swine flu--is anyone concerned?

[silver]

Fearful? No. It is respect for what some diseases can do. Being fearful could make one an ineffective health care provider. But, having an understanding of the diseases and how to protect yourself and the patients can overcome whatever fears you might have.

Of course there are some days you do go home and give your family an extra hug...after you have thoroughly showered.

Thats why I put it in quotes. I have no fear of it; people were responding to my post like I did. I just have an understanding and respect for what viruses do, which I assume you do too.

 

[guardian528]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from reading through the threads on here, I don't get the impression any of you are too concerned about contracting the swine flu. I've been wanting to join my local volunteer squad, but with all the talk in the news about the swine flu, I admit I'm getting cold feet. Is it all just hype? I'm thinking maybe I should wait until it all blows over, but I don't know. :unsure:

seriously? i am more worried about getting swine flu going to school than i am going to work. at school i sit in a crowded lecture hall with 400 students right next to each other coughing all day long. at work i sit with a partner and a patient. seems school has the greater odds.

and yes, swine flu is all hype. its bs

 

[VentMedic]

and yes, swine flu is all hype. its bs

Obviously you don't live in CA or you would know what is happening around you unless you totally could care less. You also probably do not work in any form of EMS or have any type of medical job or you would also be aware of a few facts in California. You might try learning what H1N1 is since that is the name you will now hear the Swine Flu called. Stay informed.

 

[guardian528]

Obviously you don't live in CA or you would know what is happening around you unless you totally could care less. You also probably do not work in any form of EMS or have any type of medical job or you would also be aware of a few facts in California. You might try learning what H1N1 is since that is the name you will now hear the Swine Flu called. Stay informed.

i wasn't aware there were prerequisites to living in california. i would voice my opinion, but i've already watched you argue with sasha on the subject, so i'll just stay out of it. its seasonal flu x1.5, get over it. if you haven't already, read the article from this thread

 

[VentMedic]

i wasn't aware there were prerequisites to living in california. i would voice my opinion, but i've already watched you argue with sasha on the subject, so i'll just stay out of it. its seasonal flu x1.5, get over it. if you haven't already, read the article from this thread

You need to read the links to the CDC and get your facts straight. You spout off stuff that you have no clue about what you are even talking even though it is taking place all around you. From what great experience are you speaking from if you are not even in a health care occupation? Can you tell me that the deaths to the children in CA this past month is just BS? Is that the only "disease" some EMTs know? Why don't you give the parents a call and tell them to just suck it up?

Prove that those deaths were not caused by H1N1 and the parents are just stupid for over reacting to the death of their children. Provide links that prove those parents are contributing to the hype.

Then you can start calling the families of some of the 20 somethings that have died. Let's not forget about the families of the pregnant women. I'm sure they would like to hear that they should just suck it up as well.

You don't even begin to know what this is all about and you probably don't care. I seriously doubt if you even understand the article that you linked to either.

I don't want someone, especially a child, sick with the H1N1 or whatever to get blown off by an EMT who believes everything is BS and they should just suck it up.

 

[VentMedic]

There are some really sad statements on this thread concerning the understanding of H1N1.

Other EMS forums are seriously discussing the safest way to deliver O2 therapy, CPAP, ventilators and nebulizers in close spaces. Dr. Bledsoe and a few other ED physicians have joined the discussions. Healthcare professionals on their forums are discussing isolation rooms, triage space, ED tents, new therapy protocols, technology, treatment, resistance to drugs therapy, testing issues and employees health coverage.

Meanwhile, here at EMTLife, some EMTs have decided the patients being treated, as well as some that are dying, in the hospitals right now for H1N1 are just BS and they should just suck it up.

 

[guardian528]

you reply to me the same as you replied to sasha, with an overreaction. you take what people say and blow it out of proportion. i am indeed in healthcare, and it seems a little strange to think that you discredit people the second they aren't as passionate about something as you are. i'm sure there are issues that i care deeply about that you would shrug off without thinking twice about, and thats fine. on this particular issue, i happen to think that it has been overhyped by the media and by a lot of people. just because i think that in the big picture, this disease is overhyped, does not mean that my everyday patient care would be anything less than usual. somehow because of that, you think i should start calling sick people and telling them to suck it up, and that i "believe everything is BS." i don't impose my will onto my patients. it is absurd to think that I would refuse to help a patient or tell them to "suck it up" just because I believe the hype surrounding what they have has been a little too worked up. in the future, maybe take a minute to listen to other sides of the story, instead of grabbing for their throat and demanding they feel the same way as you.

 

[VentMedic]

you reply to me the same as you replied to sasha, with an overreaction. you take what people say and blow it out of proportion. i am indeed in healthcare, and it seems a little strange to think that you discredit people the second they aren't as passionate about something as you are. i'm sure there are issues that i care deeply about that you would shrug off without thinking twice about, and thats fine. on this particular issue, i happen to think that it has been overhyped by the media and by a lot of people. just because i think that in the big picture, this disease is overhyped, does not mean that my everyday patient care would be anything less than usual. somehow because of that, you think i should start calling sick people and telling them to suck it up, and that i "believe everything is BS." i don't impose my will onto my patients. it is absurd to think that I would refuse to help a patient or tell them to "suck it up" just because I believe the hype surrounding what they have has been a little too worked up. in the future, maybe take a minute to listen to other sides of the story, instead of grabbing for their throat and demanding they feel the same way as you.

But yet you linked to an article entitled "Suck it up" when engaged in a discussion about H1N1.

And with this little comment from you:

and yes, swine flu is all hype. its bs

Your comments have stated your side of the story.

I again ask you to prove that the deaths in your area are not real and just media hype. Go to any hospital in the area and see how many patients they have admitted for H1N1. Find out how many are on life support right now and haven't made the death list yet to become a statistic.

You seriously have not seen the true picture.

I don't give a crap about what you think about me. I am just trying to get some to do their own legitimate research from well published sources before they take the word of an EMT such as yourself that the flu is just hype and BS. I am very passionate about some issues especially when it comes to dying and dead children or young adults and pregnant women are thought of as just media hype and BS. Your opinion will hopefully not be considered as the standard for all EMTs because there are some who are intelligent enough to do their homework and have a good understanding of the issues so they can protect themselves, their families and provide good care for their patients.

The rest of this forum holds little interest to me because I don't care what light bar you put on your POV or what stethoscope is your passion. I do care when there are important patient care issues that need to be addressed.

 

[guardian528]

But yet you linked to an article entitled "Suck it up" when engaged in a discussion about H1N1.

cmon bud, you know as well i as do that that article is primarily about how things get overhyped and that people fear they have some ungodly illness the second they sneeze. yes, towards the end of the article it states:

"A good physician needs to have the guts to stand up to people and tell them that their baby gets ear infections because they smoke cigarettes. That it's time to admit they are alcoholics. That they need to suck it up and deal with discomfort because narcotics will just make everything worse. That what's really wrong with them is that they are just too damned fat. Unfortunately, this type of advice rarely leads to high patient satisfaction scores."

but that does not mean they suggest going out and telling everyone to suck it up. i'm not going to continue arguing this, you see only what you want to see, and read only what you want to read. I said "swine flu is bs" because i just quoted the OP, and didn't read the rest of the thread. it was lighthearted, intending to imply the hype surrounding the flu. had i previously read the little debate going on between you and sasha, i probably would have been more clear. you just keep telling me to "prove that the deaths are all hype." wanna hear something crazy? those deaths were caused by H1N1. oh my goodness, i said it! i haven't ever said otherwise. i have simply stated that the media has overhyped this to a ridiculous degree. if it were as bad as the media has said, we would have people dropping like flies all around us. by all means, continue beating this dead horse if you'd like, or go out shout "H1N1 KILLS!!!" from the rooftops, or do whatever it is you do, but i'm out.

 

[VentMedic]

but that does not mean they suggest going out and telling everyone to suck it up. i'm not going to continue arguing this, you see only what you want to see, and read only what you want to read. I said "swine flu is bs" because i just quoted the OP, and didn't read the rest of the thread. it was lighthearted, intending to imply the hype surrounding the flu. had i previously read the little debate going on between you and sasha, i probably would have been more clear. you just keep telling me to "prove that the deaths are all hype." wanna hear something crazy? those deaths were caused by H1N1. oh my goodness, i said it! i haven't ever said otherwise. i have simply stated that the media has overhyped this to a ridiculous degree. if it were as bad as the media has said, we would have people dropping like flies all around us. by all means, continue beating this dead horse if you'd like, or go out shout "H1N1 KILLS!!!" from the rooftops, or do whatever it is you do, but i'm out.

You again keep saying over hyped.

Prove your point. Post stats that disprove those that are posted by the CDC and the state of California. Don't just say it is all hype if you can not say the CDC is lying about the numbers just for H1N1.

 

[Sasha]

Came across, figured I'd post here as opposed to starting a seperate thread for it.

CDC: H1N1 Flu Still Hits the Young Hardest
Full Article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/CriticalCare/Pneumonia/16535

ATLANTA -- The pandemic H1N1 influenza virus continues to disproportionately attack the young, the CDC warned today.

Children and adults under age 25 have accounted for 53% of hospitalizations for laboratory-confirmed H1N1 and 23.6% of related deaths since Sept. 1, the agency reported at a press briefing.

Seniors, on the other hand, have accounted for just 7% of H1N1-confirmed hospitalizations and 11.6% of deaths from the virus based on data from 27 and 28 states, respectively.

"This is really, really different than what we see with seasonal flu," said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, who led the briefing.

Pregnancy, in particular, has been a risk factor for which the CDC said it has met resistance in its recommendation to treat with antivirals.

"Completely healthy pregnant women have been coming down with horrible, horrible illnesses [with the pandemic H1N1, including the need for] intensive care unit courses, and, tragically, more deaths that we've been hearing about recently," Schuchat said.

Deaths in the young population were also more common in children with neurologic conditions, such a cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, although there have been some otherwise healthy children who have had the same grave outcome.

One reason behind the "overwhelmingly serious complications" seen in some healthy young people is that the virus can cause pneumonia if the infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract, which is difficult to treat even with antivirals, Schuchat said.

Another problem seen in some of the cases is that bacteria, particularly staph, can creep in after the influenza has weakened the immune system and cause serious pneumonia, she added.

The age breakdown was:

• 3.1% ages 4 and under
• 13.7% ages 5 to 18
• 6.8% ages 19 to 24
• 32.5% ages 25 to 49
• 32.2% ages 50 to 64
• 11.6% ages 65 and older

Over the same Sept. 1 to Oct. 10 period, there were 4,958 laboratory-confirmed H1N1-related hospitalizations reported to the CDC by 27 states.

The ages of those hospitalized were:

• 19% ages 4 and younger
• 25.3% ages 5 to 18
• 8.7% ages 19 to 24
• 24% ages 25 to 49
• 15% ages 50 to 64
• 7.2% ages 65 and older

 

[51 RESCUE EMT-B]

Got my H1N1 vaccination yesterday, all is good.B)

 

[Sasha]

Interesting article.

CDC Confirms Sickest H1N1 Patients Have Comorbidities
Full Article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/URIstheFlu/16417

A preliminary CDC analysis has confirmed that most patients hospitalized with the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus have underlying conditions that increase the risk for complications.

In more than 500 hospitalized children evaluated, the most common conditions included asthma, chronic lung disease, neurologic and neuromuscular disorders, and sickle-cell anemia and other blood disorders, Anne Schuchat, MD, of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on a conference call with reporters.

Among about 1,400 hospitalized adults, the most common conditions were asthma, diabetes, chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, and immunosuppression.

In addition to the underlying chronic medical conditions, pregnancy remained notable among the hospitalized adults; 6.1% were pregnant.

Schuchat said pregnancy increases the risk of flu-related complications because a mother's immune system is suppressed so the body does not have a reaction to the fetus, increasing vulnerability to all infections.

In addition, she said, as the baby grows, the mother's airways can become restricted, making it harder to fight off a lung infection.

 

[dragonjbynight]

Ok, Just getting over the H1N1 virus myself. It sucks, fever off and on, constriction on the chest and coughing, Some muscle aches. I was lucky enough to skip the headache. Comparative to a minor case of mono...

There is no more testing for this unless you get admitted to the hospital. Dr's office's, urgent care facilities are now told that if you have the symptpoms, you have the bug. GO home, don't go back to work till 24 hours fever free without medication. In the case of children, 48 hours fever free until they can go back to school.

That being said, I agree with both Sasha and Vent on this topic. The media HAS sensationalized certain cases. My case in Point: FFA girl dies of H1N1 in Indianapolis.

1. Yes the girl passed away.
2. The Girl had a pre-existing heart condition.
3. The heart condition was the cause of death, H1N1 exacerbated what was already there, the same way pnemonia, the regular Flu, or half a dozen other viruses could have done.

But this has been the top story on the news for 3 days now. Not girl dies of heart problem due to exposure to H1N1, its girl dies of H1N1. Now the average layperson is NOT going to make that connection and freak out when they hear a cough because all they have heard on the news in days is about the deaths that H1N1 has caused, which is leading to the swamping of emergency rooms nation wide. (not saying parents shouldn't be worried)

Secondly: Vent is accurate in that this is a virus that has some potential to kill and shouldn't be treated Lightly. It is not BS, it is a true medical issue. It also does have the potential for mutation, as every flu does. The regular flu does it every so many years, however, with a "new" flu, it has a higher chance of doing so in a shorter amount of time if I am not mistaken ( which I may Be).

---Bunkie, glad to hear you made it through alright, speedy recovery.

 

[SES4]

Got the vaccine on 10/28/2009. So not anymore.

 

[CountryEMT-bGurl]

So got my H1N1 vacc. the other day. I work at a local hospital in the Nursery; to tell you the truth I am very fearful of the shot. I am not one to take med.'s unless I am dying. But I did it for MY children an my patients! Both my children have Hirschsprungs disease, an they easliy contract viruses, bugs, etc... BUt I am still fearful of what this shot is going to do to me long term...(or possible short; who knows :unsure. I also have SVT, an ever since I have gotten the shot, my SVT has acted up twice;an the last couple of days I feel like my SVT could start up at in sec (tightness in my chest, my throat feeling like it is closed, etc) I am freaking out!!! But I know I did it for the right reasons at least; if I DIE!!!!! :unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure:

 

[Foxbat]

Other EMS forums are seriously discussing the safest way to deliver O2 therapy, CPAP, ventilators and nebulizers in close spaces.

Other than a risk of O2 finding an ignition source, what are the dangers in it?

 

[VentMedic]

Other than a risk of O2 finding an ignition source, what are the dangers in it?

Think about it a little bit unless you are just trying to be funny about something that is serious.

The same infection control principles apply for many types of bacteria and viruses, not just the Swine flu, when using these devices.

 

[Shishkabob]

Oops... please delete.

 

[VentMedic]

Oops... please delete.

I saw your post Linuss.

I would be curious to know what happens to that patient with a PaO2 of 31 mmHg. The patient I just placed on the High Frequency Ventilator yesterday had a PaO2 of 50 mmHg on a NRBM.