Whats up with the public and Swine flu?

People are idiots. It's like they look for the next big thing to get their panties in a bunch over.

The media is making a mockery of swine flu. I'm a nurse, and, don't get me wrong, swine flu has the potential to be very serious. In reality, it's not going to happen. Yes, people have died from it. Not because it's a deadly virus, but because so little is understood about it right now. People also die from the "normal" influenza virus all the time too. The media is making a huge mockery of it. First of all, you aren't going to get swine flu from pork. Absolutely false. Second of all, masks are going to do little to help you. Yes, it's airborne. But if a contagious person is around you, wearing a mask means little. What the media needs to be emphasizing is basic hygiene. The only real way to prevent this is the same way to prevent the regular flu. Wash your hands regular! Use hand sanitizer if you can't wash your hands! Don't get coughed or sneezed on, and don't do it to other people either. It's just common sense. People are freaking out though because the media is really playing this up. Sure, there are worst case scenario measures being talked about, but the media is acting like we're all going to die from swine flu. We're not. Some might. Just like some die from the regular flu each year. The deaths thus far have not been due to the seriousness of swine flu, but because of the lack of knowledge of it. Doctors simply don't know how to react to this because it's new. But in this day and age we've got such evolving technology, that we've already learned a lot about the virus. The media is just making people panic over it. I'm a nurse, and the nurses I know from the ER say they are getting tons of nutjobs thinking they've got swine flu when they've got the sniffles. People just need to be smart, calm down, practice good hygiene, and not listen to about 99% of what the media is saying about swine flu. I seriously heard someone say that they weren't going to eat tacos because they were afraid of getting the Mexican swine flu... idiots!

All in all, swine flu is going to cause deaths. But so does the regular flu. It happens. We're at the beginning of a new virus, and it'll take time to figure it out, and figure out how to deal with it properly, and that's the big concern here right now. Just trying to figure out how the virus works. Does it affect the young and old worst like the regular flu? How quickly does it spread? How severe is it? Etc. There have been previous outbreaks of swine flu, one in the early 1900s, and those were worse because they didn't have the technology we do to figure out how to treat it and prevent it. The only thing we do know for sure is good hygiene is what's going to protect you most. Other than that we're not all going to die from it. Some will, but that's life.

Tell it like it is- you seem to be making stuff up. Sorry, but swine flu is different because it is NOT affecting mostly the young and elderly like the normal flu. This is why it's a bit different, but it doesn't mean it's necessarily any more deadly. As for the young, you're a bit off base. Newborns are born with immunities from their mothers, it's not as if they are completely weak and defenseless. In many cases a young healthy child is more able to fight of a virus than a run down adult. What has been surprising is most of the cases have been middle aged adults, which is not typical. As I said, it's a new virus that we need to get to know is all. But for the rest of your junk, eyes swelling shut, and all that... bunk.

I have to agree that people are going a bit overboard. Just last night I told my husband that people are going nuts over this.

Do you know how many people die every year from the regular flu in the US? 36,000 which equals about 98 deaths per day. How many deaths in the US so far from swine flu? 1! People need to keep it in perspective.

When WHO raises the level to a near pandemic, a pandemic is imminent. It is going to happen. They have ways of predicting these things..

In my own family in 1968, my 2 siblings and Father had this flu..if you get it, you will have a very difficult time to breathe, your eyes will be stuck shut for almost 5 days, and it will be the absolute worst you can remember.

As to the prediction of death, this usually occurs in the very young whose immune system has not yet been called to order, meaning their bodies have not fought anything before, and are caught off guard if you will..also the older people who are ill to begin with are likely to perish in high numbers..

Is the threat real?Media are fear mongerers no doubt... You can bet your bacon it is real, or governments around the world would not be so proactive in dealing with it.

I am so not afraid of swine flu that I will pet a pig and then eat a pork taco with the same hand without washing it.