Swine Flu in Dulwich SE22

[sillywoman]

6 confirmed at Alleyns now + a sibling of one of these cases. Siblings school not mentioned. BBC news website.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I had the bog standard flu over christmas, ended up in hospital on a drip, doesn't help having a lowered immunity due to pregnancy so now that 6 cases have been confirmed and all down the road from me is not filling me with confidence! My midwife is located near to Alleyn school, whom I am visiting tomorrow, fun!!

[SeanMacGabhann]

As ever, a good source of panic-free analysis here

he thinks the media have NOT overstated the case for example

but then again, for those putting their faith in Tamiflu

Probably best not

[sillywoman]

HeidiHi Wrote:

-- doesn't help having a

> lowered immunity due to pregnancy

I don't think that just being pregnant lowers your immunity HH?

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Of course not, many things can lower an immune system, and since I am pregnant, my immunity would not be as strong, not that I have a great immune system anyway so I would like to avoid everything if I can!! It is a well known fact that pregnancy does weaken the immunity as it is working overtime for the baby, hence lots of pregnant women catching colds and coughs when pregnant and that is the reason I ended up very poorly in hospital when I caught the flu over christmas as my immune could not focus on healing me when it is working overtime with the baby, least that is what the doctors told me!

Yep, I read my weekly baby newsletter too!:))

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> HeidiHi Wrote:

> -- doesn't help having a

> > lowered immunity due to pregnancy

>

> I don't think that just being pregnant lowers your

> immunity HH?

[JohnL]

If this follows the 1918 flu epidemic trend then now might just be the time to catch it. I'm not scared yet though.

As the Times says

"Virologists are likening it to the strain that caused the 1968-69 pandemic, which was also considered mild: it killed about one in 1,000 of those it infected. Its novelty, however, meant that it infected more than a billion people worldwide, causing a million deaths."

"There is also no guarantee that this virus will continue to be comparatively benign. It is a fact of life that flu mutates fast, and there is every possibility that H1N1 will become more virulent, or resistant to antiviral drugs. The 1918-19 Spanish flu began as a mild virus in the northern hemisphere spring. It returned with a vengeance in the winter, bearing a mutation that enabled it to kill 50 million."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6219675.ece

[Unkle_Paulie]

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> HeidiHi Wrote:

> -- doesn't help having a

> > lowered immunity due to pregnancy

>

> I don't think that just being pregnant lowers your

> immunity HH?

Am i right in thinking if you're pregnant you can't take the antibiotics? that's not good news for expectant mothers is it!

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I was not allowed to take anything when I had flu last time, hence the drip, and just two parcetomal. I would not wish that on my worst enemy, it took me a very long time to recover. I did read the NHS website regarding the treatments for swine flu and it said:

Does swine flu pose special risks in pregnant women?

During pregnancy, you may have an increased risk of complications from any type of flu, especially in the second and third trimester.

Can I take antiviral drugs if I am pregnant?

Yes, on the advice of a doctor. The Department of Health has purchased Relenza, an inhaled antiviral drug that treats flu without reaching the developing fetus.

An expert group reviewed the risk of antiviral treatment in pregnancy, which is extremely small - much smaller than the risk posed by swine flu.

Hopefully I won't be needing anything but I am quite tempted to stay holed up at home and avoid answering the door to anyone!:)

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx#CanItake

Unkle_Paulie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> sillywoman Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > HeidiHi Wrote:

> > -- doesn't help having a

> > > lowered immunity due to pregnancy

> >

> > I don't think that just being pregnant lowers

> your

> > immunity HH?

>

> Am i right in thinking if you're pregnant you

> can't take the antibiotics? that's not good news

> for expectant mothers is it!

[R&A]

if youre not old or pregnant it wouldn't be a bad idea to catch it now and get a free flu 'shot'. the symptoms are mild and therefore unlikely to cause harm. This should provide you with immunity to a potentially more virulent strain that may occur during the next wave - if there is one. Re the potential 'second wave' - No one can rule that possibility out or in (media, doctors, government - it's a guessing game right now)

[themaninblack]

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> HeidiHi Wrote:

> -- doesn't help having a

> > lowered immunity due to pregnancy

>

> I don't think that just being pregnant lowers your

> immunity HH?

Am i right in thinking if you're pregnant you can't take the antibiotics? that's not good news for expectant mothers is it!

Pregnant or not, an antibiotic isn't going to do much good against any form of flu, what with it being a virus.

[Asset]

blimey, couldn't be biffed reading all that but if it wasn't mentioned - antibiotics useless against a virus.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Any chance I could swing a "I cant leave Dulwich, armed police have sealed off the area" day off tomorrow?

Back under the bed I think.

[R&A]

tamiflu would be prescribed but not enough trials have been conducted to say whether it harms a fetus. I have heard that doctors are taking each case as it comes and if they feel the risks out weigh the benefits, they will prescribe Tamiflu to a pregnant woman. A fever can also cause harm to an unborn baby so they have to take the difficult choice of fever or tamiflu.

antibiotics wouldn't normally be prescribed for a flu case, as people have already pointed out. However if you get a lung infection as a result of the flu you may be prescribed antibiotics to treat that bacterial infection

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

That is good to know, thanks for that. I had an ear infection, throat infection, flu etc when I caught flu last time and it was not nice trying to heal naturally with no treatment! That is why I am quite scared about catching anything now!

R&A Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> tamiflu would be prescribed but not enough trials

> have been conducted to say whether it harms a

> fetus. But doctors are taking each case as it

> comes and if they feel the risks out weigh the

> benefits, they will prescribe Tamiflu to a

> pregnant woman. A fever can also cause harm to an

> unborn baby so they have to take the difficult

> choice of fever or tamiflu.

> antibiotics wouldn't normally be prescribed for a

> flu case, as people have alredy pointed out.

> However if you get a lung infection as a result of

> the flu you may be prescribed antibiotics to treat

> that bacterial infection

[sian]

I see that the Alleyns' website avoids using the words "swine flu" calling it influenza A H1N1 in its entry. How genteel!

[Otto]

Genteel perhaps, but it is correct. WHO renamed it. They dropped the swine part of the name last week.

[jimmy two times]

They've found a new cure for it. Oinkment.

[stephf72]

I'd be interested to know where the girl who contracted the swine flu travelled in the USA. My mother returned from a holiday yesterday where she spent some time in Florida, she is very ill with flu, and says she has never had flu like this before. I called NHS direct, they then got the locum GP to call me who said that as she had not travelled in New York, California, Texas or Mexico then she is not considered at risk.

This decision seems arbitrary considering that swine flu is in half of the states in the USA, and in Florida. As you can imagine I'm currently v worried about her.......

[lenk]

I just hope this whole pundemic doesn't get any worse

[zephyr]

themaninblack Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> sillywoman Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > HeidiHi Wrote:

> > -- doesn't help having a

> > > lowered immunity due to pregnancy

> >

> > I don't think that just being pregnant lowers

> your

> > immunity HH?

>

> Am i right in thinking if you're pregnant you

> can't take the antibiotics? that's not good news

> for expectant mothers is it!

>

>

>

> Pregnant or not, an antibiotic isn't going to do

> much good against any form of flu, what with it

> being a virus.

Pregnancy DOES NOT lower ones immunity to infection.

It is SAFE to take most antibiotics in pregnancy (there are one or two more specialised ones which should not be taken)

Antibiotics (aka anti-bacterials) have NO effect against flu or a cold (viruses). They are effective against secondary bacterial infections that some people get following a viral infection. Any infection will lower ones resistance to any other infection. Tamiflu helps the body deal with the infection and make it less susceptable to another infection at that time.

[woofmarkthedog]

Posh piggy flu ......in Dulwich

I say.........let's not get irashernal........ please

*snorts with derision*

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I have been told many times it does, my books says it does, my sister who is a nurse says it does, as does my midwife and doctor so I am inclined to believe them. It's supressed so your baby isn't seen as a foreign object. Babycentre.co.uk even states that:

Your immune system is lowered slightly during pregnancy in order to stop your body rejecting your unborn baby. This means that you are more vulnerable to viral infections, such as coughs, colds and flu (Murray 2003:197).

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/ref/coughsandcolds/

http://coldflu.about.com/od/faqaboutthecold/a/pregnantcolds.htm

http://pregnancy.more4kids.info/64/treating-common-illnesses-during-pregnancy/

And lots and lots of information about it on the website.

I have never ever heard otherwise. And I was refused antibiotics completely by the hospital and by my doctor. I cannot take Penicillins either.

[zephyr]

A sibling of one of the Alleyn kids is also sick

So..... which primary school do they go to (not shutting as the child was symptomless apparently)?

Actually whilst there is a high chance of it being an ED primary school it could actually be any primary school in south London judging by the coaches that bring pupils in every day.

[Huggers]

Never fear,Scientists are hard at work trying to save our bacon. But the fundamentalists will insist it's just God Swill.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

stephf72 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'd be interested to know where the girl who

> contracted the swine flu travelled in the USA. My

> mother returned from a holiday yesterday where she

> spent some time in Florida, she is very ill with

> flu, and says she has never had flu like this

> before. I called NHS direct, they then got the

> locum GP to call me who said that as she had not

> travelled in New York, California, Texas or Mexico

> then she is not considered at risk.

>

> This decision seems arbitrary considering that

> swine flu is in half of the states in the USA, and

> in Florida. As you can imagine I'm currently v

> worried about her.......

I don't blame you being worried, I would be too, is it not possible your mother could get a second opinion? did the doctor actually visit her and examine her?