Hi Myarka,
After I submitted the post on here I read as well what the level 5 alert meant...:022:
Love
Zimba
Colleagues of mine have seen people walking around London with face-masks on - why? what DO they think they are doing??
Oh, Nick, Nick. I lived in London for years, and suspect you may be just a little bit naive just as to the great variety of unusual night-clubs some people go to .... :rolleyes:
V
Hi everyone
Just to clarify the facts, this particular strain of flu is a fairly new one, which means the majority of people havent been exposed to it, hence the haste to make everyone aware of swine flu. In order to limit the spread those returning from Mexico are being asked to be extra cautious on their return to the UK, ie staying in doors, limit contact, etc, etc, until their are sure that they are not symptomatic. Basic hygine is being re-inforced for everyone to follow.
Lots of people have flu of various kind, flu has it's own complications as have all illnesses, but unless they are tested we wont know which strain they have. The swab test results take a few days to come back as various tests are necessary hence the wait to find out if it is or not. The results are then relayed to the persons concerned.
Flu comes in waves, which will also have an impact, but all we can do is wait and see.
As for Tamiflu, just receiving Tamiflu when you have flu, doesn't mean that you will get better quicker or stop it, you will still have flu, all it will do is relieve the symptoms so they wont be so severe. We are dealing with a new virus and viruses change over time, what they are looking at today could be completly different in a few months time, who knows.
Hopefully everyone will take the advice and life goes on, etc, the annual flu jab will be adjusted, but as mentioned earlier this will take time as testing is necessary, it is all a bit of wait and see what happens, at this point nobody knows what will happen.
The point is that the UK is prepared, everyone is aware of the current cases, contact's have been traced and will be monitored, a lot of people will be waiting for results but not necessarily have this strain of flu. A great amount of preparation has been made 'for just in case' and 'be prepared'. There are various plans that could be implimented across the UK, as and when needs be, but people need to be aware and not panic.
There are no conspiracy theories, people making a financial gain, it is a reality we are all facing, as everyone has faced throughout time, this is just one that everyone must be aware of and do their bit to limit the spread. When I was a child a lot of people were digging bunkers incase of a nuclear attack, we now know many of them wouldnt have been much good, but they were doing something positive.
As for the flu being a diversion away from the current political problems, just think, if this flu does hit, even if it is a mild strain, look at Mexico, the cost to their economy is hugh, multiply it by other countries who are also hit, even if asked to close everything for say 7 days, the current financial problems would be a drop in the ocean! Nobody wants this to happen, but certain people have to lead and the current politicians are the leaders, who have taken advice from the experts, whether we like what we hear or not.
Keep yourself healthy, carry on the best you can and be aware.
Apologies for the public health broadcast.
Fudge
Apologies for the public health broadcast.
Excellent post Fudge!
Myarka.
Oh, Nick, Nick. I lived in London for years, and suspect you may be just a little bit naive just as to the great variety of unusual night-clubs some people go to .... :rolleyes:
V
Don't think they were THAT sort of mask! 😉
And thanks, Fudge, for that note of good sense and realism. Of course, we have to be prepared. What we don't have to do is act in a stupid way... acting stupid is rarely a good idea!
Rather than "Don't panic!", I think the sensible approach is: "Keep calm and carry on."
I can't help but think conspiracy theory. I have no evidence, it's just a feeling I have. This virus certainly takes the mind off the economy...
Creates a few jobs doesn't it?
Somebody I know went to the doctors yesterday, there was a sign on the door saying, 'if you think you have swine flu, go home and call us'.
Hi
Have to add that you will find that notice on every GP and hospital door, it is to limit the spread of the flu, it's part of the national guidelines.
The reason for the telephoning and not coming directly to the GP surgery or hospital, is to limit the number of people you have been in contact with, in case you do have it. Plus the people present in the surgery waiting room are usually ill in someway and if they do get the swine flu there could be extra complications due to their own health problems.
The GP will ring you and go through your symptoms, ask you a lot of questions and then decide if you need a swab or not, this decision is made not just by the GP, but the GP will consult with the public health protection nurses and/or the Consultants in Communicable Diseases and a joint decision is made. Depending on the result the person will be again contacted and then the next stage gets implemented or not.
As you can imagine this has put a lot of extra work on the surgeries, labs and all the public health staff involved. All NHS Staff are under a lot of pressure, as they still need to do their day job, look after their own health and deal with the flu, plus deal with a lot of people who think they may have it, it is all very time consuming.
Take care of yourself.
Fudge
would you refuse to treat clients with flu?
Is anyone taking extra precautions in treating clients - for themselves and their clients?:001:
I'm not sure if I would want to treat anyone with flu symptoms at the moment. I've been on an asthma inhaler since my last flu in January - so not too keen on picking up swine flu.
Also slightly peeved that the Association of Reflexologists have not yet sent out an email to help guide Reflexologists.
I have to say that I am a bit cautious, and probably a tad paranoid but yesterday someone was referred to me with 'flu' and my first thought was oh dear, what do I do, do I treat her or not? Bearing in mind that clients with fevers are contraindicated I checked out if she had a fever, she didn't in fact she felt quite cool, so not wanting to take too much of a chance I offered her a reflexology treatment and handed her a tissue. 😮
If she had had flu with a fever, I would not have treated, afterall we have a responsibility to ourselves and our clients. I feel a bit peed off with the guy who referred her to me so after the treatment I had a chat and said I can't massage anyone with a fever. I treat a vulnerable group of immune suppressed people who really need to take good care of themselves and benefit enormously from having complementary therapies, and I have never shyed away from giving treatments, but I would say if in doubt don't treat as you are not going to be able to give of your best, if you are fearful and not centred and coming from that space.
Love Binah
x
Creates a few jobs doesn't it?
Somebody I know went to the doctors yesterday, there was a sign on the door saying, 'if you think you have swine flu, go home and call us'.
Good grief that sounds like something from the middle ages. I wish those in authority would put that amount of effort into informing people about HIV.
Just curious, are you asking for people with HIV to be excluded from surgeries? or are you asking people to be more aware of HIV?
If it is the later, there is a wealth of information for young and older people (people of all ages are affected) a hugh amount of imput has gone into promoting, clinics and referrals, schools, etc, etc, There is a wealth of info and people willing to support those that need it, although I can only speak from a Welsh perspective.
Last week I was in a young peoples info centre and the amount of support they could access by just walking through the door was amazing not just about std's, hiv, birth control, there was a really buzz about the place and support for just about all that you could think a young person would need, if they couldnt help you they would find out who could. I wish they had such places in my youth.
Fudge
Just curious, are you asking for people with HIV to be excluded from surgeries? or are you asking people to be more aware of HIV?
If it is the later, there is a wealth of information for young and older people (people of all ages are affected) a hugh amount of imput has gone into promoting, clinics and referrals, schools, etc, etc, There is a wealth of info and people willing to support those that need it, although I can only speak from a Welsh perspective.
Last week I was in a young peoples info centre and the amount of support they could access by just walking through the door was amazing not just about std's, hiv, birth control, there was a really buzz about the place and support for just about all that you could think a young person would need, if they couldnt help you they would find out who could. I wish they had such places in my youth.
Fudge
The latter.
There is information out there but I don't hear about it every day on radio and TV. No leaflets dropped through doors nationwide. There are still a lot of people out there who do not think they can catch it. They think it is a gay disease or they don't like how the condom feels. I have known a lot of promiscuous people have sex without a condom from young to middle aged.
In the UK we are lucky because we can get treatment for free for those who can't in other countries they have to suffer and die because they can't afford treatment. There are millions living with hiv worldwide and millions have died and are still dying. So what ever is being done, it is not enough by a very long way.
I wonder how many people had this flu before we became aware of it, started testing for it and counting the cases?
Two things have happened this week that has raised my concerns re this flu. The first was my daughter (who is a teacher) telling me that there was a meeting at school last week and they were told when doing the predictive grades for GCSE's this year to be generous as the school may have to close and the kids not able to sit the exams. The second was getting a call from Staff Bank checking my details and asking how far did I live from the hospital and did I have any dependants? I asked why and was told this info was needed in case of an out-break here.
Now, when I worked for the NHS in Essex staff had to attend a session away from the hospital re Major Incident Training. The man running it was quite scary and the info he gave us of what would happen in any biological warfare gave me nightmares for days after (the very graphic video accompanying the session didn't help!). He explained what role we would play (and I was only a receptionist, not medically trained) and mention was made of our dependants. Of course, coming out of that session everyone was fervently hoping that we would never be in such a scenario!! So, to be asked about my dependants rang alarm bells for me.
I don't agree with the hype in the media but I for one am keeping a close eye on what's REALLY going on by checking WHO website updates etc.
I received my booklet through the door on Friday and it reminded me of the "protect and survive" booklet sent out many years ago re what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Anyone else remember those???
Love and llight
reikiangel
xxx
Dread
This was a book review in the Sunday Times yesterday. Interesting that the author should choose this time to write on this subject!
Dread: How Fear and Fantasy Have Fuelled Epidemics from the Black Death to the Avian Flu by Philip Alcabes
When death rumbles around wantonly, we tell a story to make sense of it. And when no deadly disease is rampant, we create our own horror stories, scare ourselves beyond the simple fear of our own or our societys demise. We seem to need this story of risk the story of invasion, suspect strangers, occult contamination or hereditary susceptibilities. We can load outbreaks of contagion with the concerns of the day in order to tell ourselves this story, but when there is no outbreak we tell the story anyway.
Judy