SARS didn't do the markets a lot of good - what about Swine Flu Epidemic

iltisman

I bet the con artists are working overtime making duff Tamiflu and ropey masks.

bubblesmoney

i dont think there is a need for general public to run after these masks (atleast for now!).

i havent bought any for me and my family. i doubt if many doctors would be buying them for themselves and family, atleast not the ones i know.

if indeed there was a need to buy them, then one would need FFP3 types i guess. plus one would need a good stock of these as they are disposable, atleast the ones i have used in the past and also the ones given to us today were disposable. and they need to create a tight enough seal so that there is no leak. plus one would need a new one every 8h or so or sooner if too moist etc. the ordinary masks would be useless except to catch droplets etc. i dont think it is useful for individuals to be buying them at present. will be just a waste of time and money i feel.

the ones we were issued were the similar to the ones i had used a few years ago ...
3M FFP3 and RESPAIRe FFP3V for trial and disposing off to see which fit better. i prefer the 2nd one as it feels less stuffier than the 1st one incase someone is interested to know what we were given and want to prepare for doomsday scenarios. i repeat i wouldnt be buying them for myself or family for use when going about public transport or outside the home etc. IF we ever use them it will only be for a suspected case in hospital. only a few frontline staff in our hospital have been issued with these masks and the rest havent even been told about them. so i dont see any benefit at present for the general public trying to buy them.

ps: even though i said i prefer the comfort of the RESPAIRe FFP3V mask, if one wears it one looks like an idiot, almost as if one has chopped off half an oversized bra and stuck it on to ones face, would look stupid walking around wearing that!

treliac

iltisman wrote: »

I bet the con artists are working overtime making duff Tamiflu and ropey masks.

Expect to find your inbox full of swine flu 'miracle cure' spam. :rotfl:

amcluesent

Who is that masked woman? Londoners swing from wary glances to outright laughter as Jasmine tests their reactions with her flu mask experiment

space_rider

treliac wrote: »

Expect to find your inbox full of swine flu 'miracle cure' spam. :rotfl:

The text messages are doing their rounds!

Davesnave

space_rider wrote: »

I went to Asda yesterday which is quite a big one and there wasn`t any anti bacterial handwash in sight. .

They were doing a special offer on that at my store, and the supply was OK on Wednesday. There were very few of the alcohol-based ones though, and even less after I'd been there. Theirs are cheap compared with Sainsbury's.

Just a thought; if everyone ends up with cleaner habits after this, some good may come of it.

inspector_monkfish

amcluesent wrote: »

Who is that masked woman? Londoners swing from wary glances to outright laughter as Jasmine tests their reactions with her flu mask experiment

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/who-will-be-the-first-!!!!!!-to-wear--a-facemask?-200904291731/

michaels

BubblesMoney

Thanks for all the useful info, much appreciated.

Just wondered if medical staff had been told to communicate a message of reassurance to the general public.

I am noticing we are getting lots of message about individual cases, lots of reassurance that the fever has been mild for all the patients and how they are all recovering well and few details of the disease (incubation period etc). This does not seem to tie in with the little the Scottish couple have said about separate quarantine and the need for 5 days of hospitalisation - not normal for the sort of flu most of us have ever had...

Also nothing in the media about shopping to hoard food, petrol or sanitation supplies.

TBH I think now would be the ideal time to have the virus while there are still no shortages of antibiotics, hospital and intensive care beds, mediacal staff, drips etc. If there is a cascade to large numbers of people ill then I can see that many will have to cope at home as best they can.

Finally I am sure ther are lots of contagion models in to which it is easy to feed in the likely number of infectious individuals arriving in to the country and the likely infection rate and to already say fairly accurately 100 cases day 5, 10,000 day 10, 1m day 20 etc but this does not seem to be being communicated. If it was good news I am sure it would be mentioned?

bubblesmoney

michaels wrote: »

BubblesMoney

Thanks for all the useful info, much appreciated.

Just wondered if medical staff had been told to communicate a message of reassurance to the general public.

I am noticing we are getting lots of message about individual cases, lots of reassurance that the fever has been mild for all the patients and how they are all recovering well and few details of the disease (incubation period etc). This does not seem to tie in with the little the Scottish couple have said about separate quarantine and the need for 5 days of hospitalisation - not normal for the sort of flu most of us have ever had...

Also nothing in the media about shopping to hoard food, petrol or sanitation supplies.

TBH I think now would be the ideal time to have the virus while there are still no shortages of antibiotics, hospital and intensive care beds, mediacal staff, drips etc. If there is a cascade to large numbers of people ill then I can see that many will have to cope at home as best they can.

Finally I am sure ther are lots of contagion models in to which it is easy to feed in the likely number of infectious individuals arriving in to the country and the likely infection rate and to already say fairly accurately 100 cases day 5, 10,000 day 10, 1m day 20 etc but this does not seem to be being communicated. If it was good news I am sure it would be mentioned?

i think modelling this sort of thing is v difficult, like pick a number and do a prediction. too many possibilities. i am no expert on these matters just speaking my thoughts on this like any other lay person. nothing is being mentioned much about the number projections i guess as anything will be a wild guess at best. the only way we will know is after this is over! i wouldnt worry too much about this. if sh*t happens then it happens, not much can be done about it by worrying needlessly.

no as far as i am aware medical staff havent been told to give reassuring messages or any other sort of message.

i dont see the need to hoard food now for any reason. although i have almost always bought stuff like rice in a 25kg bag etc at home usually as it is cheaper buying it that way from asian shops compared to tesco etc or even online for home delivery from asian stores and it doesnt spoil even if kept for a year and i buy it every few months. i dont intend to stock anything but somehow i always seem to have a truckload of spices enough for a small country at home much to my wifes annoyance. same goes for different lentils as i usually have a few Kgs of various varieties around at home. they dont spoil either for a long time if stored properly. i am not trying to hoard this stuff because of swine flu, its how i have almost always bought because it is more cost effective and doesnt spoil. can keep the stuff in the garage and still have loads of space left. for eg. my wife wanted a large pack of almonds during pregnancy which was about 12 or 13£ at a large tesco store, much to my annoyance after i had bought it i landed up at a nearby asian store and found the same stuff for half the price. so certain things i buy in larger packs from asian stores instead of the stores like tesco ASDA etc and use them over a longer period.

hoarding petrol as you suggest isnt a wise idea nor would it be safe at home.

the best we can do is keep away from areas with high number of cases (like mexico etc) and practice good hygeine when travelling etc. probably keep a small stock of paracetamol and ibuprofen etc for the common cold / flu etc and if in doubt when sick with the common flu then speak over the phone to your GP practice or nhsdirect than panic at home.

i usually keep quite a few packs of (heat and eat) soup etc that doesnt need refrigeration at home for use on days that have been too busy to cook and also keep some tinned mangoes etc and sometimes long life milk just for days that the usual milk runs out. that might be useful if unwell with the common flu and on days i dont feel like going grocery shopping.

if things take a turn for the worse like in mexico then the economy will take a hit as most businesses will literally halt because of sickness or people not turning up for work. so might be useful to have some small stock of essentials like one does during long weekends at christmass time when superstores close for long weekends.

space_rider

Bubblesmoney, not got much room in my kitchen cupboards but will get few bits tomorrow.

I have made sure I have enough of my daughters medicines and got a repeat prescription week earlier than I normally would.