Swine Flu Masks - Who here wears them?

NewToOC_IHB

NewToOC_IHB

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I know they aren't called swine flu masks... :)



Just curious... and I want to do my first poll. When saw several people wearing flu masks at the airport on our way to Hawaii in April but much fewer on our flight back and this weekend at LAX. Is anyone here wearing them?
 
I don't wear them, but I have a coworker who does.



Went out to lunch with a coworker and noticed some masks in his backseat and jokingly I said if they were for his protection from the swine flu.

He said yes, he was very worried about catching it.
 
I saw someone wearing a mask at Starbucks last week, very strange. I'm not really sure how effective they are but I would seriously consider wearing one on an airplane, the air in airplanes is disgusting and I really think that you can get sick very quickly from being in a crowded airplane.
 
Hahahaha Starbucks. That is funny since you go typically go there specifically to drink something. Did they bust a little hole in their mask for the straw?



Dr Sanjay Gupta from CNN said a couple weeks back that the virus is certainly small enough to pass through the mask but that it could limit the amount of the virus that reached your mouth/nose. I think he also discussed how air is supposed to be circulated in planes or circulated in sections (I wasn't paying much attention - I think I have adult ADD) to minimize spreading germs and illness on planes.



I suggested wearing masks to the hubby for our Hawaii plan trip mostly just to be silly. He nixed the idea.
 
I have a Friend who is a Biologist, one of the Guys I have Coffee and BS with every morning, and he was explaining the whole Virus/Vacination thing to us one morning, and it's pretty interesting...



A couple of weeks ago on a Sunday I came home from a ride and my Wife was so sick with the flu, I'm talking couldn't even stand up, so I took her to the ER at Hoag..



When we arrived there the waiting room was packed, there were three other Ladies there with Flu-like symptoms and they put the four of them on "Fastrack" to get them in isolated Rooms..of course it's not possible to distinguish Swine Flu from any other kind of flu without testing the Blood/Urine and it turned out she had a combination of Allergies, Asthma and a Flu Virus, not swine Flu...



The following Day my Friend told me there were 200 People admitted with Flu at Kaiser, one tested Positive for Swine Flu...



I'm not a Doctor, but it seems that if anyone has Flu symptoms go to the local ER and go through their procedure, at least if it turns out to be swine flu they will document it which will help in collecting valuable data and probably isoloate you from the general population so you will be doing others a favour too...



Apparently the "Great Flu" of 1918 started in the spring, subsided during the Summer of that year then came back later with a vengeance and killed millions of People...



Oh, back to the OP, Flu Masks...we have boxes of them at work available free to employees, the Boxes become empty pretty rapidly but I've never seen anyone wear one at work....my Company <em>makes</em> all the Flu Masks everyone is wearing, although not at my Division...so keep wearing them!! You're helping our stock values.
 
[quote author="PeterUK" date=1242255806]The following Day my Friend told me there were 200 People admitted with Flu at Kaiser, one tested Positive for Swine Flu...</blockquote>


I'm staying the heck away from the ER. Go in with a deep gash; come out with a cough and a fever.
 
[quote author="PeterUK" date=1242255806]





When we arrived there the waiting room was packed, there were three other Ladies there with Flu-like symptoms and they put the four of them on "Fastrack" to get them in isolated Rooms..of course it's not possible to distinguish Swine Flu from any other kind of flu without testing the Blood/Urine and it turned out she had a combination of Allergies, Asthma and a Flu Virus, not swine Flu...



The following Day my Friend told me there were 200 People admitted with Flu at Kaiser, one tested Positive for Swine Flu...

</blockquote>


http://graphjam.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/song-chart-memes-out-proportion.jpg
 
That all may be true now.



The real test is going to be how the 'swine flu' progresses in the next few months during the southern hemisphere winter, and the eventual rebound to the northern hemisphere in the fall. So far, it seems to be twice as lethal as the 'normal' seasonal flu, and half as lethal as the 1918 flu. It will be interesting to note what additional mutations it picks up during our summer 'down under', and whether it makes its return early in the fall, or late as a normal flu season does.
 
[quote author="Daedalus" date=1242256477][quote author="PeterUK" date=1242255806]The following Day my Friend told me there were 200 People admitted with Flu at Kaiser, one tested Positive for Swine Flu...</blockquote>


I'm staying the heck away from the ER. Go in with a deep gash; come out with a cough and a fever.</blockquote>


I know, by the way, did you know the emergency clinics in Irvine are closed over the weekends?
 
All good points. I think one reason the death rate has been so low to date is the very proactive steps taken by the Mexican government in terms of minimizing the spread of the virus. Closing schools, shuttering restaurants, being very transparent with the number of confirmed sick and deaths vs. how SARS was handled.



And regardless of how small the numbers we are talking about some scary a$$ $hit here. The high school valedictorian of my class recently passed away at age 35 of a virus she may have been exposed to while at work. She was a biological scientist working on Australian river conservation. Healthy one day, dead a few days later.



There is something shocking and newsworthy when young healthy people drop dead. Its my understanding that most 'regular' flu deaths impact the old and ill disproportionately. The swine flu deaths of that population are probably being undercounted.



That being said the masks still seem a bit silly.
 
I very much agree with the problem of sitting in an ER or Urgent Care room when you aren't sick, you are just asking for it. I took my son to have his TB test for school read, the only time we could go was on a Sat. or Sun. because he took the test on a Thursday, so we had to go to our Urgent Care. I REALLY hated taking a completely healthy kid (and myself) into that room for this. Our new pediatrician's office has a "sick room" but I don't really think it is being utilized correctly, nor do I think it makes much difference anyway.
 
[quote author="tmare" date=1242279863]I very much agree with the problem of sitting in an ER or Urgent Care room when you aren't sick, you are just asking for it. I took my son to have his TB test for school read, the only time we could go was on a Sat. or Sun. because he took the test on a Thursday, so we had to go to our Urgent Care. I REALLY hated taking a completely healthy kid (and myself) into that room for this. Our new pediatrician's office has a "sick room" but I don't really think it is being utilized correctly, nor do I think it makes much difference anyway.</blockquote>


My Wife works in a Hospital...any suggestions what she might do in future??
 
Don't know if this is just a sick coincidence but....



2007 - Chinese year of the Chicken - Bird Flu Pandemic devastates parts

of Asia



2008 - Chinese year of the Horse - Equine Influenza decimates Australian

racing



2009 - Chinese year of the Pig - Swine Flu Pandemic kills hundreds of

pigs around the globe.



Has any one else noticed this?

It gets worse........



next year......







2010 - Chinese year of the Cock - what could possibly go wrong?
 
[quote author="Daedalus" date=1242256477][quote author="PeterUK" date=1242255806]The following Day my Friend told me there were 200 People admitted with Flu at Kaiser, one tested Positive for Swine Flu...</blockquote>


I'm staying the heck away from the ER. Go in with a deep gash; come out with a cough and a fever.</blockquote>


I probably know the dangers that lay in Hospitals/ER's as much as anyone here, I lost my Dad in 2004, he went into Hospital for a Hip replacement and died from SARS 6 weeks later....



Taking anyone into ER isn't a decision I take lightly...there has to be no alternative...when someone is deathly Ill on a Sunday afternoon there's not much else one can do...
 
[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1242262213]I think caycifish is getting graph flu.



Here's my mask for that:

<img src="http://www.warn.co.uk/images/B000795QX0.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"></blockquote>


That very item used to be on display in my living room. Yes, I did try it out. And somewhere there is a picture of me wearing it.
 
[quote author="caycifish" date=1242341107]That very item used to be on display in my living room. Yes, I did try it out. And somewhere there is a picture of me wearing it.</blockquote>
Man... "some graphs get all the luck".
 
I flew last week for business. The flight was about 3/4 full. And of course, the guy who sits in the aisle seat next to me puts on his mask just as we are about to take off. Only guy on the entire flight. I thought it was somewhat amusing.



Then again, my Mom dropped off a mask for me a couple days ago. Just in case.



If this swine flu thing really lives up to the hype, I have an extra I'll put on ebay, but will inform you IHB'ers ahead of time. ;-)
 
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