Yesterday during my C and I class for Science non-majors we were discussing H1N1 and how it is making us feel. We have had this discussion in our class the last few days, we have the habit of getting quite heated about it so our professor asked us to do some digging on it and the U of L.
One of the most interesting points that we all got heated about was how intensely the U of L is pushing awareness. I understand it is good to have the facts, however, as a few of us noted, we have stopped reading the emails. I get this might be a scary thing, it could get really bad, whoo hoo our school is prepared, but!!! We hare so surrounded with H1N1 information and facts and freaking out that it has almost made us stop caring. I may even admit that at this point I don't care about H1N1.
We all know information about reinforcement and consequence and all that jazz. I am starting to think that we have been so overly exposed to all of the information about H1N1 without any reinforcement (or scary incidents that confirm that this is still something we need to fear) that we have almost had an extinction of our response to hearing about H1N1.
Are people still very fearful of this flu? It appeared as though that class was mostly over all the drama and hype of what could be looming around the corner. I know our class had a bit of a discussion about H1N1, I wonder if we had another discussion would the feelings of everyone still be the same?
Did all the media damage the credibility of H1N1? I wonder how this would have all transpired during the time before media/news was a money making market. I want the news, not some inflated stories of what COULD have happened or ALMOST happened. I am saddened by the fact that news reports are no longer just facts, they are a "spin" of what happened.
What would the news reports say about H1N1 if they were just giving facts?
-Brandie
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Brandie,
ReplyDeleteI really like some of the questions you raise. I, personally, have never been too concerned about the H1N1 flu which may not be a good thing. I remember last year hearing about some schools where kids had been infected and they would not tell the teachers which student had contracted the flu. So teachers did not know if they had been in contact with that student or not. This seemed crazy to me! Would it not be better for teachers to know if they had been in contact with this student so if they felt the symptoms, they could take extra precautions to avoid passing the flu onto others. But I guess FOIP prevents this type of information from being spread around.
One thing I am very supportive of is the increase in information about ways to stop the spread of germs, such as coughing and sneezing in your sleeve, frequently washing your hands especially before eating, and not touching your nose or face. I don’t know about anyone else but I learned about this in elementary school. I was taught to sneeze in the crook of my elbow so you don’t pass on the germs to those around you. I remember seeing a slow motion video of someone sneezing beside a black background and saw how far the mist went…..GROSS! So I am always surprised to hear how many people don’t know or don’t use the elbow/sleeve technique.
The one thing I think might be over used, however, is the hand sanitizers and antibacterial hand wash. As a science major I have heard about how using antibacterial soaps can create superbugs which ultimately lead to other problems (how do you kill a superbug that does not die from antibacterial product??). The antibacterial products kill all of the bacteria, not simply the bad ones and we need the good bacteria to keep us healthy. So instead of using the antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers all the time, simply use soap and warm water and wash for 30 seconds….it’s the friction that kills a lot of the bugs anyways.
And the other thing about H1N1 is the vaccine. I have a number of friends that are nurses and they are very sceptical about the vaccine. One of my nurse friends has a daughter that is 9 months old and she said there is no way she is going to get her daughter vaccinated; there have not been enough tests to know how it will affect people, especially babies. Will the vaccine help or hinder people long term??
So I now too am wondering how many people at the university are concerned about H1N1. I think the flu reporting system is actually a good idea but I don’t think it needs to only be for H1N1. I think any flu can be dangerous and no one wants you around if you have the flu. Stay home, get better and keep your germs to yourself. So I think there have been some good things come out of the H1N1 preparations but it has not made me any more or less concerned with the flu. I guess we will just have to wait and see if all the hype was for not…but then again if everyone is more concerned with preventing the flu from passing around, will we prevent the flu from making it’s rounds…
Hey Sheri,
ReplyDeleteI already typed this comment up and it somehow deleted it so this is the short version :)
I love the ideas that you have brought up. I didn't know that it was friction that could kill germs when you wash them, I thought it was all about the soap. Who knew? I do know that you need to wash your hands longer then splashing them and go.
Germs aren't all bad, it makes me a little sad that some people hear that word and they get all squirmy and think they must kill them. I do know that there are some good germs that protect us from the scary/evil germs! We are really setting the poor bubble generation up for disaster!
I think you raised a really good point when you put out the idea that the flu registration shouldn't just be about H1N1. The flu is nasty, basically any version you get sucks! Plus, being that we are usually quite stressed, tired and exposed to a lot of germs (at least I am) we are most likely already in the high risk zone for getting sick, we don't need the person with the sweats sitting beside us or hacking up a lung. Does it really help anyone?
As for the vaccine, I am quite shocked it is even being offered. No one has really done enough long term research on this. It to me doesn't make sense at all. Maybe these people won't get the flu but what if it predisposes them to some deadly disease. If we look at the flu shot that they have given for so long (yes they give a different one every year or try to plan for what they think will go around) people still get sick. I just don't think it worth the risk.
Thanks for the comment...
-Brandie