absolutelyBangkok archive · Health, body & mind
Originally published Dec. 10, 2009
Somewhere I read of parties thrown overseas to deliberately get the swine flu in the hopes of becoming immunized. Well, somehow I managed to come down with the flu without a party. Actually not me alone. My wife showed her first symptoms a few hours after mine started. Yes, it seems to spread that fast.
No idea if she brought it into the family or me. There was this guy coughing in the Skytrain, but she had been at some seminar upcountry and was at an Xmas party… No, not a get-the-flu party. Whatever. Was the flu bad? Not too much. Rather felt like a major discomfort.
A first test confirmed an Influenza A virus, with the swine influenza H1N1 being an Influenza A subtype. Final test results just came in. H1N1 2009. I’m fine, but my wife has a more serious version it seems. She came back from hospital with a whole little pharmacy. Including Tamiflu. The doctor though didn’t say a word about quarantine. Keep away from people as long as you’re not well. Should you be afraid?
It started with an itchy throat, then some fever, but not too much, a funny dizziness, sweating, a mild headache and yes, I felt tired. The cough turned bad with thick yellowish sputum. After three days the fuss went up in smoke. Still, the fifth day after the fever kicked in it felt like after a big night out. That’s it. Are you alarmed?
All I took was Aspirin. Don’t ask if that’s good or stupid. Thought that’s the thing to take against what felt like a strange kind of mild flu. My wife though, as said, came down with a more serious variety. She felt her stomach churn and spent the better part of quite some days in bed.
Still, I had much worse fevers in Thailand and you cannot but wonder what’s all the panicking about. I’m neither super robust nor hyper healthy. Just normal. And still dizzy…
Would I go for a vaccine? Yes, a little sting doesn’t hurt, but to my knowledge there’s still no proper vaccination available yet in Thailand. Looks though like you can get a vaccination from Jan. 11, 2010, onwards at public and private hospitals.
Got the bugger a few weeks too early… and don’t need no vaccine anymore. Chances are that once you had it you now have immunity to that specific virus for some years, depending on how the virus mutates.
And chances are that sooner or later you and you and you will catch the virus. There’s no reason not to keep your cool. Yes, maybe better wear one of those surgical masks. But whatever you do to protect yourself I assume there’s no sure way to prevent an infection.
That virus sure is aggressive, while the flu itself is nothing to be scared of. Incubation time is relatively short with an average of two days. And you can still infect others a week after the first symptoms occur.
Still, this flu, is it all a healthy paranoia, silly panic or plain propaganda? I’d say a bit all of it.
Swine flu, the mildest pandemic on record? The numb feeling is irritating, as if less blood circulates. But pandemic?
Now this being the festive season… Wanna invite me to a party?
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