We just had another death today in Arkansas as a result of the H1N1 Swine Flu, this time it was a 5 year old boy. I also know for a fact that there have also been some reported cases inside the Conway school district this year as well in some of the younger classes. One of our good friends was recently notified that there was a reported case in her daughters classroom.
I am not one to freak out or become alarmed by all of this but according to a recent post in the Seattle PI, we should all be concerned… (– see post excerpt below.) For those of you that might have considered purchasing masks for yourself, or your workplace, I wanted to share a pretty cool discount from one of our clients.
25% Discount on H1N1 Flu Masks
- Go to this link to determine which masks are right for you…
- Go to this link to determine how many masks you need…
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- Enter in this Discount Code: BXKZFL for a 25% discount…
It seems like it was just a couple of months ago that the mere mention of the H1N1 flu (that was quickly spreading world-wide) evoked feelings of panic. There was widespread concern that this flu bug would become a severe problem, possibly rivaling the 1918 pandemic. Since then, it’s become apparent that most healthy people that contract the H1N1 virus experience a non life-threatening, self-limited illness; the effect has been to allow us all to breathe collective sigh of relief.
While it is true that most healthy people that come down with H1N1 are not going to be in grave danger, it seems to me that at least some young people have swung too far toward an attitude of complacency. This point was brought home to me by a brief interview of a returning UW student that I saw on the news last night. The gist of what this student said was that she was not really all that concerned about H1N1, and hadn’t taken any special precautions so far (I’m not sure what she we referring to here).
As just mentioned, healthy people usually do not suffer any life-threatening complications from H1N1, and I can see why many young people might not feel very threatened by it. It’s entirely understandable that a young, healthy person in their late teens or early twenties would not be overly concerned about the consequences of coming down with H1N1 in light of this. I get it. But there’s a larger picture here that some people appear to be forgetting.
For instance, suppose that this young woman on the news last night develops a mild cough in the next couple of days, and doesn’t get diagnosed with H1N1 until a day or so after that, when she is clearly sick. Now suppose that this same young woman’s roommate happens to have asthma (which may be entirely unknown to the woman in question) and catches H1N1 from her healthier roommate. What then?
I’ll tell you. This young woman’s roommate that has asthma faces the very real danger of a severe, life-threatening illness. She most certainly would be hospitalized, and might wind up in the ICU, or worse.
So if you are one of those young people that "isn’t worried" about coming down with H1N1 that’s OK as far as your own health goes. But please DO be concerned about those around you that might be exposed because of your lack of concern, and DO take precautions (such as hand washing/sanitizing, getting the vaccine). You just might wind up saving a friend’s life.
Admittedly, you probably won’t see me wearing one of these masks anytime soon. Primarily because I work from home and don’t come into contact with a lot of people unless I am in church or meetings, but I promise you that if this thing breaks out into the pandemic levels that are predicted, I will definitely put one on before heading out…
Questions or Comments?