Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Install the app
Install
Reply to Thread
Guest, we'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the
Diabetes Forum Survey 2024 »
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Ask A Question
Swine flu, are we at greater risk?.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="smcc" data-source="post: 89662" data-attributes="member: 321"><p>As a type 1 diabetic for more than 40 years, and a recently retired GP, I am appalled at the way the UK government and the press are treating the present flu epidemic. They have been developing a Pandemic Flu Plan for years, in order to "be prepared" for an <em>avian</em> flu pandemic. The present H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic seems to be a less serious illness than normal seasonal flu, and the English Health Service seems to be handing out Tamiflu, a drug of doubtful benefit and with quite significant side effects, to all and sundry on the basis of a phone call to a call-centre, staffed by people with no medical experience and working to a series of tick boxes, or by completing a series of questions on a web site. For the vast majority of people, the only benefit of the anti-viral drug is to reduce the severity of the symptoms and to shorten their duration by 1 day. I am not certain whether I would want to take the drug, given its side-effect profile.</p><p></p><p>The organisation of the flu response in England has been chaotic. Thankfully, in Scotland, the response has been more measured and Tamiflu is being offered mainly to people with underlying chronic disease and young people, who seem to be moe susceptible. </p><p></p><p>WRT possible pre-existing immunity, it appears that the disease is not affecting most over 60s, the suggestion being that they have been exposed to a similar H1N1 virus before. An H1N1 virus has been part of the seasonal flu vaccine for the past 4 or 5 years, and it seems likely that anyone who has had the annual flu vaccination for chronic disease should have a degree of protection.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="smcc, post: 89662, member: 321"] As a type 1 diabetic for more than 40 years, and a recently retired GP, I am appalled at the way the UK government and the press are treating the present flu epidemic. They have been developing a Pandemic Flu Plan for years, in order to "be prepared" for an [i]avian[/i] flu pandemic. The present H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic seems to be a less serious illness than normal seasonal flu, and the English Health Service seems to be handing out Tamiflu, a drug of doubtful benefit and with quite significant side effects, to all and sundry on the basis of a phone call to a call-centre, staffed by people with no medical experience and working to a series of tick boxes, or by completing a series of questions on a web site. For the vast majority of people, the only benefit of the anti-viral drug is to reduce the severity of the symptoms and to shorten their duration by 1 day. I am not certain whether I would want to take the drug, given its side-effect profile. The organisation of the flu response in England has been chaotic. Thankfully, in Scotland, the response has been more measured and Tamiflu is being offered mainly to people with underlying chronic disease and young people, who seem to be moe susceptible. WRT possible pre-existing immunity, it appears that the disease is not affecting most over 60s, the suggestion being that they have been exposed to a similar H1N1 virus before. An H1N1 virus has been part of the seasonal flu vaccine for the past 4 or 5 years, and it seems likely that anyone who has had the annual flu vaccination for chronic disease should have a degree of protection. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post Reply
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Ask A Question
Swine flu, are we at greater risk?.
Top
Bottom
Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Ad free.
Join the community »
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn More.…