The whole topic of swine flu is one that I’m so sick of hearing about. Honestly, I don’t get why the media has taken it and just run with it. I’m definitely not jumping on the media bandwagon and I firmly believe that instead of just relying the news, they instill fear in people.
As you know, Tarzan and I tend to not watch the news or read the newspaper. If something important is happening that I need to know about, I’m informed by my mom or my father-in-law. If I watched the news I would be in absolute hysterics over all of the news stories. I can’t even imagine, but I’d definitely need some Prozac then.
This past weekend Tarzan and I were out having lunch and I saw on a television for the first time a pigpen along with talk of something called the swine flu. This was on Friday, so it was just the beginning of hearing about swine flu. Of course, the sound was off and while I glanced at the tv from time to time, I left without wondering what swine flu was or if it was a big deal.
In one ear and out the other.
On Sunday my father-in-law called Tarzan to tell him about swine flu. Of course my FIL was worried about me since I’m pregnant and told Tarzan to have me stay in the house, wash my hands constantly (which I already do), and to just be careful. I laughed when Tarzan told me that his dad didn’t want me to leave the house. Whatever.
The next day my mom called to talk about this swine flu. My mom is just like my FIL in the fact that they both watch the news, read the papers, and believe everything that the media says. Again I just brushed off this swine flu talk because they both tend to exaggerate on things.
At this point I was not worried, but already terribly sick of hearing about the swine flu.
Then on Tuesday my dad called. Now my dad is the type of guy that is not too emotional and doesn’t tend to believe all of the hype that the media puts out there. In fact, I’m not sure that he’s ever called over a virus before. I am definitely more like him and just shrug all this nonsense away.
Well, he totally surprised me with this call.
He told me that I should lay low and stay inside the house for a few days until they know more about the swine flu. You should know that my dad is in the medical field, so he’s pretty up to date on what’s going on. In fact, during this phone call he told me that he had heard that a baby had died in Houston from it (this news didn’t break until yesterday morning).
My dad doesn’t mess around nor is he the worrying type, so when he calls me and tells me information about what he knows, I tend to listen, as does my husband. Of course it all stems because I’m 27 weeks pregnant and I understand where it comes from.
The part that I don’t understand is why the hysteria about it.
It’s a flu.
No one has died in the US and I think that the deaths from Mexico are due to poor healthcare there. I think there are something like 36,000 deaths per year from the regular flu, so why all the worry about this? Is it just because the CDC isn’t sure of how it will spread, or how many people will be infected? Why can’t the media realize that they scare people instead of just relaying the true facts?
It really annoys me.
I turned on the tv to watch Ellen today, but the news was on with a special “breaking news report” about another school closing. So far, I think the count is up to 4 schools in total in Houston that have closed due to swine flu.
My mom called me today to tell me that 4 people from her office were out sick and are being tested for swine flu.
A friend’s status update on Facebook said that Houston is running out of masks to wear.
My husband went to the grocery store because we are out of food and he said that it was crazy and certain items were completely gone, like peanut butter. Oh and he went to the grocery store because he was too nervous about me going. Since my dad recommended that I stay at home for a few days, my lovely Tarzan believes this to also be true.
We were going to register tomorrow because my friend informed me that my baby shower invites went out this morning… and while there are a few places listed on the invite of where I am register, I haven’t actually done it yet. Oops. Tarzan doesn’t think it’s a good idea anymore and would like us to do it online instead.
Oy.
Not that I’m downplaying the potential of this flu, but really, I feel like it’s more likely to get struck by lightning or win the lottery than it is to catch the swine flu (at least right now). People need to get back to old-fashion hygiene by washing their hands with soap and water, sneezing and coughing into a tissue and then throwing it away, and staying away from anyone that is sick.
Purell and Germ-x – Use it when you are out.
Isn’t it all common sense?
I’m not sure why I’m opening up this bag of worms, but what are your thoughts about the swine flu? Do you think that it’s being over-hyped, or are you really scared about it?
I will admit that I’m more terrified about a world-wide pandemic, like the plague, more than I worry about terrorists, but this is a strain of the flu that people seem to be recovering just fine from.
Is it really worth all the worry?
You might also want to read:
- Want to find out if you have swine flu?
- 7 weeks pregnant (beginning): Morning sickness
- Ringing in 24 weeks pregnant with lots of worrying and sickness
- 18 weeks pregnant: Belly flutters, dampness, no morning sickness, and HUNGER
- 35 weeks pregnant: Touching my pregnant belly is 100% off limits and that includes you mr. guy in front of me at the post office
= a post from Mommy Jane 
= a post from Daddy Tarzan
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a guidance counselor in a rural Western New York school, and they’re shutting down both schools in our district on Friday because one of our kids has swine flu. And I’m 19 weeks pregnant, so I had to call the health department; they asked me questions about my contact with the student and wondered if I’ve been having any symptoms. (I did have contact with him last week–he was in my office for about 15 minutes!) The news stations were in the school parking lot, and it was kind of surreal. I mean, news doesn’t happen in our neck of the woods! I’m not all that worried, but I did have a few moments of panic. I never in a million years expected that this story would hit our little cow town!
My mom just sent me an email about the swine flu warning me to stay away from public places and to use antibacterial hand sanitizer. I’m a normally panicky person, so I am worried about catching it. And while I know it’s a flu, even the regular flu is harder on pregnant women then normal people. I think if I wasn’t 24 weeks pregnant I wouldn’t be nearly as worried, but I don’t want anything happening to my baby. I really don’t want to stay confined in the house either (and it’s impossible to do since I have a college class every Tuesday night), but part of me thinks I should. I’m in California and we’ve had quite a few cases here. When I went to physical therapy today there were signs everywhere warning people to wear a mask if they were coughing or sneezing. I hope they figure out how to contain it soon or at least come up with a vaccine.
Have Tarzan (and both of your parents) read this article: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-swine-reality30-2009apr30,0,3606923.story. It looks like the Swine Flu isn’t really that dangerous yet. Yes, there’s a chance it could mutate into something dangerous later, but for right now it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be. Take some basic disease precautions (wash hands, cover coughs, etc) and you’ll be fine.
@Nikki,
Antibacterial hand sanitizer won’t do anything to combat the Swine Flu (or any other flu for that matter). Flus are viruses, not bacterium. The best thing to do is wash your hands with normal soap and warm water and then dry them off well.
@TechyDad,
Yeah, my husband reminded me of the same thing. In all honesty, I hate that stuff anyway. But my mom swears by it and thinks it cures all. (Don’t even get me started on her weird home remedies.) I have been really good throughout my pregnancy about washing my hands with soap and water often.
I’m in north Alabama where there are now 12 suspected cases and all the schools are shut down until Monday and yet I’m not worried at all. Due to the same stats that you quoted I’m not worried. I’m almost 15 weeks pregnant and still don’t see the need in getting all worked up. Maybe I’m just too laid back but right now until something else major happens I don’t see the need in worrying about it all.
I am not worried about swine flu or whatever they are calling it at the moment. 3000 people a DAY die from malaria, but this is simply considered a “health problem” NOT a pandemic. More people have died from your garden variety flu. I am just taking common sense precautions like washing my hands a bit more. The boy in Texas who died was a Mexican citizen that was traveling while he was sick, I doubt that he would have died if he had recieved proper medical attention in time.
I think the media is blowing it out of proportion, and normally I wouldn’t worry to much about catching the flu. Even though I am almost 12 weeks pregnant, I still plan to go to the grocery store and the movies and continue with my normal handwashing routine. However, getting on a plane with all the crowding and recycled air is a different story. When I fly to Baltimore for Memorial Day, I will most likely wear a mask. And not the flimsy surgical variety, but the fitted respirator type. Having the flu is no fun under normal conditions but when it puts my baby at risk (not to mention being unable to take the most potent flu meds) I take prevention very seriously.
It’s totally being overhyped, in my opinion. If I were you, I’d go out and register. It’ll be a fun time, and seriously, you’re at extremely low risk of getting the virus. Don’t let this thing keep you from doing your thing.
BTW, everyone in my family’s in the medical field – mom and aunt high level nurses, sis and uncle docs, and sis is pregnant too. No one in my family’s raising heck about the flu. Let’s just say eye rolls are going around. Plus, I saw my OB yesterday and it wasn’t even mentioned.
Over done I agree. I tried picking out stuff for my register on-line @ Target and it took forever computer was very slow…just don’t go in on a Sat way too busy and you won’t have as much fun.
Look, I’m not worried about Swine Flu. However, I think you’re off the mark with a few things.
First of all, there has been a confirmed case of a death from Swine Flu in Texas according to the CDC. Furthermore, the acting director of the CDC has said — flat out — that the country should expect further deaths from this outbreak. So yes, it is deadly.
And second, the media is doing its job. Would you rather newspapers and TV stations not report a near pandemic?? That’s madness. Maybe some outlets are blowing it out of proportion but the World Health Organization has it rated Level 5 — one step below a pandemic. That’s news. That’s big news.
Maybe I’m biased because I’m a member of the media, but this is absolutely something all media outlets should be reporting. Sorry, but that’s a fact.
Daddy Files – First of all, I didn’t mean to offend you being part of the media. I just think that many media outlets and WHO go for the scare tactic when reporting the facts. So many people are rushing into dr’s offices bc they think they are infected with swine flu. While it’s smart on their part to take action if they have this, it’s just creating, in my opinion, so much fear stricken and panic in the dr’s waiting room.
The confirmed death in Texas was a Mexican citizen, which I’m sure you know.
I understand that the media has to relay the information to the public, but I just wish that it could be done in a less than crazy way. I wish that it was not made out to be this scary thing, when it isn’t (so far at least).
While it is big news that WHO has rated it a level 5, that only means that swine flu has been confirmed in 2 countries. That doesn’t seem like such a big deal and I think the words “level 5″ sound a lot scarier. What about the regular flu, which so far has proven to be far worse than swine flu? What about all of the other viruses going around that do not get reported on?
So I do agree that the media should be reporting on the swine flu, but I think that it would be awesome if it could be done in a way that didn’t provoke such fear and panic in people.
I agree with everything you said Jane. Took many of the words right out of my own mouth, that I have been repeating for the entire week. I’m 33 weeks pregnant and not one bit worried, to be honest. In fact, friend of mine who works for one of my local TV news channels mentioned that this past week was the start of sweeps… ironic, isn’t it?
Oh, and @Daddy Files, the one death in Texas was a 23 month old child who was VISITING FROM MEXICO, where all the deaths are currently being reported and where the health care system is far inferior to that of the United States. I think anyone who ends up dying from it here in the US is probably in the percentage of people who would die from any flu, swine or otherwise… i.e. the elderly, people with immune disorders or deficiencies, etc. But if it turns out to be of that particular “swine” strain, look out for a media blow-up. The thing I’m getting the most sick of hearing about that is being reported are the “probable” or “possible” cases, of which there are several here in Ohio where I live. Until they get a positive on a swine flu test, I’d rather not hear about it.
I was going to post the “Do I Have Pig Flu” link, but you already did that on Twitter lol. You might need to add that in as an addendum to this post!
I’m on the same page as most of you. I have been reading all of the facts on CNN.com and I’m still not convinced it is something I need to be seriously scared about. When you compare the stats to other diseases and flu’s, the swine flu is nominal. I will take normal precautions not to get sick but I don’t want to go overboard.
Jane, don’t sweat the “no offense” stuff. I’m not offended at all. And I know it was a Mexican girl but she died in the US. That’s all I’m saying.
But you think WHO is going for the “scare tactic??” Why would they do that? WHO has nothing to gain by scaring the bejeezus out of people. And the reason so many get reported as “possible” or “probable” is because the health organizations have to cover their asses. Can you imagine if they didn’t report a probably case and then it turned out to be a deadly instance of Swine Flu. People would flip their lids and say “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!?!” It’s a damned if we do and damned if we don’t situation.
But yes, the unfortunate side effect of reporting on health scares is that it makes all the neurotic hypochondriacs go absolutely nuts. But I think that’s a necessary evil compared to the idea of possibly underreporting something like this.
You are right. The media blows things way out of proportion. Fact is, the media has a huge hand in public perception. If they publicized every death every year from the flu then we would all be freaked out EVERY YEAR. They publicize every death in Iraq to make it seem like soldiers are dying left and right over there. Fact is…if they publicized every death while soldiers were at home they would be shocked at how many lives have been saved by having them there! My cousins unit went over, 3500 men and women and all 3500 came home. That was an 18 month tour. Since being home 37 have died….in less than 6 months! From stupid human stuff like car accidents.
Fact is the Flu is pandemic every year. The only reason this is getting so much hype is because it is caused by something other than what we see all the time. Wiki says an epidemic “occurs when new cases of a certain disease occur in a given human population, during a given period, substantially exceed what is “expected,” based on recent experience” Pandemic just means epidemic world wide. It has nothing to do with the danger of the particular illness (obesity is an epidemic) when we see wide spread death as a result then there is time to worry. So far the cases in the us have been mild and easily treated. I’m not going to treat it different that the flu unless things change a lot. Wash hands, don’t touch face and avoid those that are sick. Common sense.
I hate hearing people efin say that they are not worried about this….and tell me i shouldnt worry…well they arent the ones pregnant its so annoying
@Connie, I don’t think we’d be freaked out every year. We’d get bored of their constant flu hyping and would tune them out. Then, when an actually bad flu appeared, we’d ignore the media’s “Big Bad Flu” stories and get really sick.
The media (semi-wisely) changes what they hype at regular intervals. This keeps most people from getting bored of the hype. Now that the facts of “swine flu” are coming to light (that it’s not as bad as normal flu, that the 1918 flu occurred at a time when basic health care tactics – like hand washing – weren’t in place, that tons of people aren’t dropping dead, etc.) I’d be willing to bet that they’ll drop the “swine flu” stories in a week or so and will move on to another story.
@britt, I don’t think anyone’s saying that you shouldn’t worry at all, but locking yourself indoors and cowering in fear of the swine flu (like Tarzan’s dad and Jane’s mom seemed to recommend) is overreacting. You should worry about the swine flu about as much as you’d worry about any other sickness that people might have. Wash your hands and cover your coughs/sneezes.
The media is hyping the swine flu like it is a worldwide pandemic with people dropping like flies. The fact of the matter is that there are actually very few confirmed cases of swine flu outside of Mexico. Most of the cases in the US (including the one death) were people who were visiting from Mexico or who visited Mexico recently. All of those cases (except for that one 23 month old toddler from Mexico) have fully recovered.
In our case, we’re going to Disney World this Saturday. There’s just been a confirmed case in Orlando from someone who visited Disney. (See: http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Florida-up-to-15-suspected-3-confirmed-cases-of/5sSJyO7PT0291BJeNAQxIg.cspx) The teenager made a full recovery.
My wife isn’t pregnant, but we are traveling with our two young children, both with histories of febrile seizures. (Including one in which my youngest child didn’t start breathing on his own and needed rescue breaths from my mother-in-law.) We aren’t going to cancel our trip because of this swine flu case. We’re just going to be safe about it like reviewing proper hand washing procedures with our five year old.
I’m a nurse and I believe it’s common sense:
WASH your hands frequently.
Dont get close to anyone who is sick.
Cough into your sleeve or a tissue and WASH after.
Don’t go to work or school with symptoms of colds or flu. (this is my big pet peeve!)
Yes, it’s a new strain of flu and we don’t have built in immunity to it. This is why it’s such a dangerous flu. Most healthy people who get it will probably recover well. It’s the elderly, the immune compromised and the very young who are at risk here.
I realize I’m a little late here, but I just wanted to weigh in. I definitely think the media is blowing the swine flu way, way out of proportion. Regular old influenza is still technically more deadly than the swine flu. Plus, the numbers that have been reported are SO vastly different that it’s impossible to believe what anyone says. I’ve heard things like 2,000 people have been infected with like 300 deaths, and then I heard that only 80 cases are confirmed swine flu with 7 deaths.
Basically, I’m with you. I’m washing my hands, avoiding people who are sick and that’s that. I’m also laying semi-low, but that’s mostly because I’m a lazy, tired pregnant woman who’d rather watch Cake Challenge on the Food Network than go out on the town.
I have to agree with you on this. I don’t even bother reading/watching the news anymore becuase of it.
I need to send this to my brother & sister-in-law! We just got back from Hawaii on Monday at 1am. We have some cool souvenirs for them and they insisted we wait until the weekend to know whether or not we attained the swine flu while on vacation.
Seriously?
Come on now. We were in Hawaii, not Mexico! And there are no reported cases there or here (Oregon). And I am so frustrated, as you are, by all the freak out over it. The regular flu is more deadly than the swine flu! I am so annoyed.
I know this is an old post, but anway – I wasnt worried about swine flu either when the media started going crazy about it. I’m a pretty severe asthmatic – so to me any flu is bad news. I of course regularly wash my hands etc but I also catch the bus to and from work everyone and therefore cant avoid other sick people. When I was ten weeks pregnant I got swine flu. It was awful. Was it worse than a regular flu? Probably not… but for me regular flu puts me in hospital and means difficulty breathing for some weeks. I ended up in hospital and I was pretty worried both about mine and the babies health. I ended up getting over it, but not for three weeks. I’m now 30 weeks pregnant and the baby seems fine. But that was an experience I’d never want to repeat.