the FLU. how many died?

[vash]

am i reading the news correctly? thousand and thousands have died from this season flu?

i just cruised the CDC stuff.

IIRC, i think TWO people died of Ebola. why isnt the flu getting more press? ebola had people thinking quarantine camps..

i'm a handwasher. i'm always touching my face, so that aint good. anyone have the the flu recently? was it a crusher?

knocking on wood now.

[IROC]

I suspect the answer is "we don't really know". I think hospitals (?) are only required to report deaths of children and pregnant women? Something like that. There could be many deaths from the flu that aren't reported.

Edit: I think "thousands" is kind of high.

[vash]

Originally Posted by IROC

I suspect the answer is "we don't really know". I think hospitals (?) are only required to report deaths of children and pregnant women? Something like that. There could be many deaths from the flu that aren't reported.

Edit: I think "thousands" is kind of high.

i heard on the radio. ave 4000 per week dying from the flu!! it's why i'm searching. that sound unbelievable to me.

[sammyg2]

Relax. It's always been bad, it always will be, some years it was really really bad. You've made it this long without the panic attack.
Unless you are young or elderly, then you need to really be nervous

The flu causes an estimated 9 million to 35 million illnesses, 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 to 56,000 deaths in the United States in a typical year, CDC says

.

exactly 100 years ago, the United States saw the first waves of the worst modern flu pandemic, one that killed an estimated 675,000 Americans.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/01/22/yes-flu-season-brutal-but-its-not-worst/1055525001/

The 1918 flu pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus.
It infected 500 million people around the world, including people on remote Pacific islands and in the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million (three to five percent of the world's population), making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

wiki

[yellowperil]

So anybody who had the FLU and died, raise your hand.

[vash]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

So anybody who had the FLU and died, raise your hand.

my mom's neighbor and my mentor (he was my 8th grade principle) his daughter died of the flu. it blew that family up.

when he told me his daughter died of the flu..i didnt even really think it was possible. there is no happiness in that house anymore.

i know it happens. just not what magnitude.

[sammyg2]

in the 1918 pandemic more people in WWI died from the flu than from fighting.
Lots and lots of people died from that, almost as bad as the black plague.

When I traced my family tree back I found at least three ancestors who died from the flu.

Most of the time it is people who are sick from something else: weakened immune system, weak heart, cancer, etc.

[Rickysa]

There have been 2,355 flu-related deaths in the state of Texas during this flu season alone so far.

More than 2,300 flu-related deaths reported in Texas | KABB

That stat blew my mind...

[stomachmonkey]

My GP lost a 63 yr old patient and has a 30 yr old in ICU.

[craigster59]

I had the flu right after Christmas, kicked my ass. I was down for a week. Must have drank a case of Gatorade and 3 cases of water, staying hydrated helps.

I think those that died let it get far enough to turn into pneumonia. A friend told me of their neighbor's son who passed at 21 y.o. He was away at college, went to the infirmary and went back to his dorm. Roommate was giving him Xanax to help him rest, not the right thing to do.

[MBAtarga]

I just got diagnosed with Influenza B yesterday morning. My temperature was 98.4 - I had minor aches around my back and a nuisance cough periodically. Had not been around anyone with it that I know of.

DR stated that this season the flu is behaving differently - lots of folks are getting it with no elevated temperature - so it goes undiagnosed/untreated. By the time the symptoms are severe enough for those to seek treatment - they have pneumonia.

[Rickysa]

I had the "flu" once...several years ago. I do not want to ever wrestle that bear again. Doc told me something interesting, that one way you can tell if you have the "flu" and not just some bug, is that you can pin-point the moment it hits you...and boy is that true.

I was sitting at my desk at work and out of the blue I thought I had been hit by a truck; left for home 30 mins later and went straight to bed.

Nasty sick...elephant on the chest and it hurt so much to cough, I can't describe...weak as a kitten...nope, don't want that again.

[Deschodt]

That's just it, this one was really bad in that it wasn't the usual "old people" being affected, this one killed quite a few young people at the peak of their health...

And the coverage from the vaccine was an all time low... Some friends have had it and said it was the worst flu they ever had... But other than that, you are right, it's the same every winter and lots more folks die than we know about, from complications of the flu...

[wswartzwel]

I was sick with it for 3 weeks... felt like I had died. Then 2 weeks later I got a different strain of it.. but I went to doc and got Tamaflu medicine that knocked it out in just a day. I have had the flu many times in my life... this crap meant business.

[island911]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I had the flu right after Christmas, kicked my ass. I was down for a week. Must have drank a case of Gatorade and 3 cases of water, staying hydrated helps.
...

Yes!- Gatorade! --even the CDC recommends.

I'm just getting over the Flu. Has been effn brutal. I feel Like I have PTSD now.

Of course Flu kills.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I had the flu right after Christmas, kicked my ass. I was down for a week. Must have drank a case of Gatorade and 3 cases of water, staying hydrated helps.

ALDI has coconut water, although it's a bit expensive at $3/pint.
Might work better than the other artificial colored salt/sugar/vitamin waters.

I think battle medics used to use that stuff as IV fluid in a pinch. Straight into the veins.
Lots of potassium and good stuff.
If you can't hold anything down use it as a enema. Stay hydrated. Lack of hydration will kill you.

[BK911]

I have it now.
Even my hair hurts.
Don't remember it being this bad as a kid.
Should be less frequent with all the shots???

[vash]

^^ feel better bud.

[ckelly78z]

Knock on wood, I haven't gotten it this year. With my reduced immune system, I may be one of the bad statistics of the CDC if I get this stronger strain.

Take care of yourself to prevent getting it, avoid wiping nose/face, after being in public, drink lots of fluids all of the time, avoid the shopping carts, door knobs, hand rails, public transit surfaces.

[mepstein]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

That's just it, this one was really bad in that it wasn't the usual "old people" being affected, this one killed quite a few young people at the peak of their health...

And the coverage from the vaccine was an all time low... Some friends have had it and said it was the worst flu they ever had... But other than that, you are right, it's the same every winter and lots more folks die than we know about, from complications of the flu...

Even if it doesn't prevent it, the vaccine can reduce the effects of the flue and the resulting complications. Fun fact, If you get strain A and recover, you can still get strain B (or vis versa) and go through the sickness all over again. One strain doesn't give you immunity from the other. A big problem is some people aren't getting that sick from the flu so they are more likely to go back to work, school, ect while they are sick and spread it around.