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Dude seriously? Think about this, do any of your co-workers have children? because if they do, then you are putting those children at risk with the possibility of infecting their parents. Children experience severe symptoms if they contract H1N1. Be responsible, take a few days off.
Actually I work in a lab which is currently being run by exactly three people. My other two co-workers are 20-somethings with no children in their vicinity.
I fear I didn't exactly make things clear when I said I'm not taking time off work. Leaving for PAX I left an entire laboratory in the care of just two people. Now that I'm back I have not only a whole week of piled up work to attend to (all those things that had to fall by the wayside so my coworkers could focus on what took higher priority) but I now have an audit next week, meaning a lady will come and pick through every bit of paperwork I've filled out in the last year. And on top of this I'm starting a new semester of college to get the degree that I need to actually be qualified for the work I do.
So, yeah. I really CAN'T miss work. But my doing so won't really be endangering anyone. I assure you I have informed my boss of all this and she rather jokingly said that we'll put quarantine signs up all over the lab and wear the hazmat suits in the attic if we all end up getting sick.
Long post is long!
basser on
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Hahaha, I suggest this goes on the back of the shirts. On a related note, my employer called to tell me to take off as much time as I need. The economy might suck and all, but having no employees is worse than one being out for a few days. I wish more companies (especially in the U.S.) thought the way mine did.
It's a tough call when forced to choose between risking one's source of income (maybe their entire family's income) vs. safeguarding your co-workers' health. I can't say I'd vilify someone for their choice.
Due to the growing numbers of H1N1 cases we are rapidly approaching a time when masks will be common in public and anyone sneezing/coughing will be viewed as someone having the plague and will be shunned. Already in many cities in India and other countries that are having large outbreaks masks are common.
There is a very good PBS series on the 1918 outbreak that gives a sneak preview of what things very well could be like in a few months when the seasons change and the virus will have better conditions for spreading. here are the videos - http://video.pbs.org/video/1240086878/feature/80 and would recommend watching them.
I'd say today you can come to work and be sick and get away with it but shortly they will toss you out in fear of getting infected. It's just a matter of time.
Don't you think that is a bit of an over reaction there? Are you making money on everyone you can scare? Its actually good we got this first round of infection over with before flu season really kicks in and we have some immunities.
Think I am in the clear. After going through 4 doses of dayquil, 2 shots of nyquil, 2 Air Born wafers, stacked with advil/tyenol EACH DAY starting Sunday night. As of right now I just have an itch in the back of my throat and a slightly stuffy nose. Coughing is down to once an hour or less.
WTF is an Air Born wafer? Also, 6 doses of the 'Quil and keeping Tylenol on cooldown is working your liver like an Irish sailor on a bad day.
I've been sick since Sunday (when I flew out!), but have been feeling good enough to go back to work since Wednesday. I didn't know there was a swine flu outbreak, so I called my local urgent care to see if they'd test me today. Basically, they won't unless I am displaying severe flu symptoms, so no tests for me I guess.
Is it possible to just sleep through fevers and whatnot?
I've developed a nasty sore throat, and feel all congested. I haven't had a fever to my knowledge, but I have been sleeping for 10+ hours a day... Luckily I don't have to worry about infecting other people [other than my SO] as I don't have a job atm [just graduated college and all that]. And I'm a local, so no planes for me, although I did ride the ferry to/from pax.. >_>
To give all of you some hope: I started coughing on Monday. Tuesday morning was by far the worst of my flu, fever was down to about 100 by 7pm yesterday, and I'm reading between 98 and 99 so far today. Cough is still here, and it hurts all over because it's so hard, but aside from that I feel fine.
That may very well be true, but with the way I was feeling by the end of Sunday you could have told me putting a raw squid in your pants would make you better and I would have tried it.
I just wanted to let you know that I've contracted the swine flu from PAX. Monday night it started with a mild sore throat. Tuesday was the worst day / night I've ever had. Unable to sleep, tossing and turning. Chills, fever, very fatigue. In bed all day, unable to attend the first week of class. Wednesday I went to the doctor, temp was 103F, he prescribed Tamiflu which I will be taking for the next five days. I still feel extremely weak. I've also been laying in bed for the last 40 of 48 hours (roughly). Fellow students at my school (DigiPen) also appear to have the swine flu, but I'm not sure how bad they've got it.
I feel like I'm slowly getting better... temp is currently 100.6F. I was mostly hanging around the DigiPen booth (6th floor) and the expo hall, just FYI. Hope everyone out there in my position gets better soon, too.
Went to the doctor this morning and was told that they don't test people my age (22) for swine flu who don't have a chronic illnesses. Well that was a waste of time. Still going to take off work though.
Okay, possible swine flu victim here. I say possible because I'm probably past the point where I can be tested to verify. My fiancee however is not, but she has no insurance and no money. We both live in Nevada, near Carson City, and went to PAX with our friends from Spokane as part of a two-week vacation.
We left PAX Sunday night, at which time my throat was bothering the crap out of me. I figured it was because of a coughing fit I'd had the previous day after trying to inhale some Gatorade, rather than the traditional method of swallowing it. By the end of the drive back to Spokane it was clear to me (and the gal driving, who had similar symptoms) that it was something else. Over the next three days I went through the typical gamut of crap: coughing, congestion, headache, a few chills (though they didn't last long), and this really odd "suddenly there suddenly not" fatigue that has been persisting clear through today. Around late Tuesday the fiancee started getting light symptoms. We both wore surgical masks on our flight back to Reno on Wednesday just in case. Today her symptoms are much worse, and mine are fading but very slowly.
Now I would LOVE to get the fiancee tested but NO AGENCY here will provide free or even low-cost screening for the flu, swine or otherwise. (The lowest price we've been able to get is about $150 just for a screening) To make matters worse my lovely lady has to go back to work in three days unless she can get a doctor's note saying she's sick, which again will cost her $150. My fiancee is a bartender; her bar is usually busy, mostly with tourists and travelers. The owner and the manager WILL NOT give her time off without a note from a doctor. If you hear about another swine flu cluster originating in the Carson City area you can thank the State of Nevada's public health department for not offering screening options to the uninsured.
I'm going to try to get a screening but I'm pretty sure the culture will come back negative for everything at this point. (I actually have insurance) I'll let you know how it goes.
Y|yukichigai on
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nevilleThe Worst Gay(Seriously. The Worst!)Registered Userregular
I just wanted to let you know that I've contracted the swine flu from PAX. Monday night it started with a mild sore throat. Tuesday was the worst day / night I've ever had. Unable to sleep, tossing and turning. Chills, fever, very fatigue. In bed all day, unable to attend the first week of class. Wednesday I went to the doctor, temp was 103F, he prescribed Tamiflu which I will be taking for the next five days. I still feel extremely weak. I've also been laying in bed for the last 40 of 48 hours (roughly). Fellow students at my school (DigiPen) also appear to have the swine flu, but I'm not sure how bad they've got it.
I feel like I'm slowly getting better... temp is currently 100.6F. I was mostly hanging around the DigiPen booth (6th floor) and the expo hall, just FYI. Hope everyone out there in my position gets better soon, too.
- Paul
I don't think I have it, although one of my team's artists has it.
Hope you feel better soon. I'm sure the profs will be cutting everyone sick some slack for this
...
Now I would LOVE to get the fiancee tested but NO AGENCY here will provide free or even low-cost screening for the flu, swine or otherwise. (The lowest price we've been able to get is about $150 just for a screening) To make matters worse my lovely lady has to go back to work in three days unless she can get a doctor's note saying she's sick, which again will cost her $150. My fiancee is a bartender; her bar is usually busy, mostly with tourists and travelers. The owner and the manager WILL NOT give her time off without a note from a doctor. If you hear about another swine flu cluster originating in the Carson City area you can thank the State of Nevada's public health department for not offering screening options to the uninsured...
Take her to urgent care - it shouldn't cost $150 to get a doctor's note. The doc should be able to take a look at her and say "yup, you're sick... here's a note!" without doing any fancy testing...
shugarae on
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Went to the doctor this morning. I've been sick since Monday. Slept 14 hours after PAX and snoozed on the couch after that. Monday I felt like a Mac Truck hit my head. Tuesday the fever started and I was congested and coughing. I called the doc but they said the usual, fluids/rest etc come in if you need anything. Still had a fever of about 100-101 this morning and went to the doctor. Swabbed my nose for flu and tested positive for Influenza A. They don't send the samples further for H1N1 testing unless you're a medical risk or prego and since I'm neither she said assume it's H1N1 becuause of the other confirmed cases. She wrote me a note to stay home from work until Tuesday (a full week) or 24-hours after my fever finally breaks. I feel sorta ok this afternoon, but that's how it's been going, fine in the afternoon and evening then cough my lungs out at night and feel like a truck hit me in the morning.
Interestingly of the 4 I attended PAX with only one other is sick and more mild than me. One of the non-sick was at my house to watch some movies on Monday night and still hasn't shown anything. Must be a damn strong immune system!
On the plus side, I won't worry about the rush to get immunized this fall and my employer is being very nice about it since his kid is a freshman at WSU that got H1N1 a few weeks ago. Good times.
Dude seriously? Think about this, do any of your co-workers have children? because if they do, then you are putting those children at risk with the possibility of infecting their parents. Children experience severe symptoms if they contract H1N1. Be responsible, take a few days off.
Actually I work in a lab which is currently being run by exactly three people. My other two co-workers are 20-somethings with no children in their vicinity.
I fear I didn't exactly make things clear when I said I'm not taking time off work. Leaving for PAX I left an entire laboratory in the care of just two people. Now that I'm back I have not only a whole week of piled up work to attend to (all those things that had to fall by the wayside so my coworkers could focus on what took higher priority) but I now have an audit next week, meaning a lady will come and pick through every bit of paperwork I've filled out in the last year. And on top of this I'm starting a new semester of college to get the degree that I need to actually be qualified for the work I do.
So, yeah. I really CAN'T miss work. But my doing so won't really be endangering anyone. I assure you I have informed my boss of all this and she rather jokingly said that we'll put quarantine signs up all over the lab and wear the hazmat suits in the attic if we all end up getting sick.
Long post is long!
I was just reading that PAX had confirmed H1N1 then I saw this crap. This is probably the only post I'll ever make because this just takes the cake.
I work in pharmaceuticals, and when some guy got H1N1 confirmation a couple of months back, they deactivated his badge for 1 week. Furthermore they put all the people he came into close contact with the day before, on Tamiflu. Sending a message to people that coming to work with the virus is OK is simply wrong. There's a risk of spreading it far beyond you can possibly imagine, and from the company's point of view, if you have all your analysts and techs call out, that can be millions of dollars down the drain. Just because you yourself can power through it, doesn't mean the next person can. It's almost crazy to believe you're working as a microbiologist, when something like this can also affect aseptic processing and risk cross contamination. It's also crazy if you consider yourself as a scientist if you think you can make an assumption that your colleagues will respond to the virus in the same manner as you are.
I hope you're in some university research lab where nothing is really on the line. You'd better not be working in a cGLP/cGMP setting because having a non-qualified person working that setting is non compliant and illegal. Furthermore, your auditor is shit if he/she doesn't verify the qualifications and training records of those working in the lab. Last, your boss is shit to not realize that the overall group performance is at risk if everyone gets infected. It completely knocks out some people. Having 2 people at 100% is better than maybe having 3 at a sub-par performance level.
People who risk a source of income by staying home need to step it up and contact local news or labor groups. If you lost your hourly wage, ask if you can make it up somehow. If you lost employment, you need to get empowered to fix that. Getting H1N1 isn't habitual, folks, and it's hard to imagine you'll get axed as a result of contracting it, even if you're in food service. It's not like an STD. If you do get canned, that needs to become public.
Thank you Baku. You said that better than myself or anyone else in this thread thus far could have. Her posts were making me sick to the point where I just threw my hands up in the air and thanked that she's not in the contiguous states.
hey paxters, i went to the dr yesterday with white stuff on my tonsils...tonsilitis, right? nope, turns out they had already had 5 confirmed cases in ythe office in the first two hours. the dr said the same thing, you probably have, and you are going to have a fever for a while. you are young, not going to waste a test on you, go to bed.
i told him i had dressed up and came in contact with hellla people, so i'm super sorry if i might have infected you while we were taking a picture.
in retrospect, that consars game isnt so funny now! i heard that its been estimated at 2500 nerds in seattle have been confirmed.
if anyone has the antidote for relentless fever, please lemme kno. take care, guys.
People who risk a source of income by staying home need to step it up and contact local news or labor groups. If you lost your hourly wage, ask if you can make it up somehow. If you lost employment, you need to get empowered to fix that. Getting H1N1 isn't habitual, folks, and it's hard to imagine you'll get axed as a result of contracting it, even if you're in food service. It's not like an STD. If you do get canned, that needs to become public.
Meanwhile, in the real world...
delroland on
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hey paxters, i went to the dr yesterday with white stuff on my tonsils...tonsilitis, right? nope, turns out they had already had 5 confirmed cases in ythe office in the first two hours. the dr said the same thing, you probably have, and you are going to have a fever for a while. you are young, not going to waste a test on you, go to bed.
i told him i had dressed up and came in contact with hellla people, so i'm super sorry if i might have infected you while we were taking a picture.
in retrospect, that consars game isnt so funny now! i heard that its been estimated at 2500 nerds in seattle have been confirmed.
if anyone has the antidote for relentless fever, please lemme kno. take care, guys.
Think you might be getting the WSU story mixed up with PAX.
WSU has 2,500 people with FLU symptoms.
PAX had confirmed almost 100 H1Nerd1 as of yesterday.
I was just reading that PAX had confirmed H1N1 then I saw this crap. This is probably the only post I'll ever make because this just takes the cake.
I work in pharmaceuticals, and when some guy got H1N1 confirmation a couple of months back, they deactivated his badge for 1 week. Furthermore they put all the people he came into close contact with the day before, on Tamiflu. Sending a message to people that coming to work with the virus is OK is simply wrong. There's a risk of spreading it far beyond you can possibly imagine, and from the company's point of view, if you have all your analysts and techs call out, that can be millions of dollars down the drain. Just because you yourself can power through it, doesn't mean the next person can. It's almost crazy to believe you're working as a microbiologist, when something like this can also affect aseptic processing and risk cross contamination. It's also crazy if you consider yourself as a scientist if you think you can make an assumption that your colleagues will respond to the virus in the same manner as you are.
I hope you're in some university research lab where nothing is really on the line. You'd better not be working in a cGLP/cGMP setting because having a non-qualified person working that setting is non compliant and illegal. Furthermore, your auditor is shit if he/she doesn't verify the qualifications and training records of those working in the lab. Last, your boss is shit to not realize that the overall group performance is at risk if everyone gets infected. It completely knocks out some people. Having 2 people at 100% is better than maybe having 3 at a sub-par performance level.
People who risk a source of income by staying home need to step it up and contact local news or labor groups. If you lost your hourly wage, ask if you can make it up somehow. If you lost employment, you need to get empowered to fix that. Getting H1N1 isn't habitual, folks, and it's hard to imagine you'll get axed as a result of contracting it, even if you're in food service. It's not like an STD. If you do get canned, that needs to become public.
Okay have to respond to this.
First, my qualifications. I have completed the DMRQA and all training classes needed to be legally qualified for the work I'm paid to do. What I mean by getting a degree to be qualified is that I do a lot of managerial work too such as writing reports and overseeing the organisation of the lab, which I'm not being paid for since it can't be part of my official title without a degree. It's a crap system but there you go.
As to the sanitation concerns, I'm pretty insulted to think that you believe I'm not capable of keeping my lab area sterile. I wear gloves, lab coat, glasses, mask, full-haul sanitation requirements for ANY test I do. And besides which, I mostly test water samples for coliforms and e.coli, so I pretty much couldn't cause a false positive unless I physically took a crap in the water. All positives are re-sampled (and re-tested by a different analyst) at least three times as a matter of course. It's water quality, we do things in triplicate.
And no, having only two people run this lab isn't enough. Missing last week was a carefully organised effort that was only allowed because I told the manager when I was hired that I'd be gone at the end of August, and it still caused massive backup and problems.
Lastly, why are all you people so pissed off that someone in Alaska, of all places, might be infecting people? It's not as if I've gone all around the city snotting on people's faces, I'm just filling out paperwork and putting powder in bottles in my little corner of a small water lab. It's seriously not as big a deal as you're making it out to be.
EDIT:
Not to mention I don't even know if I HAVE the swine flu! Christ you guys, chill out. At least I'm not in retail where I'd actually be in contact with people, like some of the other posters. To reiterate: sitting. in. my. corner. Washing my hands every 10 minutes, even. Good god.
basser on
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I am Paladin, short and stout,
Here is my hammer, here is my mount,
When I see the Horde you'll hear me shout,
Time to pop a bubble and hearth right out!
The problem I'm going to assume most of us have with you is that you're taking this very lightly and even joked that you hoped you'd get your other two co-workers sick. As much of a joke Swine Flu might be as it relates to the media hysterics, you just seem to parade around like it isn't a big deal.
There have to be other places you go outside of your work environment where there are people less fortunate in the health department than you are and not taking them into consideration is incredibly selfish. As soon as I had a cough and I noted to my employers that there had been even one confirmed case of Swine Flu where I had been, they sent me home. I would expect this of any decent employer -- work overload or not. How is your audit supposed to happen if all three of you are out of the lab? Deadlines are no excuse for something like this. And it further escalates because your job and background should have taught you all this.
I'm glad someone called out basser in a literate format. I'd written a big rant reply before remembering my 'just don't bother getting in internet arguments' rule and walked away.
But terrible attitudes aside, if you can make it into work and achieve anything of value then you probably don't have flu anyway.
Swine flu isn't a big deal. Stop being so doom-and-gloom.
Sez you with your fully functioning immune system. Although you won't suffer that bad personally, it's your goddamn duty as an intelligent adult to avoid community spread of a disease that can be fatal to the weakened.
"It's only flu, why all the fuss?" is an intently selfish and small minded view.
Swine flu isn't a big deal. Stop being so doom-and-gloom.
Sez you with your fully functioning immune system. Although you won't suffer that bad personally, it's your goddamn duty as an intelligent adult to avoid community spread of a disease that can be fatal to the weakened.
"It's only flu, why all the fuss?" is an intently selfish and small minded view.
Agreed... Only flu?
Russian flu 1889-90 1 million dead
Spanish flu 1918-20 50 million dead
Asian flu 1957-58 1.5-2 million dead
Hong Kong flu 1968-69 1 million dead
Swine flu so far 2,000 dead
Number of deaths worlwide every year due to normal flu 40,000-60,000
You might be fine, but that coworkers hand you shook just had their infant or eldery parent die because of you
...
Now I would LOVE to get the fiancee tested but NO AGENCY here will provide free or even low-cost screening for the flu, swine or otherwise. (The lowest price we've been able to get is about $150 just for a screening) To make matters worse my lovely lady has to go back to work in three days unless she can get a doctor's note saying she's sick, which again will cost her $150. My fiancee is a bartender; her bar is usually busy, mostly with tourists and travelers. The owner and the manager WILL NOT give her time off without a note from a doctor. If you hear about another swine flu cluster originating in the Carson City area you can thank the State of Nevada's public health department for not offering screening options to the uninsured...
Take her to urgent care - it shouldn't cost $150 to get a doctor's note. The doc should be able to take a look at her and say "yup, you're sick... here's a note!" without doing any fancy testing...
$150 was the price given to us by urgent care. They helpfully offered a payment plan. Pass.
Just got back from the doc. Swab came back positive for Influenza Type A, which includes Swine Flu. They're doing additional testing to see if it's Swine Flu or not; I'll know in three or four days.
I've been sick since Saturday. I started to feel something in my throat on Sunday evening so I went home early and slept. The next morning I felt pretty bad with sore throat/coughing and fever I decided to completely skip Sunday. (Of course I had the three day pass!)
I haven't been officially confirmed by a doctor (I'm broke and I don't have insurance.) but I haven't been outside this week except to the mailbox. And yeah it might just be a like another seasonal flu for me, but I really am trying my best to be careful because I also live with my parents, which is scary because my mom has diabetes.
Please don't take health for granted because you can.
(Y|yukichigai; Where can I find Urgent Care? Does the testing of Swine Flu cost more money?)
The real threat is not the current version of H1N1. The threat will be a mutation that moves the virus to attack the lower lungs. That will get people dying in droves and that did happen in 1918. It is clear from studying the entire 1918 outbreak that mutations did occur. In Boston for example people were dying at bus stops waiting to go to work.
hey paxters, i went to the dr yesterday with white stuff on my tonsils...tonsilitis, right? nope, turns out they had already had 5 confirmed cases in ythe office in the first two hours. the dr said the same thing, you probably have, and you are going to have a fever for a while. you are young, not going to waste a test on you, go to bed.
i told him i had dressed up and came in contact with hellla people, so i'm super sorry if i might have infected you while we were taking a picture.
in retrospect, that consars game isnt so funny now! i heard that its been estimated at 2500 nerds in seattle have been confirmed.
if anyone has the antidote for relentless fever, please lemme kno. take care, guys.
I just bought some store brand advil for the fever. Keep in mind that fevers are part of the immune response, so they're not entirely bad on their own.
My wife, our 15 month old daughter and I all got sick. Doctor is convinced it is novel H1N1, but didn't do a test because she said it wouldn't change the treatment. Did give us Tamiflu for the baby though. We did use public transportation, CT 408 and 414 on Friday, and 508 and 511 on Saturday and Sunday. (too Mountlake Terrace or Lynnhood)
I had it bad on Tuesday and Wednesday, feeling better but have the whole week off to be safe. Daughter is having a real tough time, with fevers consistently about 103 and near constant vomiting. Spending most of her time sleeping it off. Wife and I will be/are fine, but I'm more worried about the baby given the weakened immune system.
Swine flu isn't a big deal. Stop being so doom-and-gloom.
Sez you with your fully functioning immune system. Although you won't suffer that bad personally, it's your goddamn duty as an intelligent adult to avoid community spread of a disease that can be fatal to the weakened.
"It's only flu, why all the fuss?" is an intently selfish and small minded view.
NORMAL FLU is worse than swine flu, so kindly get off the fucking soapbox. People get sick, people die. Shit happens. Get over it.
Car accidents are more lethal than swine flu. Does that mean we all stop driving? "OMG, it's raining! I might lose traction and kill someone! Better stay home today..."
Seriously, the lot of you are being a bunch of drama queens.
delroland on
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"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Swine flu isn't a big deal. Stop being so doom-and-gloom.
You say that, but think about people (like me) who have chronic asthma and are debating whether or not to even attend large conventions anytime soon, or until this all blows over and the vaccine is readily available, because of the risk. A normal flu is dangerous enough for me. Trust me, people with normal immune systems have nothing to worry about, but there are people out there that this is a serious issue and risk for.
(Y|yukichigai; Where can I find Urgent Care? Does the testing of Swine Flu cost more money?)
Google "Urgent Care <your town name>", it's what I did. Unfortunately there are no federal regulations regarding what they charge, when they have to see you, etc. etc., which is why my fiancee is SOL being uninsured. I only managed to get tested for a reasonable price because I'm employed by the state. Without my insurance the bill just for the visit would have been $179, and that's not including the cost of the swab test.
As far as the test, around here they do a simple A/B test for influenza. If it comes back as type A and you have reason to believe you were exposed to swine flu they'll take another swab and send it off to the state lab to be tested there. Not sure what your local lab will do.
The School Girl Goodness group has the flu. Four members started feeling sick on Sunday, but our symptoms are getting better. Called hotel and did not take an airplane. We have been wearing masks, rest, and clean. No one else so far out of the 12 has the flu.
Getting Tested and have already warned the hotel we stayed at.
Another sick out of our group. We are all quarantined. One member has tested positive to influenza A (slight possibility of swine flu).
hml151 on
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School Girl Goodness...Watch for us at future PAX Prime events. If want some of my geek chic collection, click on the etsy link.
The School Girl Goodness group has the flu. Four members started feeling sick on Sunday, but our symptoms are getting better. Called hotel and did not take an airplane. We have been wearing masks, rest, and clean. No one else so far out of the 12 has the flu.
Getting Tested and have already warned the hotel we stayed at.
Another sick out of our group. We are all quarantined. One member has tested positive to influenza A (slight possibility of swine flu).
Umm... would that be me?
<-- stayed with hml in Spokane, at the hotel, yadda yadda....
The School Girl Goodness group has the flu. Four members started feeling sick on Sunday, but our symptoms are getting better. Called hotel and did not take an airplane. We have been wearing masks, rest, and clean. No one else so far out of the 12 has the flu.
Getting Tested and have already warned the hotel we stayed at.
Another sick out of our group. We are all quarantined. One member has tested positive to influenza A (slight possibility of swine flu).
Umm... would that be me?
<-- stayed with hml in Spokane, at the hotel, yadda yadda....
No it is my brother, He is going to get tested tomorrow.
hml151 on
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School Girl Goodness...Watch for us at future PAX Prime events. If want some of my geek chic collection, click on the etsy link.
Went to the hospital today, because of feeling like crap....
While (at least Overlake in Bellevue) they are no longer testing for H1N1, the doctor did believe that Spectre, myself, and one of our kids has it.
The doctor also noted that they are NOT treating the actual virus, but they are treating the symptoms. I went in with a temp of 101.5.... and he let us know that unless our temp gets to 103 or higher, to not worry about coming back in. However, if you are having productive coughing, like I was, you should go in to have a chest x-ray to make sure it hasn't turned into pneumonia. (Luckily, mine hasn't so far!! :P )
So... both Spectre and myself were enforcers, for BYOC... plus we did some work for the queue room, the main theater, and Intel. We also were at both the pre PAX dinner, the Enforcer dinner, the after party at Jillians... AND we also went to Beth's thereafter.
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Actually I work in a lab which is currently being run by exactly three people. My other two co-workers are 20-somethings with no children in their vicinity.
I fear I didn't exactly make things clear when I said I'm not taking time off work. Leaving for PAX I left an entire laboratory in the care of just two people. Now that I'm back I have not only a whole week of piled up work to attend to (all those things that had to fall by the wayside so my coworkers could focus on what took higher priority) but I now have an audit next week, meaning a lady will come and pick through every bit of paperwork I've filled out in the last year. And on top of this I'm starting a new semester of college to get the degree that I need to actually be qualified for the work I do.
So, yeah. I really CAN'T miss work. But my doing so won't really be endangering anyone. I assure you I have informed my boss of all this and she rather jokingly said that we'll put quarantine signs up all over the lab and wear the hazmat suits in the attic if we all end up getting sick.
Long post is long!
I am Paladin, short and stout,
Here is my hammer, here is my mount,
When I see the Horde you'll hear me shout,
Time to pop a bubble and hearth right out!
Seriously though, I hope everyone that caught it recovers.
Gracias, sir.
I've developed a nasty sore throat, and feel all congested. I haven't had a fever to my knowledge, but I have been sleeping for 10+ hours a day... Luckily I don't have to worry about infecting other people [other than my SO] as I don't have a job atm [just graduated college and all that]. And I'm a local, so no planes for me, although I did ride the ferry to/from pax.. >_>
That may very well be true, but with the way I was feeling by the end of Sunday you could have told me putting a raw squid in your pants would make you better and I would have tried it.
I just wanted to let you know that I've contracted the swine flu from PAX. Monday night it started with a mild sore throat. Tuesday was the worst day / night I've ever had. Unable to sleep, tossing and turning. Chills, fever, very fatigue. In bed all day, unable to attend the first week of class. Wednesday I went to the doctor, temp was 103F, he prescribed Tamiflu which I will be taking for the next five days. I still feel extremely weak. I've also been laying in bed for the last 40 of 48 hours (roughly). Fellow students at my school (DigiPen) also appear to have the swine flu, but I'm not sure how bad they've got it.
I feel like I'm slowly getting better... temp is currently 100.6F. I was mostly hanging around the DigiPen booth (6th floor) and the expo hall, just FYI. Hope everyone out there in my position gets better soon, too.
- Paul
We left PAX Sunday night, at which time my throat was bothering the crap out of me. I figured it was because of a coughing fit I'd had the previous day after trying to inhale some Gatorade, rather than the traditional method of swallowing it. By the end of the drive back to Spokane it was clear to me (and the gal driving, who had similar symptoms) that it was something else. Over the next three days I went through the typical gamut of crap: coughing, congestion, headache, a few chills (though they didn't last long), and this really odd "suddenly there suddenly not" fatigue that has been persisting clear through today. Around late Tuesday the fiancee started getting light symptoms. We both wore surgical masks on our flight back to Reno on Wednesday just in case. Today her symptoms are much worse, and mine are fading but very slowly.
Now I would LOVE to get the fiancee tested but NO AGENCY here will provide free or even low-cost screening for the flu, swine or otherwise. (The lowest price we've been able to get is about $150 just for a screening) To make matters worse my lovely lady has to go back to work in three days unless she can get a doctor's note saying she's sick, which again will cost her $150. My fiancee is a bartender; her bar is usually busy, mostly with tourists and travelers. The owner and the manager WILL NOT give her time off without a note from a doctor. If you hear about another swine flu cluster originating in the Carson City area you can thank the State of Nevada's public health department for not offering screening options to the uninsured.
I'm going to try to get a screening but I'm pretty sure the culture will come back negative for everything at this point. (I actually have insurance) I'll let you know how it goes.
I don't think I have it, although one of my team's artists has it.
Hope you feel better soon. I'm sure the profs will be cutting everyone sick some slack for this
Take her to urgent care - it shouldn't cost $150 to get a doctor's note. The doc should be able to take a look at her and say "yup, you're sick... here's a note!" without doing any fancy testing...
The Best in Terms of Pants on JCCC3
Interestingly of the 4 I attended PAX with only one other is sick and more mild than me. One of the non-sick was at my house to watch some movies on Monday night and still hasn't shown anything. Must be a damn strong immune system!
On the plus side, I won't worry about the rush to get immunized this fall and my employer is being very nice about it since his kid is a freshman at WSU that got H1N1 a few weeks ago. Good times.
Sending get well vibes to you all!
I was just reading that PAX had confirmed H1N1 then I saw this crap. This is probably the only post I'll ever make because this just takes the cake.
I work in pharmaceuticals, and when some guy got H1N1 confirmation a couple of months back, they deactivated his badge for 1 week. Furthermore they put all the people he came into close contact with the day before, on Tamiflu. Sending a message to people that coming to work with the virus is OK is simply wrong. There's a risk of spreading it far beyond you can possibly imagine, and from the company's point of view, if you have all your analysts and techs call out, that can be millions of dollars down the drain. Just because you yourself can power through it, doesn't mean the next person can. It's almost crazy to believe you're working as a microbiologist, when something like this can also affect aseptic processing and risk cross contamination. It's also crazy if you consider yourself as a scientist if you think you can make an assumption that your colleagues will respond to the virus in the same manner as you are.
I hope you're in some university research lab where nothing is really on the line. You'd better not be working in a cGLP/cGMP setting because having a non-qualified person working that setting is non compliant and illegal. Furthermore, your auditor is shit if he/she doesn't verify the qualifications and training records of those working in the lab. Last, your boss is shit to not realize that the overall group performance is at risk if everyone gets infected. It completely knocks out some people. Having 2 people at 100% is better than maybe having 3 at a sub-par performance level.
People who risk a source of income by staying home need to step it up and contact local news or labor groups. If you lost your hourly wage, ask if you can make it up somehow. If you lost employment, you need to get empowered to fix that. Getting H1N1 isn't habitual, folks, and it's hard to imagine you'll get axed as a result of contracting it, even if you're in food service. It's not like an STD. If you do get canned, that needs to become public.
i told him i had dressed up and came in contact with hellla people, so i'm super sorry if i might have infected you while we were taking a picture.
in retrospect, that consars game isnt so funny now! i heard that its been estimated at 2500 nerds in seattle have been confirmed.
if anyone has the antidote for relentless fever, please lemme kno. take care, guys.
Meanwhile, in the real world...
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Think you might be getting the WSU story mixed up with PAX.
WSU has 2,500 people with FLU symptoms.
PAX had confirmed almost 100 H1Nerd1 as of yesterday.
Okay have to respond to this.
First, my qualifications. I have completed the DMRQA and all training classes needed to be legally qualified for the work I'm paid to do. What I mean by getting a degree to be qualified is that I do a lot of managerial work too such as writing reports and overseeing the organisation of the lab, which I'm not being paid for since it can't be part of my official title without a degree. It's a crap system but there you go.
As to the sanitation concerns, I'm pretty insulted to think that you believe I'm not capable of keeping my lab area sterile. I wear gloves, lab coat, glasses, mask, full-haul sanitation requirements for ANY test I do. And besides which, I mostly test water samples for coliforms and e.coli, so I pretty much couldn't cause a false positive unless I physically took a crap in the water. All positives are re-sampled (and re-tested by a different analyst) at least three times as a matter of course. It's water quality, we do things in triplicate.
And no, having only two people run this lab isn't enough. Missing last week was a carefully organised effort that was only allowed because I told the manager when I was hired that I'd be gone at the end of August, and it still caused massive backup and problems.
Lastly, why are all you people so pissed off that someone in Alaska, of all places, might be infecting people? It's not as if I've gone all around the city snotting on people's faces, I'm just filling out paperwork and putting powder in bottles in my little corner of a small water lab. It's seriously not as big a deal as you're making it out to be.
EDIT:
Not to mention I don't even know if I HAVE the swine flu! Christ you guys, chill out. At least I'm not in retail where I'd actually be in contact with people, like some of the other posters. To reiterate: sitting. in. my. corner. Washing my hands every 10 minutes, even. Good god.
I am Paladin, short and stout,
Here is my hammer, here is my mount,
When I see the Horde you'll hear me shout,
Time to pop a bubble and hearth right out!
There have to be other places you go outside of your work environment where there are people less fortunate in the health department than you are and not taking them into consideration is incredibly selfish. As soon as I had a cough and I noted to my employers that there had been even one confirmed case of Swine Flu where I had been, they sent me home. I would expect this of any decent employer -- work overload or not. How is your audit supposed to happen if all three of you are out of the lab? Deadlines are no excuse for something like this. And it further escalates because your job and background should have taught you all this.
http://thintheherd.info
An H1N1/Swine Flu Pandemic Forum
But terrible attitudes aside, if you can make it into work and achieve anything of value then you probably don't have flu anyway.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Sez you with your fully functioning immune system. Although you won't suffer that bad personally, it's your goddamn duty as an intelligent adult to avoid community spread of a disease that can be fatal to the weakened.
"It's only flu, why all the fuss?" is an intently selfish and small minded view.
Agreed... Only flu?
Russian flu 1889-90 1 million dead
Spanish flu 1918-20 50 million dead
Asian flu 1957-58 1.5-2 million dead
Hong Kong flu 1968-69 1 million dead
Swine flu so far 2,000 dead
Number of deaths worlwide every year due to normal flu 40,000-60,000
You might be fine, but that coworkers hand you shook just had their infant or eldery parent die because of you
$150 was the price given to us by urgent care. They helpfully offered a payment plan. Pass.
Just got back from the doc. Swab came back positive for Influenza Type A, which includes Swine Flu. They're doing additional testing to see if it's Swine Flu or not; I'll know in three or four days.
I haven't been officially confirmed by a doctor (I'm broke and I don't have insurance.) but I haven't been outside this week except to the mailbox. And yeah it might just be a like another seasonal flu for me, but I really am trying my best to be careful because I also live with my parents, which is scary because my mom has diabetes.
Please don't take health for granted because you can.
(Y|yukichigai; Where can I find Urgent Care? Does the testing of Swine Flu cost more money?)
Here are some H1N1 fatalities - http://thintheherd.info/index.php?board=19.0
The real threat is not the current version of H1N1. The threat will be a mutation that moves the virus to attack the lower lungs. That will get people dying in droves and that did happen in 1918. It is clear from studying the entire 1918 outbreak that mutations did occur. In Boston for example people were dying at bus stops waiting to go to work.
Watch this whole PBS series - http://video.pbs.org/feature/80/
It is the same H1N1 virus and it easily mutates.
http://thintheherd.info
An H1N1/Swine Flu Pandemic Forum
I just bought some store brand advil for the fever. Keep in mind that fevers are part of the immune response, so they're not entirely bad on their own.
I had it bad on Tuesday and Wednesday, feeling better but have the whole week off to be safe. Daughter is having a real tough time, with fevers consistently about 103 and near constant vomiting. Spending most of her time sleeping it off. Wife and I will be/are fine, but I'm more worried about the baby given the weakened immune system.
NORMAL FLU is worse than swine flu, so kindly get off the fucking soapbox. People get sick, people die. Shit happens. Get over it.
Car accidents are more lethal than swine flu. Does that mean we all stop driving? "OMG, it's raining! I might lose traction and kill someone! Better stay home today..."
Seriously, the lot of you are being a bunch of drama queens.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
You say that, but think about people (like me) who have chronic asthma and are debating whether or not to even attend large conventions anytime soon, or until this all blows over and the vaccine is readily available, because of the risk. A normal flu is dangerous enough for me. Trust me, people with normal immune systems have nothing to worry about, but there are people out there that this is a serious issue and risk for.
Google "Urgent Care <your town name>", it's what I did. Unfortunately there are no federal regulations regarding what they charge, when they have to see you, etc. etc., which is why my fiancee is SOL being uninsured. I only managed to get tested for a reasonable price because I'm employed by the state. Without my insurance the bill just for the visit would have been $179, and that's not including the cost of the swab test.
As far as the test, around here they do a simple A/B test for influenza. If it comes back as type A and you have reason to believe you were exposed to swine flu they'll take another swab and send it off to the state lab to be tested there. Not sure what your local lab will do.
Another sick out of our group. We are all quarantined. One member has tested positive to influenza A (slight possibility of swine flu).
http://s774.photobucket.com/user/SchoolGirlGoodness/library/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/VeronatheMad
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Umm... would that be me?
<-- stayed with hml in Spokane, at the hotel, yadda yadda....
No it is my brother, He is going to get tested tomorrow.
http://s774.photobucket.com/user/SchoolGirlGoodness/library/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/VeronatheMad
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Went to the hospital today, because of feeling like crap....
While (at least Overlake in Bellevue) they are no longer testing for H1N1, the doctor did believe that Spectre, myself, and one of our kids has it.
The doctor also noted that they are NOT treating the actual virus, but they are treating the symptoms. I went in with a temp of 101.5.... and he let us know that unless our temp gets to 103 or higher, to not worry about coming back in. However, if you are having productive coughing, like I was, you should go in to have a chest x-ray to make sure it hasn't turned into pneumonia. (Luckily, mine hasn't so far!! :P )
So... both Spectre and myself were enforcers, for BYOC... plus we did some work for the queue room, the main theater, and Intel. We also were at both the pre PAX dinner, the Enforcer dinner, the after party at Jillians... AND we also went to Beth's thereafter.