# Zomg! Swine flu! Swiiiiine fluuuuuu! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613 "2009-10-29T15:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/21 "2009-10-29T17:10:28Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > With the flu, what can a doctor do? the usual, bed rest, lots of fluids, tylenol for the aches. There is _nothing_ the hell you can do for a virus _in general_ without spending an insane amount of money for high end antivirals once it has passed the tamiflu point [which is in general by the time you figure out it is the flu and get to a doctor…] Look, I know when I have the flu versus a cold. I treat them both the same, bed rest, fluids, meds for aches. Why should I pay a $20 copay of $250 for an office visit for something the doctor is going to tell me to do anyway? The only time I go to a doc is when it rolls into bronchitis on the way to pneumonia. Then I can use antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/22 "2009-10-29T17:11:04Z")
Your toddler has a pregnant wife?! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/23 "2009-10-29T17:11:37Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I am a Father of a toddler with a pregnant wife. Well, there’s your problem right there. I don’t think toddlers should be getting married. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/24 "2009-10-29T17:12:36Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Of course it’s not the Black Death; nowadays we have medicines that treat that just fine. 🙂 And I was innoculated against it, then a couple years back I got my booster =) Of course I was also innoculated against yellow fever and I dont think I am going to be digging a lock on the Panama Canal any time soon either 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/25 "2009-10-29T17:15:17Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Your toddler has a pregnant wife?! > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, there’s your problem right there. I don’t think toddlers should be getting married. As idiotic as you two are I couldn’t help but giggle. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kathmandu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kathmandu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kathmandu)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/26 "2009-10-29T17:16:16Z")
Yeah, I can’t get behind this pitting. I’m definitely not the type who runs my kids to the doctor for every little sniffle, but if my kids have severe flu symptoms, you bet I’m going to take them to the clinic. Kids can die from the flu (although it is exceedingly rare). I haven’t yet heard of a kid dying from a UTI. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/27 "2009-10-29T17:22:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, there’s your problem right there. I don’t think toddlers should be getting married. They _had_ to get married - she was pregnant. The toddler might be young, but at least he is honorable. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/28 "2009-10-29T17:25:57Z")
Most people if they have the flu (any type) or even a bad cold should stay out of work. Most work places require a doctors note if absense is greater than a day or two. A lot of people HAVE to go to the doc if they are sick even if the end results are a couple of days in bed with hot drinks and vitamins. It’s normal flu season and also the time for throat problems and colds. Queues are pretty inevitable at this time of a normal year but with all the shite about swine flu in the media a lot of people are even more aware of their health. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/29 "2009-10-29T17:29:04Z")
I’m curious why people are assuming the people at the walk-in clinic were children. It was not stated or implied in the OP, yet a couple of people jumped to that conclusion. Is it something in the way the OP was written? (I wait until near-death before going to the doctor, so I have no horse in this race.) ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/30 "2009-10-29T17:32:22Z")
> [@little\_bit](#): > > I’m curious why people are assuming the people at the walk-in clinic were children. > It was not stated or implied in the OP, yet a couple of people jumped to that conclusion. > Is it something in the way the OP was written? > > (I wait until near-death before going to the doctor, so I have no horse in this race.) I made that leap because he took his daughter in and my mind went right to “pediatrician” - poor reading comprehension. I don’t think any of the points made here, though, lose their relevancy when applied to a walk-in clinic vs. a pediatrician’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/31 "2009-10-29T17:33:36Z")
Technically I’m calling it Hiney flu now, in respect for the pig farmers. ETA: People giving RickJay stick for taking his daughter to the doctor with a UTI must be people who have never had one. They are miserable and must be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/32 "2009-10-29T17:38:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I asked one of the nurses, “All these people here for swine flu?” She said, “Yep.” I said, “Any of them have it so far?” She said “Well, you can’t really tell the difference between H1N1 and other types of flu. But probably not.” Wow, you were the _only person in the entire clinic_ who was there for something besides swine flu. That’s amazing. I, for one, am completely outraged. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/33 "2009-10-29T17:41:25Z")
I understand the irritation - it’s like the normal irritation for trying to see your doctor for a legitimate reason and there are 30 people there with runny noses and coughs (i.e. a cold, which your doctor can do nothing for), except even worse because this cold season there are 30 people there who are sure they have Hiney flu (but they don’t - they have a runny nose and a cough). ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/34 "2009-10-29T17:50:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Technically I’m calling it Hiney flu now, in respect for the pig farmers. > > ETA: People giving RickJay stick for taking his daughter to the doctor with a UTI must be people who have never had one. They are miserable and must be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. No one is doing that. They are being sarcastic, they are making fun of him for acting like his daughter’s sickness is ‘real’ and everyone else’s is mere hysteria. It’s not his going to the Doctor that people are getting on his case for, it’s the self-important judgment of everyone else’s reason for going to the Doctor. ---
**Author:** ![kathmandu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kathmandu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kathmandu)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/35 "2009-10-29T17:52:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > ETA: People giving RickJay stick for taking his daughter to the doctor with a UTI must be people who have never had one. They are miserable and must be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. Oh, I’m not disputing that you need to see a doctor for a UTI. I’ve had them before, and know they’re unbelievably unpleasant. My issue with the OP is that other people’s reasons for being at the clinic are likely no less legitimate than his, and it’s impossible for him to judge who needs to be there and who doesn’t. Or, upon preview, what mswas said. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/36 "2009-10-29T17:59:54Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > No one is doing that. They are being sarcastic, they are making fun of him for acting like his daughter’s sickness is ‘real’ and everyone else’s is mere hysteria. It’s not his going to the Doctor that people are getting on his case for, it’s the self-important judgment of everyone else’s reason for going to the Doctor. It was the same judgment as the qualified health professional I spoke to, so there’s nothing “self-important” about it. According _to the qualified nurse_, the great majority of people in the waiting room were people with a sniffle who were going bananas thinking they had H1N1. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/37 "2009-10-29T18:10:19Z")
I would just like to comment on that nurse. While you can’t tell the difference between H1N1 and seasonal influenza, well over 99% of influenza currently around is H1N1. If she thought that the people had colds, then they likely did not have H1N1. However, if they truly had influenza (the flu) then she is wrong because most of them did probably have it, so saying that you can’t tell between different types of flu and so therefore they likely did not have H1N1 is either wrong or contributing to calling every upper respiratory virus “the flu”, which is something a health care professional should not be contributing to. Also, I would expect walk-in clinics to have a higher proportion of sick people. Those who have regular doctors can usually be reassured over the telephone and appropriately triaged. I try to keep the true influenza cases out of my office unless they are high risk. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/38 "2009-10-29T18:15:01Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > ETA: People giving RickJay stick for taking his daughter to the doctor with a UTI must be people who have never had one. They are miserable and must be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. Are you reading the same thread as everyone else? He’s getting flak for pitting other people for going to the doctor. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/39 "2009-10-29T18:16:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was the same judgment as the qualified health professional I spoke to, so there’s nothing “self-important” about it. According _to the qualified nurse_, the great majority of people in the waiting room were people with a sniffle who were going bananas thinking they had H1N1. She didn’t say they shouldn’t be there. She said they probably didn’t have H1N1 (if the words you typed were exactly what she said). If I have a high fever and I’m coughing so bad that I think I need to see a doctor, whether I have the H1N1, another type of flu, or some other sort of illness is immaterial. It’s not “going bananas” to go to the doctor when you think you need to, provided you’re truly not going there for a bit of a runny nose. I have a hard time believing there are many people who would expose themselves to a doctor’s office (and a walk-in clinic at that - those places are miserable) for a runny nose at this point. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613/40 "2009-10-29T18:18:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was the same judgment as the qualified health professional I spoke to, so there’s nothing “self-important” about it. According _to the qualified nurse_, the great majority of people in the waiting room were people with a sniffle who were going bananas thinking they had H1N1. Which part of your OP says anything about “sniffles”? The OP sounds exactly like self importance. Your clarification, of course, makes it much less so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zomg-swine-flu-swiiiiine-fluuuuuu/515613.md?page=3)