SWINE FLU: Don't Panic!!!!!

Here's the thing: it's flu. Just another variety of flu.

I looked up the figures, and checked several

sites to be sure I am telling you correctly.


In the United States each year, about 36,000

people die of complications of the flu. Many of these complications/deaths could've been avoided if proper medical care were taken once it was clearly beyond mere flu or symptoms lasted too long. Other deaths were due to the flu complicating other diseases or illnesses, and so on.

Now, let's break that number down. Remember we are not talking about the Swine Flu yet - just flu : whatever type of flu, every type, just the general flu on a yearly basis. Of course the numbers will be different from month to month, being much higher in flu season and smaller when its not the season, but for the sake of simplicity I'm gonna break it down by averaging the whole year, and every month as if it were the same, since it's simpler and the point is the yearly average.

36,000 per year, 12 months, equals an average of 3,000 per month. That is
an average of 750 per week. Of the general, normal, non-panic-causing,
non-epidemic or -pandemic threatened flu. For the United States alone.
It's obvious it could get worse, but, we have not had anywhere near that number of swine flu-related deaths WORLDWIDE, much less just in the US.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) know these figures. I'd imagine most of our reps in Congress have a good idea, or have been briefed, and surely Pres. Obama knows or has been told. So, why oh why are they TRYING to induce a panic that will inevitably have a big negative effect on the nation, and the world, economy? Well, the medical industry and Big Pharmacy will certainly be booming due to this. What is going on? I'm realistic and a cynic, and normally laugh at anything sounding far fetched, but something ain't right here, ya'll. And Biden and Pelosi saying they're keeping their bunch at home? If this is real, and they believe this, we are in bigger trouble than I thought due to lack of intelligence Washington. If not, then why did they say it? We have schools shutting down, sending kids home if they sneeze, etc. These are EDUCATORS, and they should also know better, if not by common reasoning and good sense, then by doing what should come natural to someone in the educational world - research. I'm just a common housemom with no more than a high school diploma and I managed to figure it all out.

So, what do you think? What's going on?

Modern medicine has a way of complicating the simplest maladies- short rant by Erma Bombeck

Modern medicine has a way of complicating the simplest malady. No one has a common cold anymore. Its a virus and no one has a cure for it. They only know there's a lot of it going around. The 1st medicine prescribed said if I had heart disease, forget it. If I had diabetes, don't even think about taking it, and if I suffered from hypertension, get rid of it. In other words, I had to be healthy before I could take it.
The nose drops carried a warning saying I couldn't drive to work, which meant I could lose my job or let my nose run.
The pill to control my fever caused constipation, but the one to relieve my congestion might bring on diarrhea. I figured if I took them in tandem they'd cancel each other out.
The cough syrup said I couldn't operate heavy machinery (I interpreted that to mean the vacuum).
A liquid to help me sleep could make me nauseous and give me chills (I already had them).
The vitamin supplement carried this warning, "Could cause genital itching". I certainly want a refill on that one.
Hanging onto my cold seemed like my best shot.
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AN ALTERNATIVE TO MODERN-DAY MEDICINE
(Also known as the Robin Leach get-well-or-die-happy plan)
The next time you don't feel well, check into a great hotel costing about $150 (to $300 today - its still cheaper than a hospital) a day. The hospital room will run you $500 (that was a decade or more ago - I don't even know what they charge for a room today, but you're lucky to get out with a bill under $10,000 for a stay of more than a couple days).For $150 you get a suite with your own television and bathroom to yourself (probably wi-fi, maybe a jacuzzi, in-room coffee-maker, stocked fridge, etc). The room comes with a continental breakfast and a newspaper, plus a fluffy bathrobe that covers the ENTIRE body. There is valet parking for visitors.
There are deck chairs and a swimming pool, and when you don't eat everything on your plate, nobody cares.
You can read until you fall asleep and nobody wakes you up in the middle of the night out of a sound slumber to take your vital signs and give you a sleeping pill.
If you have a burning desire to see a doctor, there is a putting green nearby where you can meet and maybe have something cold to drink while you tell him what Reader's Digest (and/or the Internet) says about your condition. The biggest plus is that there are no forms to fill out for the rest of your life.
Not convinced? What if I told you that for the price of an ambulance ride, you could fly first-class to London?