# Has anybody here (or those you live with) had the swine flu? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702 "2009-08-25T22:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/21 "2009-08-26T17:21:47Z")
I live in Guadalajara. I don’t know anyone here who has had it. I am very sceptical about the catastrophic predictions that are all over the worldwide news reports. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/22 "2009-08-26T19:34:43Z")
I currently live in a suburb of Mexico City, and work in a different suburb. All the local workers insist that the swine flu never made it into the workplace. Not suprising, as there weren’t all that many confirmed cases in Mexico City to begin with. All the same, we bought some surgical masks just in case everyone decides to start wearing them again. I feel that I’m at a bigger risk of death due to all the huge dump trucks that drive at 40 km/h without tail lights on the autopista. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/23 "2009-08-27T04:14:09Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > They think it will be like that strain because it’s acting like that already. A disproportionate number of hospitalizations from swine flu have been in the under-30 age group, compared with the usual profile of “normal” flu, where the majority of those severely affected are over 65. . Crap. I have asthma _and_ I wasn’t alive for any flu before the late 70s. I guess I’ll take the flu shot if they offer it at work for $15 this year. The flu I had the year before last (only the second time in my life I got the flu) left me barely able to function for a month. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/24 "2009-08-27T04:32:30Z")
I’m in your boat **elfkin447**. The flu often puts me in the hospital gasping for breath. I hate those fuckers brushing this off as sensational newsmaking. It might not be a problem for them, but it’s a problem for me, and I don’t want to get germs from them. ---
**Author:** ![freedumb2003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@freedumb2003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freedumb2003)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/25 "2009-08-27T04:56:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I haven’t, but it’s galloping all around where I live. Several students and one of my student workers (and her children) currently have it, or at least believe they do. (The doctors and ERs have been diagnosing it but for some reason- I assume cost- aren’t actually conducting the test for it.) > > I’m curious how it compares to “regular” flus- is it basically the same symptoms? More severe? Less severe? Just curious as to what it is I’m bathing in hand sanitizer in hopes of avoiding. My ex-wife was a pig – does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/26 "2009-08-27T05:30:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m curious how it compares to “regular” flus- is it basically the same symptoms? More severe? Less severe? Just curious as to what it is I’m bathing in hand sanitizer in hopes of avoiding. From what I hear, it is basically the same thing as the regular flu which is plenty bad enough but it is no influenza outbreak of 1918 either. I am not quite sure what all of the fuss is about except for speculation about what might happen in the future but no one knows that. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/27 "2009-08-27T06:11:59Z")
About the deal with younger people being more at risk, I seem to remember reading that their stronger immune systems somehow attacked the lungs too heavily, or something along those lines. Did anybody come across similar claims, or am I fantasizing? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/28 "2009-08-27T13:15:10Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I’m in your boat **elfkin447**. The flu often puts me in the hospital gasping for breath. I hate those fuckers brushing this off as sensational newsmaking. It might not be a problem for them, but it’s a problem for me, and I don’t want to get germs from them. And I hate the fucking sensationalist news media for their alarmist and false reports that nearly ruined our tourist industry. So it is a problem for us. There have been fewer than 50 confirmed deaths here due to the swine flu in a country of over 100 million. oooooooooh…how freaky. They way it was being reported it made it sounded like people were dropping dead in the street. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702/29 "2009-08-28T04:15:18Z")
The flu season hasn’t started, so the fact that it is around this early is a good indication that their predictions will be born out. It was never being reported as people dropping dead in the streets. That’s just you interpreting it the way you want to. It’s just like any other flu, except it will spread faster. I’m only angry at people that don’t want to take more reasonable cautions moderate the spread. People canceling trips is dumb. People going into work sick is dumber. It’s August, so your number of 50 in millions is pretty worthless. The flu is pretty uncommon this time of year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-here-or-those-you-live-with-had-the-swine-flu/507702.md?page=1)