Swine Flu

[Kratos]

Well its "Official" Swine Flu is in NZ so Watch out
^^^^ I hope I don't catch it now that its on my turf

But on a serious note I think the whole thing will blow over

 

[FQRizzo]

Well, I'm glad that my two year old daughter is less at risk than I am.

I'm in the same situation. Looks like my daughter will be fine.

 

[The Ween]

I had a letter in my box this morning about it to read to my students; the normal stuff, cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands, etc. In all seriousness, you would be amazed at how unsanitary 32 5th graders can be.

Try K and 1st grade! That's who I deal with!

I had them asking me about the PIG flu today. Pretty hard to explain things like this without scaring them. I'm hating the media and how they treat things like this. It's okay to make people aware, but treating it like it's the black plague is another thing.

 

[The Ween]

Nosepicking and nosewipingontheshirtsleeve is common place! Dude, I virtually bathe in Purell antibiotic handwash and scrub my hands every chance I get and I have my student "classroom cleaners" clean all the desks in the class every Friday. I still have gotten strep every February for the last four years in a row and get a cold at-least once a year. It is hard to fight bugs from flying through the classroom when most of my parents insist on sending their kids to school with 100+ fevers and vomiting.


To explain just how nasty 5th graders are, three boys from a different class got caught in March flooding the boy's bathroom and then using paper towels to sop up the water off the floor and squeeze it on each other.

Invest in Lysol spray and Clorox Wipes.

I agree with you about parents sending their kids to school sick. Here, most of the single mothers don't work at all and don't want their kids home with them. So, they send them to school sick then shut their phones off or leave so they know we'll have to take care of them the rest of the day.

I can't tell you how many times a day I get sneezed on.

 

[superdoug]

I'm in the same situation. Looks like my daughter will be fine.

yup i have a 3.5 year old daughter and my son is turning 1 on the 5th so it's nice to know that they should be okay.

 

[superdoug]

Invest in Lysol spray and Clorox Wipes.

I agree with you about parents sending their kids to school sick. Here, most of the single mothers don't work at all and don't want their kids home with them. So, they send them to school sick then shut their homes off or leave so they know we'll have to take care of them the rest of the day.

I can't tell you how many times a day I get sneezed on.

my wife hated that when she was teaching so we keep our 3 year old home if she's sick at all. funny thing is that i know i used to be sent to school with 100 plus degree fevers and it never crossed my mind until my wife started teaching how teribbly wrong that was of my mom to do.

 

[maskfreak]

One thing I am not hearing about is officals saying to wear goggles. One droplet in the eye and "tag" your it. If I were in Mexico, I'd have to go full blown goggles & all.

 

[uscmhicks]

It's not spreading any more virulently than any other flu. It's odd because it's not during flu season- it's just a liitle late.
And most flus come from swine or birds or other animals anyway.
In six months it should be a memory...
Take the same precautions as you normally would during flu season.

I hope your right about it being a memory in six months. It was sort of like this with bird flu , just not as fast. I've not heard much about that lately...

The media make it out as if its the end of the world... we should be taking precautions yes but everybody running round like headless chickens ( or pigs ) doesn't help anything.

I've heard that nobody has actually died other than in Mexico... this is true right ?.
And if so why is that ?.

 

[dr_teng]

The media make it out as if its the end of the world... we should be taking precautions yes but everybody running round like headless chickens ( or pigs ) doesn't help anything.

I've heard that nobody has actually died other than in Mexico... this is true right ?.
And if so why is that ?.

The US media plays it up (at least the TV media, your local newspapers are probably more reliable) because they want more advertising money, and having you tune into the news constantly is in their best financial interests. US TV networks are way more sensationalist about all sorts of things for that reason.

As of now, yes, no one outside of Mexico has died. It's been in Mexico longer and death takes a little while, and most of the people who died in Mexico had poor health care, and in general, most of their country has lower health care standards than the other countries that swine flu has been spreading to.

I wouldn't worry about it, just take the precautions mentioned earlier (wash your hands often, don't touch eyes/mouth without washing hands, maybe avoid people coughing all over you) and it's fine.

 

[Bannister]

One thing I am not hearing about is officals saying to wear goggles. One droplet in the eye and "tag" your it. If I were in Mexico, I'd have to go full blown goggles & all.

I also heard that the masks you see people wearing in Mexico and other places won't actually do anything to prevent the flu. Just makes them feel safer.

 

[superdoug]

One thing I am not hearing about is officals saying to wear goggles. One droplet in the eye and "tag" your it. If I were in Mexico, I'd have to go full blown goggles & all.

scuba steve would be safe

 

[superdoug]

I also heard that the masks you see people wearing in Mexico and other places won't actually do anything to prevent the flu. Just makes them feel safer.

saw a woman intreviewed who was wearing two of those maskes that she had found laying around somewhere.

i'm guessing used maskes are not advised in preventing much of anything

 

[Deckard]

"SWINE FLU, EARTHQUAKES, RIVERS BOILING, DOGS AND CATS, LIVING TOGEATHER, MASS HYSTERIA."

The US media plays it up

The Associated Press ran a story yesterday where they interviewed a young mexican girl, she was fearful this was the end of the world, the economic crisis, the flu, the earthquake rocking the mexican capital. Yet a few hours later they revised said interview leaving out her "Apocalypse" remarks.

That tells me the media knows the are blowing it out of proportion, and they keep reminding us its a cause for alarm but not panic, what the hell does that mean?

It's simple, they cover the Econimic Crisis 24/7, so when they can take a break from whats Michelle Obama wearing, or giving the President a fake and equally retarded "report card", they jump all over it.

I'm not saying this isn't dangerous, but its not any differant from how we've had to deal with any and every new strain that shows up every couple of years, just like the avion flu. And then it goes away and people forget, apparently so fast, they don't remeber it next time it happens either, but hey maybe its CNN's fault for going back to ways to feed your family with cardboard once the 2nd depression comes coverage.

 

[dr_teng]

I also heard that the masks you see people wearing in Mexico and other places won't actually do anything to prevent the flu. Just makes them feel safer.

They're not very effective, but if nothing else, they make it harder for people with the flu to actually spread it, so they do have a small benefit.

 

[The Mike]

The mask work basically like the circulated air function in your car. You breathe out and breathe in the same air you are breathing, you are taking in air from the outside but not as much as if you were uncovered but you definitely are. It also helps for those in society who aren't the most health conscious or conservative and cough and sneeze without covering anything, it gets caught in the mask. It does have effectiveness but not a huge amount really

 

[The Mike]

I still have gotten strep every February for the last four years in a row and get a cold at-least once a year. It is hard to fight bugs from flying through the classroom when most of my parents insist on sending their kids to school with 100+ fevers and vomiting.

Luckily my immune system has built up the resistance so I don't get colds or even strep from my students but last year was the first time in about five years that I got hit with a monster of a cold that sidelined me for about a week. I don't get sick often but when I do it hits me like a ton of bricks. If this were to occur here I'd be out without a doubt.

To explain just how nasty 5th graders are, three boys from a different class got caught in March flooding the boy's bathroom and then using paper towels to sop up the water off the floor and squeeze it on each other.

Allow me to enlighten the difference between 5th grade boys and 8th grade boys. I would prefer the bathroom paper towel issue. My room is right next to bathroom so one day I heard a huge noise and shouting and screaming so I leave my class to walk over and see what is going on. I open the door hear a bunch yelling and walk in. There is a boy covered in vomit and vomit on the floor also, one of them is wet from the chest down. Apparently as they were using the bathroom one of them thought it'd be hilarious to piss on the other, so he turned and pissed upwards hitting the boy in the chest, he remarked that the smell was so bad and the idea that he threw up on his friend. Just the sound of vomit made the other throw up on the ground. They were both laughing until they got caught and got embarrassed.

My wife has had about 5 or 6 girls last year begin their periods in their desks and leave puddles of blood behind. I've had a student blow chunks on my wall because he couldn't make it out the door. There is even a couple of kids (Special Ed) who have crapped themselves in class and not said anything to find the trails behind them for other kids to come into.

Schools really are a health hazzard themselves which is why for the first two or three years you get consistently sick and then nothing.

Invest in Lysol spray and Clorox Wipes.

I agree with you about parents sending their kids to school sick. Here, most of the single mothers don't work at all and don't want their kids home with them. So, they send them to school sick then shut their homes off or leave so they know we'll have to take care of them the rest of the day.

I can't tell you how many times a day I get sneezed on.

We just got an email that said if we feel flu like symptoms to stay home for at least two days but the students haven't received any warnings along those lines. Its a running joke at our site because of our high Hispanic population and how many kids literally came back from Mexico the day before getting back to school thanks to the Easter Holiday.

One thing I am not hearing about is officals saying to wear goggles. One droplet in the eye and "tag" your it. If I were in Mexico, I'd have to go full blown goggles & all.

Future Elementary school uniforms?

 

[pixletwin]

"Are you my mummy?"

 

[FQRizzo]

Allow me to enlighten the difference between 5th grade boys and 8th grade boys. I would prefer the bathroom paper towel issue. My room is right next to bathroom so one day I heard a huge noise and shouting and screaming so I leave my class to walk over and see what is going on. I open the door hear a bunch yelling and walk in. There is a boy covered in vomit and vomit on the floor also, one of them is wet from the chest down. Apparently as they were using the bathroom one of them thought it'd be hilarious to piss on the other, so he turned and pissed upwards hitting the boy in the chest, he remarked that the smell was so bad and the idea that he threw up on his friend. Just the sound of vomit made the other throw up on the ground. They were both laughing until they got caught and got embarrassed.

My wife has had about 5 or 6 girls last year begin their periods in their desks and leave puddles of blood behind. I've had a student blow chunks on my wall because he couldn't make it out the door. There is even a couple of kids (Special Ed) who have crapped themselves in class and not said anything to find the trails behind them for other kids to come into.

...aannnd this is why, despite the allure of having Summer off, I will never become a teacher. Both my parents were teachers, and they told me to stay far away from that profession.

 

[Kibishii]

Allow me to enlighten the difference between 5th grade boys and 8th grade boys. I would prefer the bathroom paper towel issue. My room is right next to bathroom so one day I heard a huge noise and shouting and screaming so I leave my class to walk over and see what is going on. I open the door hear a bunch yelling and walk in. There is a boy covered in vomit and vomit on the floor also, one of them is wet from the chest down. Apparently as they were using the bathroom one of them thought it'd be hilarious to piss on the other, so he turned and pissed upwards hitting the boy in the chest...

My wife has had about 5 or 6 girls last year begin their periods in their desks and leave puddles of blood behind. I've had a student blow chunks on my wall because he couldn't make it out the door. There is even a couple of kids (Special Ed) who have crapped themselves in class and not said anything to find the trails behind them for other kids to come into.

Schools really are a health hazzard themselves which is why for the first two or three years you get consistently sick and then nothing.

This is my 7th year teaching and I still get a cold every year, so obviously I have not built up any immunity despite the fact that I take vitamins and am in relatively good health. My doctor told me that he wants to remove my tonsils since I have had tonsilitis and, I guess, removing tonsils can reduce your chances of strep.

That piss story is disgusting; I guess 5th graders play with piss by flooding toilets and playing in the waste water and 8th graders just go straight for pissing on each other. I have had several girls start their period in class and bolt out of the classroom crying and too many students to count puke on their desk (or their neighbor). About once a year or so, a student urinates on themselves by accident, but my first year teaching I had an RSP student (she was also being referred for SDC) who would have accidents on a weekly basis. The school janitor actually kept a bag of the woodchip things and the nurse had several outfits for her. She was a very sweet kid, but I remember being so grossed and sad for the students surrounding her who would have to sit and...smell that while they waited for the janitor to come and clean.

 

[The Ween]

This is my 7th year teaching and I still get a cold every year, so obviously I have not built up any immunity despite the fact that I take vitamins and am in relatively good health. My doctor told me that he wants to remove my tonsils since I have had tonsilitis and, I guess, removing tonsils can reduce your chances of strep.

That piss story is disgusting; I guess 5th graders play with piss by flooding toilets and playing in the waste water and 8th graders just go straight for pissing on each other. I have had several girls start their period in class and bolt out of the classroom crying and too many students to count puke on their desk (or their neighbor). About once a year or so, a student urinates on themselves by accident, but my first year teaching I had an RSP student (she was also being referred for SDC) who would have accidents on a weekly basis. The school janitor actually kept a bag of the woodchip things and the nurse had several outfits for her. She was a very sweet kid, but I remember being so grossed and sad for the students surrounding her who would have to sit and...smell that while they waited for the janitor to come and clean.

Do not remove your tonsils if they're healthy. Mine were terrible and had to have mine removed, but whenever get a cold, I automatically get a terrible sore throat. I've never had strep though, but it feels just as bad.