Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Swine Flu Death Excuses

Have you noticed that whenever anyone dies of swine flu in the US that the CDC blames the death on a pre-condition of the victim? He was a sickly baby, she had psoriasis and a respiratory condition, he was fat and had sleep apnea. Honestly, the excuses are getting thinner and thinner. Many of the victim's families are trying to correct the record by reporting that their deceased relative had none of the reported conditions. I am just wondering how my death would be justified, why I would deserve to die. She had acne as a teen-ager, she has a fungus under one of her toenails, she had pneumonia last year because she ate cashews way too late at night, she has an allergy to shell fish. Well, I could go on but I might invade my own right to medical privacy. I just think the excuses are seeming more and more contrived.

Am I worried that I will die from the Swine Flu? Not really. I could see that I might get Swine Flu if there is no vaccine for it. There have been a lot of confirmed cases in Dallas County. I get the flu almost every year that I don't get the vaccine, and some years when the vaccine isn't effective. The flu brings me down, but I have learned that the secondary infections make me more miserable. I have a supply of antibiotics that I keep on hand that I bought in Mexico. If I get bronchitis or an ear infection as a result of the flu I will treat myself for that. I think it is unwise not to treat the secondary infections, but amazingly I have seen so many MDs who are hesitant to treat a secondary infection when the initial cause is a viral infection, like the swine flu. Maybe there is a lot of drug and gang violence in Ciudad Juarez, but I always cross the border when I am in El Paso and go to my favorite farmacia to buy amoxalina. I figure that if the Mexican government trusts it's citizens to take antibiotics responsibly, then I can be trusted too.

2 comments:

Deanna said...

When I hear how rare it is to contract a disease that is going around I always remember the time when you were one of the 350 people in the US to have West Nile. I would be a little worried too.

Fisher Family said...

You be careful there in Dallas, it would be terrible to get the swine flu! Your right though with every death from it they have made an excuse for it.

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I am a stay at home mom but the clock is ticking. My husband and I only have one child left at home. I enjoy shopping and finding great bargains.