Ahira's Hangar

I read that President Obama declared the H1N1 flu a national emergency - which, as I understand it, basically means that hospitals will be able to supersede federal regulations as needed in order to devote resources to the flu. I read that to mean they'll be able to cut through bureaucratic red tape faster.

I am so glad my wife is a nurse and we were able to sneak Grace in for a shot. It's snowing all around Albq. And we may get dumped on Wednesday or Friday!

Yeah, they said Obama's declaration sounds very dramatic, but it boils down to a technical, administrative measure. It also gives his chief medical advisor (?) more authority.

And it's true that I fear for my life everyday when crossing a busy intersection, never mind worrying about this flu. However, I'd feel badly if I didn't get the shot and ended up transmitting H1N1 to someone who then got sick. That's my quandary. That and needles scare the crap out of me. (Okay, so I'm a wimp.)

Oh hey, I just read that Harvard Medical School is coming out with a Swine Flu app for the iPhone to help educate people. Wow.

Yeah, it's the secondary infections, apparently often bacteriological too, that cause death. Still, a minimum of 1 in 10 South Africans is immuno-compromised...

Anyway, it's not important...better safe than sorry I guess...no different from the usual flu shot. (I don't get flu shots...tried it once and it made me sicker than the flu would have. )

--A

I don't get them either -- I'm allergic to the preservative. But I've only had the flu once in my life, when I was in college. And I'm not in a high-risk group for H1N1. So I'm hoping my luck holds this year.

I'm a titch worried about Magickmaker's best friend, who is pregnant and living in a college dorm ('til the baby comes -- due in March). I'm resisting the urge to meddle. The young woman in question has a midwife and a doula, and so is in competent hands. Well, competent for southwestern Virginia...

I'd be a lot less reluctant to get the shot if they used those "gun" injectors - you know, the ones that use air pressure to punch through your skin - rather than needles. Aren't those injectors supposed to be painless? Or far less painful than needles?

Actually, as long as you do not have asthma or other lung issues, you could get the inhalation vaccine rather than the shot. You just snort it.

Whoa -- inhalation vaccine? I didn't know about this method. If that's an option here, I'm taking it - I don't care if it costs extra!

Needles aren't painful. Not really anyway. Now a lumbar puncture, that's painful.

--A

Agreed. Epidurals are *no* fun. 'Til they're in. After that, they're fabulous.

Duchess, I'm too old for the mist. I heard it's not recommended if you're over 50.

Not sure I even want to ask what a lumbar puncture is.

They won't give you the inhalation method when you're 50? That's discrimination!

Meh. It's a huge ass needle that they insert into your spine, up along the lumbar vertabrae, to draw your spinal fluid for analysis. Can't give you anesthetic, cause it would mess up the tests. I've had four. (Had , twice as a kid.) (Oh, it's sometimes called a spinal tap apparently.)

Anyway, it's indescribably painful. And it paralyses your legs once the needle is in, which is an awfully unpleasant sensation.

--A