious plot to make it seem worse than it is. I do think though that the media is such that we hear soundbites and scare journalism rather than a real explanation of the possiblities.

 

Added to that is that fact that schools and other agencies are going a little berserk, IMO and making policies that make no sense. For example, my niece's very hoity-toity private school has a new policy that everyone who has a fever must report the actual temperature and that it will be recorded on a website for parents to follow (not the child's name but something like "5th grader...temp 101 on 9/10). That is just a silly policy that makes absolutely no sense medically but is likely being implemented to make it seem like they are really tracking the flu. All it is going to do is induce panic.

 

 

 

 

I'm in Fairfax also and as I said above our practice has seen a lot this summer. We expect to see a spike in cases in the next few weeks. Typically our office is very empty the first week or two after school starts and then we get really busy about 1-2 weeks after the kids are back in school and spreading around everything. We all expect that we'll start seeing more flu if we're going to see it in the next few weeks. We're getting a lot of emails from the hospitals and public health people and it sounds like that is the expectation also. So, I think she's right about the mildness of the disease but maybe it's too early to tell if we'll see a big spike in cases.

 

Also, we only have the seasonal flu shot to give. I haven't brought up H1N1 vaccine with people either because 1)we don't have it 2) we don't know when it will be available 3) we don't even know who will be giving it...we had to apply to be a location to receive the vaccine and don't know yet if we will, it may only be given at places like health dept., schools, hospitals etc. and 4) we dont' really have a lot of info on the vaccine. Right now I've been having the usual discussions about the seasonal flu shot with people and only talking about H1N1 if they ask...I don't really have much more info than they do so I feel like I can't discuss it very intelligently.

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, a lot of allergists here will give the flu vaccine to kids with egg allergies. They typically test them in their office and give it there. There is more and more data that this is safe to do and if a child has egg allergy and another strong reason for getting the vaccine (asthma or other chronic medical condition or otherwise high risk for flu) a lot of allergists will do recommend it. We have had more of a problem with people with egg allergic kids wanting us to do it in our office. We won't do it until the allergist signs off that it is ok, and what I am finding is that more and more of them do.

 

 

And finally, can I just say how glad I am that I start maternity leave Monday. :D I chose well this year.

 

 

So glad for you, Alice! Thanks for weighing in here.

 

I'm glad to hear all these points of view...helps to see more of the big picture.

[Retired]

We had to take dd in today for a rash. After the dr. examined her I asked him about his recommendations for the swine flu. He said he wished the media would lay off it and wished he would be interviewed...he said he would take the media down 6 notches.

 

He said they are only reporting on the "sensational variations" of the flu and not reporting the facts. He said his office (4 or 5 docs) had seen 500 kids with it, had talked to 500 more who may have it. He said it's everywhere, but "not one of those kids even halfway had symptoms that would warrant a hospital visit." He said it has been far milder than regular flu.

 

He was pretty hot under the collar about the media frenzy and fear mongering. He is a prominent physician in the area--sort of a doctor's doctor, who is very much in the know about the latest on everything in his field.

 

So...that made me feel better.

 

 

:iagree: I am a nurse and have been saying this was a media hype. My own pediatrician is not even recommending the vaccine.

 

We actually don't even want to take the vaccine. I personally think that the whole crisis will disappear from TV when the health care bill is passed or failed

 

I personally think the Obama administration want any kind of health crisis to pass their reforms.

We know every TV media news are obama supporters except Fox. Fox happens to be the only channel that have had doctors saying this is not a serious flu. The swine flu is no more dangerous than the yearly flu. There are actually less death from swine than regular flu.

 

My sister and I both had the swine flu as children (1970's) great crisis.

[Brilliant]

My daughter and I almost certainly had Swine Flu last month. There were 2 confirmed cases in a camp she attended, and she came down with symptoms the day the camp ended. Then I got it. We called our doctor, who said we didn't need to get tested - that it didn't matter if it was swine flu or regular flu. We both fully recovered with rest, and lots of ibuprofen and orange juice!

[Margaret in GA]

:iagree: I am a nurse and have been saying this was a media hype. My own pediatrician is not even recommending the vaccine.

 

We actually don't even want to take the vaccine. I personally think that the whole crisis will disappear from TV when the health care bill is passed or failed

 

I personally think the Obama administration want any kind of health crisis to pass their reforms.

We know every TV media news are obama supporters except Fox. Fox happens to be the only channel that have had doctors saying this is not a serious flu. The swine flu is no more dangerous than the yearly flu. There are actually less death from swine than regular flu.

 

My sister and I both had the swine flu as children (1970's) great crisis.

 

Oh my goodness. Everything has to end up bashing the Obama administration? Nice.

 

Margaret, not worried about Swine Flu, but glad we have the CDC to moniter the situation.

[Tree House Academy]

What gets me is that the deaths reported in the media just say, "child age ___ died of swine flu." There is no real reason given. I mean, okay, he had swine flu. Did it turn into pneumonia? Did he get a bacterial infection? Did he wait too long to be seen? Did he take Tamiflu? Is this due to possible cytokine storm? There are a lot more important questions than just, "did he have any underlying conditions?"

 

Frankly, the reports of kids/people who die from it rapidly scare me to death. I am trying hard not to think about it because there is nothing I can do anyway. My prayers go to those families. :( I just wish they would report the actual cause of death in those cases - and espeically if they too Tamiflu. I really think there could be a connection there between rapid decline and that particular drug.

 

Currently, my ex-husband has my son. My ex is sick right now - 3 days after flying here from the DC area. Am I frightened? A bit. :(

[Danestress]

I just googled it to make sure, because I have been ignoring the news for a while. The first AP article I found said pretty much what your doctor said - that many people are coming down with H1N1, that it's not causing serious problems in most of them, that pretty much all the current flu cases are H1N1, etc. Yes, there was still discussion about the importance of getting flu vaccines and the concern about this flu becoming more serious for more people.

 

But I think the media IS reporting what your doctor said. I just think people either pick poor sources for information or are choosing to focus on the their fear rather than the current facts or a very anxious about the cases that have gone bad or the potential for a change.

[nmoira]

Dunno, I just read this article and wasn't terribly comforted.

 

Excerpt:

 

Swine flu has still not grown more severe, as many feared it would but as the pandemic's second, autumn wave begins in the northern hemisphere, the virus is posing a different threat. While H1N1 mostly causes mild disease, some people – estimates suggest fewer than 1 per cent – become deathly ill, very fast.

 

 

 

At a meeting last week in Winnipeg, Canada, experts warned that these cases could overwhelm hospitals. "These were the sickest people I've ever seen," says Anand Kumar, an intensive care expert at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

 

 

 

Kumar helped manage a wave of severe cases in the city in June, mostly in young Canadian aboriginals, who required the most advanced care. "This pandemic is like two diseases," he says. "Either you're off work a few days, or you go to hospital, often to the intensive care unit. There's no middle ground."

 

[Alicia64]

I think people who are blaming the media or the CDC or Obama or whomever are actually "Monday Morning Quarterbacking."

 

Everyone has said all along that they don't know what will happen with the H1N1. It was all a big wait and see. They said that many times -- that they just didn't know what they were dealing with. They were very concerned that they had a 1918 flu on their hands again. (And, true, life has changed since then.)

 

The other thing about this flu that is surprising everyone is that people in their 20's, 30's and 40's are dying. That is not the normal path for the regular seasonal flu. So it concerned the powers that be.

 

Does the media hype? Absolutely. Could the CDC be up to an ulterior agenda. Sounds like they could.

 

But let's all remember that many, many good medical folks kept repeating, "we just don't know what will happen. The hospitals could be overwhelmed and that, in and of itself, would be very bad."

 

My husband's hospital, his place of work, is usually at 95% capacity. Believe me, they're wondering what to do if bodies start showing up with the flu.

 

Alley

[Lovedtodeath]

Where in TN are you? I am in TN too and my dr office said the same thing. :)

 

As for tamiflu, I had a LONG conversation with my ped about it and he said that he really hated to give it at all, but would do so IF the parent wanted it. He does NOT recommend it nor does he use it. He said that his recommendations change when the child has underlying health issues.

 

I don't care - after reading about the sudden deaths and other issues caused by tamiflu alone, I wonder how many of the US 500+ deaths were caused by the FLU and how many were actually caused by the TAMIFLU!

I didn't know this about Tamiflu. Thanks for mentioning it.

[Bev in B'ville]

I think people who are blaming the media or the CDC or Obama or whomever are actually "Monday Morning Quarterbacking."

 

 

The other thing about this flu that is surprising everyone is that people in their 20's, 30's and 40's are dying. That is not the normal path for the regular seasonal flu. So it concerned the powers that be.

 

 

Alley

 

Actually, the flu attacking the relatively healthy population is what was scariest about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Those people who were healthiest were the ones dying because of their own bodies healthy immune systems going into overdrive. I read a book on the Spanish flu of 1918 and it was very interesting.

 

On another note, both my son and I have had the swine flu. We both took Tamiflu with no problems and recovered from the majority of the symptoms within a week (my son has allergy induced asthma and he took a little longer than I to recover). Other than how fast it hit (felt great in the morning, home with a 103 fever by afternoon) and, at least for me, the aches/pains (muscles and joints), it was very much like the regular flu. My children's ped. takes a more holisitic view and recommends not treating a fever unless it reaches 104. He said by giving meds to decrease the fever you are in effect kneecapping your body's ability to respond to the viral invasion.

 

Our doctor told us that as the flu is spread it is losing some of its virulence. That was a bit of good news!

[Blessedfamily]

I agree with Alice. What seems horrible to one person is "no worse than regular flu" to another. And what one person will get in bed and "sweat out" would prompt another person to go to the ER. Some reactions are definately serious, but much is subjective.

[fivetails]

Dunno, I just read this article and wasn't terribly comforted.

 

Excerpt:

 

Swine flu has still not grown more severe, as many feared it would but as the pandemic's second, autumn wave begins in the northern hemisphere, the virus is posing a different threat. While H1N1 mostly causes mild disease, some people – estimates suggest fewer than 1 per cent – become deathly ill, very fast.

 

 

 

At a meeting last week in Winnipeg, Canada, experts warned that these cases could overwhelm hospitals. "These were the sickest people I've ever seen," says Anand Kumar, an intensive care expert at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

 

 

 

Kumar helped manage a wave of severe cases in the city in June, mostly in young Canadian aboriginals, who required the most advanced care. "This pandemic is like two diseases," he says. "Either you're off work a few days, or you go to hospital, often to the intensive care unit. There's no middle ground."

 

 

This has bothered me quite a bit because we really never heard what happened to most of those people....most of the people they're talking about were indeed young aboriginals from various reservations in the northern areas. After the initial "wave" made the news, information became scarce... no follow up reports as to how many got better & returned home - there were a couple of deaths listed as Man. & Sask, but no confirmation as to whether those deaths were people from that 'wave' .....did most of them recover and go home? Are there some still in the hospital, on ventilators yet? (I've heard that some who get very sick are on them for long, long periods of time - weeks to months...)....

 

They've yet to sort out why aboriginals were being hit harder either - I remember reading thoughts about it being environmental --- some of the reserves are places where housing is very crowded, running water isn't supplied, addiction issues/poor health run rampant.... sounds like the ideal environment for a virus to thrive --- but the thing is, if that was the major contributing factor, then why have we not seen the same scenario play out in inner city neighbourhoods, among homeless populations, etc.. environments that contain many (if not all) of the same elements....?