Flu proof?
My grandma, who was born in 1910, told me how she, her sister and her father all lay sick - so weak they were often unconscious - for two weeks with the Spanish flu in 1918. Grandma's mother didn't get sick at all. Not even so much as a sniffle.
The Norwegian newspapers announced yesterday that they no longer believe the current swine flu (H1N1 influenza A) can be contained. The message is that there's no way to avoid it in this country any more; it's being spread from Norwegian to Norwegian here at home. Keep washing your hands, avoid sneezing or coughing without a hankie and throw the hankie away immediately is still good advice, though. But I wonder: Should I resign myself to this fate, this virus? Or: Should I assume that great-grandma's genes are still alive and kicking in me? She was a tough Irishwoman - real tough.
I'm choosing to believe the latter. And maybe there's also a bit of the luck of the Irish, too.
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The first person is reported dead in Hungary, sigh :(
I wonder where this whole thing will go.
(In Stephen King's _The Stand_ -- one of my favorite books -- just a few percent of the world's people were immune to the superflu that took out everyone else, but in that case, the immunity was random.)
Alice, Norwegian health authorities are no longer testing for swine flu. They are now saying that if you have flu symptoms then you have swine flu. They also want everyone who feels sick to just stay at home and not try to get to the doctor's office for a sick-leave notice. HA! We fuss over getting sick leave! The downside to socialized medicine, fer sure! ;-)
They are expecting it to really hit us in September, which may totally derail this year's national elections.
And I didn't know there WAS a vaccine. Huh.
Some major companies in Norway, including our national broadcasting company, are installing hand sanitizers. My company hasn't, yet. But if people could get better about washing their hands, it won't be necessary.
I'm sure there is some way to work around the Islamic prohibition regarding alcohol. Time for some imams to get creative. After all, we Christians can make our Bible support anything, even contradictory things. ;-)
And as for the public dispensing of the stuff, the only place I've noticed making it available is the grocery store (you'd think the pharmacy -- where people go when they're sick, would have some of the stuff!). But I have my own supply -- a big bottle in the car and a smaller one in my purse -- so I can sanitize like crazy whenever the spirit moves me! ;-D
Today at work we got the job of laminating a bunch of signs from the health board to post on the inside of the bathroom doors. You know, so the idiots who never wash their hands will see it before they leave the bathroom.
Me, I've read that money can carry the virus, so I'm doing my bit by shopping with only plastic. ;-)
It's impossible to avoid touching all the places where the germs can hide, so a small bottle of hand sanitizer tucked into the purse is my defense.
As to vinegar, that's an interesting idea. Drinking a bit of apple cider vinegar every day might help someone who's already sick, but I don't know if it works as a sanitizer/preventative.
I am not yet so paranoid about my world that I feel the need to walk around with hand sanitizer or alcohol-based wet wipes, but maybe that day will come. In which case I also want masks that match my outfit. There's a new world of fashion out there, just waiting to hit the stores! ;-)
But speaking of the vaccine... well, speak of the devil... Government begins swine flu vaccine trials!
Our scientists are asking people to please settle down and knock it off with the anti-bacterial soap. Regular soap will do. Anti-bacterial soap is not the same as hand sanitizer, but the latter is rather new to Norway (and the former's sales show that Norwegians have a nice touch of paranoia, themselves). I've yet to see hand sanitizer dispensers here, but it looks like they're coming.