Swine Flu anxiety makes people fear the average flu symptoms
Willie Wiest
Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: Opinion
hut your doors and windows and lock up your children. If you must go out, wear a surgical mask and coat your hands and arms in sanitizer. There has been an outbreak of (dun dun dunnnn), the flu.
The Swine Flu has caused so much fear in the public that the anxiety of catching the Swine Flu is worse than the actual symptoms. The media hype behind this pandemic has closed down public places, like schools and government buildings, because of fear of an outbreak.
Las Positas College has caught the Swine Flu fear bug, too. Friday, May 1, the college sent a memo to staff letting them know that should there be and "outbreak" of the Swine Flu, classes will be canceled and the college will be shut down. Yes, the flu is contagious, but closing a college campus because of an "outbreak" seems a bit overzealous.
The flu is usually a virus that takes you out of commission for about a week, give or take. You throw up, maybe, and you feel sickly and weak and it is no fun. Drink plenty of fluids, rest, and eat crackers.
This is not an outbreak of SARS or Anthrax. It is just the flu.
In the United States, there is such thing as flu season. About the same time every year some people come down with a viral illness that is uncomfortable, contagious and, well, just plain sucks. But it is rarely ever fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 36,000 people a year die from the flu in out of the 304 million United States residents. That's fewer than one percent of the population.
The H1N1 influenza virus causes most of the seasonal flu symptoms, but now that it has been found in Mexican pigs it's a media pandemic and everyone should take cover.
According to the Contra Costa Times, the swine flu symptoms include fever, head and body ache, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, and trouble breathing. Any of those sound familiar? If they do, don't be alarmed. I must have had this Swine Flu every other year for most my life.
The Swine Flu has caused so much fear in the public that the anxiety of catching the Swine Flu is worse than the actual symptoms. The media hype behind this pandemic has closed down public places, like schools and government buildings, because of fear of an outbreak.
Las Positas College has caught the Swine Flu fear bug, too. Friday, May 1, the college sent a memo to staff letting them know that should there be and "outbreak" of the Swine Flu, classes will be canceled and the college will be shut down. Yes, the flu is contagious, but closing a college campus because of an "outbreak" seems a bit overzealous.
The flu is usually a virus that takes you out of commission for about a week, give or take. You throw up, maybe, and you feel sickly and weak and it is no fun. Drink plenty of fluids, rest, and eat crackers.
This is not an outbreak of SARS or Anthrax. It is just the flu.
In the United States, there is such thing as flu season. About the same time every year some people come down with a viral illness that is uncomfortable, contagious and, well, just plain sucks. But it is rarely ever fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 36,000 people a year die from the flu in out of the 304 million United States residents. That's fewer than one percent of the population.
The H1N1 influenza virus causes most of the seasonal flu symptoms, but now that it has been found in Mexican pigs it's a media pandemic and everyone should take cover.
According to the Contra Costa Times, the swine flu symptoms include fever, head and body ache, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, and trouble breathing. Any of those sound familiar? If they do, don't be alarmed. I must have had this Swine Flu every other year for most my life.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Holly
posted 5/09/09 @ 11:56 AM PST
Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that someone actually has a brain in their head about this thing.
dayna
posted 5/09/09 @ 3:34 PM PST
This is fantastic! I just finished up finals and definitely have come down with something....probably the regular old flu, but like every other wacky person I had to google swine flu symptoms. (Continued…)
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