They said this at the start of the summer in the UK. There was talk of keeping kids from starting school in september because that's when everything would be at its worst. They setup round the clock manned telephone hotlines for advice. Those operators are now sleeping, playing cards, waiting for the phones to ring.

Seems like most people in the UK have had a mild case of swine flu now, and it was pretty boring (I believe myself and my family had mild case of swine flu a month or so ago - we stayed at home, felt a bit rubbish for a few days, then got better).

Is it really worth getting jabs for this? (Unless you're pregnant or have other medical issues). Is it really worth trying to isolate it?

On the grand scale of things, the number of people likely to die from it seems miniscule compared to other threats.

PS (When I started to type "myself" above, my fingers actually typed "mysql"! Hate it when that happens :/ )

"In the grand scale of things, the number of people likely to die from it seems miniscule compared to other threats."

What are other threats are you thinking of?

What other diseases are estimated to cause half the US population to be infected, one million hospitalizations, and 90,000 deaths? Even if most people who get it are fine after a few days, it's a pretty big deal if half the population is going to come down with it; H1N1 sure is going to get a lot of chances to kill even if it's not so deadly for any one individual.

Your standard seasonal flu kills thousands every year :/

Exactly, 30k dead in the US annually due to seasonal flu. I doubt the swine flue will kill 90k. They want to scare people to sell Tamiflu and the vaccine. It's a billions of dollars business.

The same people who own the pharma companies were involved in the propaganda of WMDs in Iraq, most notably Donald Rumsfeld who is the owner of the Tamiflu selling company.

There's an average of 30k to 50k deaths related to flu each year. And, yes, vaccines are truly beneficial. There's also 30-50k deaths each year because of car accidents.

I'm not saying that people should panic about the flu, but good handwashing, getting vaccinated and not exposing others to your germs is just good common sense, and it's what our best current science says.

If you get the vaccine you might still get sick, but if you do, it's usually less severe. And, we all get the benefit of herd immunity from large scale vaccinations programs.

<PSA>...and boost your vitamin D level! 60% of the US population is deficient and it gets worse in the winter (which is one reason flu cases increase seasonally.) Your body will make vitamin D on its own in response to direct sunlight (but not through glass.) You can also buy inexpensive D3 supplements. Many high end multivitamins already include it.</PSA>

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/pos...

Wait - you mean you can have swine flu and not have a high fever? I've been in bed for like 8 days with a cough, waterfall mucus production, bronchitis, and feeling terrible. I'm leaking out my right ear and have lost hearing on that side. The doctor said it wasn't H1N1 because I have no fever.

You're saying it could be? Going back to the doctor tomorrow, but I'm surprised to hear your description of the symptoms - it is not what my doctor suggested, and it fits with what I've had.

I wouldn't be surprised if you have it. The classic symptoms are fever, cough, copious mucous, body aches, with vomiting and diarrhea. But, I'm pretty sure I had it for a couple of days, and I just had a little fever, runny nose and body aches. My wife had a runny nose, a cough and aches for 3 weeks.

A few weeks ago Santa Clara County Department of Health told us that 99% of all flu like symptoms in the area are H1N1. There just aren't too many other bugs going around right now, at least in Silicon Valley.

That being said, getting swabbed really doesn't do much for you. It lets you tell your friends, "I had swine flu", but not much else. Tamiflu helps a little bit, but only if you take it in the first 2 days of symptoms. So, you're pretty much screwed. Sorry.

If you start to cough up colored goo, or have a hard time breathing by all means go to see the Bone Saw again.

I had green and bloody goo. I had a hard time breathing. I got through it. I did have some body aches.

I did not have ANY GI symptoms, though. Or high fever, so they weren't too concerned.

There is a hacking virus thing going around here that isn't H1N1, and I think I had that.

In any case, I'm rapidly improving now. Even getting some hearing back in my right ear.

I took the online symptom test when I believe I had it.

The symptoms are ridiculously vague. The test was like "Do you have 2 or more of the following? [fever, cough, cold, sore throat, etc].

I'd ask for a specific test to be sure what it is.

The symptoms are the same as with seasonal flu but less severe so such a test is nonsense.

> Wash your hands. Sneeze or cough into your elbow instead of your hands. If you're sick, for the love of health, please stay home and isolate yourself instead of sharing your germs with your coworkers.

Why? If this thing is a contagious as it seems to be, there is no point in doing this. Pretty much everyone is going to get it from one source or another.

Let's fight useful battles, instead of making everyone think they are doing some good, when they are doing nothing effective.

This is nonsense. If it's as contagious as it's purported to be then washing your hands and staying home when you are sick are precisely the things that you should be doing. These simple measures have a real, measurable impact on public health. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washing_with_soap

It's obviously way late to post this here, but I was right - hand washing does nothing for the flu: http://www.newsweek.com/id/215435