Swine Flu (H1N1) epidemic. Are you worried? Whats the scoop?

It's just like a regular flu, albeit a tad bit stronger, and spread more quickly. Don't stress, you're only making it worse for yourself. If you don't want you, your family, and friends to be sick. Then follow the three rules: 1) WASH YOUR HANDS ONCE EVERY HOUR! < Very important. Study shows that washing your hands reduced the chance of being sick by almost 60%. 2) COUGH INTO YOUR ELBOW! < You do not want your germs, and saliva floating around in the air, and you do not want to be touching stuff that people who coughed into their hands, has touched. 3) EAT FRUITS! < Fruits are extremely helpful in combating against viruses, and germs. Prevention will ALWAYS be better than a cure. If you happen to picked up the flu from somewhere, just follow procedure from the doctor, rest a lot, sleep early, take your medicine on time, and the epidemic will go away. Stay healthy, and be strong!

no im not worried and 3 people i know have it.

half of america's population is expected to get it. it's just a flu and it's just flu season, sure it CAN kill you. if you're already sick, pregnant, old or a baby just like any other flu.

No I'm not worried. I think the public is over reacting. I live on campus at my university and the girl a few rooms down had the swine flu and she's fine now. Not to mention the other people who have caught it on campus. I don't think it's any more dangerous then the regular flu. Your friend needs to call a different doctor. The vaccine hasn't reached my campus yet but they are still treating people. Telling her there isn't anything they can do is just unprofessional and pure laziness.

My father works for the health department in the county next to the one I live in--so I'm supposed to get the shot soon. I'm a very big hypochondriac--normally, I wouldn't be so worried, but I can see myself having the sniffles and freaking out that it's the flu--and then making myself sicker, so the shot should ease my mind a bit. I know a couple people who have had it, older, and I don't spend a lot of time with them. There's supposedly a bunch of cases going around at the local grade school-but doctors are just saying 'flu-like symptoms' rather than diagnosing it as swine flu. In the meantime, I'll do what I can to stay healthy: get the shot, keep up on vitamin C, eat healthy, wash my hands, & pray for the best :).

Not in the least. According to a girl in my Interpreting class - who had personal experience of it - it wasn't nearly as bad as normal flu and went away after 24 hours. She went to visit a Chinese doctor in Malaysia [she was working there at the time] who gave her a tea and told her it'd be gone in that space of time. Naturally, she didn't believe him, but it did go away that quickly and she did drink the tea. We all asked her what was in it but she said it was a doctor's secret. According to the statistics she found, 1500-5000 people a year die form reguarl flu in France, but only 300 worldwide have died thus far from swine flu. In France, the chance of dying from it is 0.75% As long as you carry alcoholic handgel around with you and use it when you can't get access to soap and/or water; eat 5-a-day; cough into your elbow as much as possible; wash your hands EVERY TIME you use the loo and avoid sharing food and/or drink with other people, you should be fine. Besides which, most of the people who've had real problems with it already had weaker immune systems than the average person anyway

I'm extremely worried. I am 30 weeks pregnant, and have been hearing all kinds of things about pregnant women being more prone to catch it, and it being more dangerous for us. It really freaks me out. Especially because I am currently anemic, with a sinus infection and my immune system is way down.

I have to agree with others on this one. I think many people are overreacting to H1N1. It is not much different than any other flu, as one other person said just slight faster spreading and stronger. Do not get paranoid cause you are only going to make things worse for yourself. Just take precautions. Washing you're hands (but not too much cause yes it will dry you're hands out I know that from experience), I recommend hand sanitizer also. Stay away from people you know are sick, and if you sneeze cover it up. I get the sniffles with every changing season, I take precautions yes but don't go overboard. I live in a dorm, my RA has gone home sick with the flu. People that have gotten it on campus have gotten over it within a week. I don't get a flu shot myself, I have never gotten the flu, and I am Aichmophobic (fear of needles). So like I said don't get paranoid, doing that might actually make you sick.

I'm not scared...pretty sure I even had the swine flu earlier this month. A whole family I knew got it and then I got sick with the same exact symptoms. It sucked...but I didn't even see a doctor for treatment. If you don't have any pre-existing conditions I say just tough it out.