The Whine thread.

[WarpGirl]

I thought you were Basque? I must be brain dead. Anyway did they call it spanish flu because it started in Spain? I thought it started somewhere else. Wasn't it also called Yellow fever? There's arguing because it's fun then there's arguing and making it clear you don't like the person. I think I'm getting sick.

[Escriba]

No, you're not brain dead yet I'm Basque, which means I'm Spanish too (since the Basque Country is inside Spain.) I feel the two things (not everybody does here, but I do.)

[WarpGirl]

Oh so I don't have to go to the psych ward yet? Cool. I think I'm getting close though.

[CX]

Hey Dis, my parents think I have pneumonia now from the flu I had. Is there anything I can do about it that doesn't involve going to see a doctor for it?

WarpGirl, here's an article on the 1918 pandemic. There's actually been some fear of the Spanish flu emerging again if victims in arctic areas are ever dug up.

[WarpGirl]

I'm not a doctor but I can tell you that if you have pneumonia YOU MUST see the Doctor. No way out of it! Please go I wouldn't want to hear you've gotten something life threatening because you didn't. You're very nice. Thanks for the read.

[Alelou]

Yeah, CX, you don't mess around with that. A son of one of my coworkers was a healthy young man who ended up in the hospital having limb after limb amputated because of pneumonia, before he finally died. Nobody could believe it.

Go to a doctor or clinic or even the good old emergency room. You can always set up a payment plan.

[Aquarius]

Don't mess with pneumonia, CX. My mom's a nurse and when I had it she told me that you gotta go to the doctor and get on some antibiotics.

Many hospitals have people on staff to help with financial aid and have access to programs to cut costs. There are also clinics out there that do services on a sliding scale according to your income. Do a google search, and check with your county's health department.

[Distracted]

I went to bed at 9:00 last night with 103 fever, sweated my brains out and feel 95% better today. Just a sore throat. This is a really weird bug. My husband had it twice this summer and my son once. It's a short thing, but nasty.

We're going to the Air & Water show on Lake Michigan today anyway. Don't want to be a party pooper.

Oh, dear. I'm glad I'm not in Michigan. You probably ought to reconsider that idea. You're still contagious until 24 hours after you've stopped running fever. If you ran 103 temp last night I'd lay odds that you'll be inoculating everyone you get close enough to touch or sneeze on with whatever you've got for the next couple of days at least. And I would assume they don't want it, even if it's not the flu. Viral illnesses last a week or more, and the fever is usually better in the am, only to get worse again at night. You'd think that would mean that you're not as contagious while you're not running fever, but that's not true. You can give others this bug even if you happen to be feeling better right now. Do your friends and neighbors a favor and stay home.

I agree with the consensus, CX. Please go to the doctor.

[WarpGirl]

I hope he listens four people told him to go. Me I'm cursing my body today too, I have mountains of laundry, piles of dishes, and absolutely no strength to tackle it. CP says NO! I might even have to give my dog to mom he is getting too herd for me to deal with physically. I fell again putting him out.

[Distracted]

Lordy, I hate housework, too. It's okay to ask for help, Warpgirl. You can only do so much. Get someone to come in and help you catch up, and then do just a little every day so you don't get too far behind again.

[Aquarius]

You're still contagious until 24 hours after you've stopped running fever. If you ran 103 temp last night I'd lay odds that you'll be inoculating everyone you get close enough to touch or sneeze on with whatever you've got for the next couple of days at least. And I would assume they don't want it, even if it's not the flu. Viral illnesses last a week or more, and the fever is usually better in the am, only to get worse again at night. You'd think that would mean that you're not as contagious while you're not running fever, but that's not true. You can give others this bug even if you happen to be feeling better right now. Do your friends and neighbors a favor and stay home.

I wish you were around to give that advice to everyone all the time, Dis. I get so annoyed at work, when people deem themselves (or worse, their kids) too sick to go to work/school, and yet somehow their butts land in my chair. I need the money, but not THAT badly.

Seriously. If people are too sick for school or work, what makes them think *I* want what they've got??? And they shouldn't think for a second that a fat tip for taking them any way is going to make a difference; that fat tip won't go very far toward paying the bills if theirhairdresser misses a day or two of work because she got THEIR cooties!

[Alelou]

Actually I thought somewhere I read that quite a few people catch this one and never run a fever.

Not sure if that means it's mild for them or the virus is just diabolical.

[Aquarius]

We had to learn about this stuff in beauty school, because of sanitation and public health laws. It is possible to be contagious without a fever, but if you do have a fever, you're contagious for sure. A fever is just the body's way of heating things up in an attempt to kill the germs. There are many viruses that are contagious during incubation so you don't even realize you have them yet, and I believe the common cold is one of them.

So yeah, even without a fever, many of us out there appreciate a little damage control on the part of the afflicted, especially those of us who work with the public.

[WarpGirl]

Lordy, I hate housework, too. It's okay to ask for help, Warpgirl. You can only do so much. Get someone to come in and help you catch up, and then do just a little every day so you don't get too far behind again.

I love housework, as a toddler I did windows and dusting and worked my way up to cooking, dishes, and laundry. Ironically as an adult it's gotten harder. The problem is all my usual help is laid up. Mama says she'll make daddy take care of it but that scares me. He never organizes the way I need him too. He always forgets about my chair.

[Distracted]

And I would guess money's tight or you could hire somebody. Hmmm. How about a kid from the neighborhood? A ten year old would be more likely to accept five bucks or so, and they're short so they'd put things away within reach. You'd have to teach them the first time, but I'll bet it would work. Just a thought.

I just thought of something else. Catholic confirmation candidates require public service hours to meet their requirements where I'm from. These would be high school juniors. Got any Catholic teenagers in the neighborhood? You might get them to work for free.

And yeah, Aquarius, isn't being a public servant so much fun? At least I get to wear a mask during flu season and nobody looks at me funny. You could keep some at your station and put one on when a customer starts to cough.