Don't worry, in a pandemic your elderly parents will be struck with the flu, so will your brothers and sisters and kids and neighbors and the UPS delivery man who collapses on your doorstep. Evidence shows that eventually even the most remote and cloistered souls will get the flu in a pandemic. I say don't worry, you might, but do more than worry about it, prepare for it. Not everyone dies, and by you providing the best care you can, not every one you know will die. If there's a hospital bed available put your child/wife/parent in it, if not do your own very best within your training. Focus on what you can do, read and train up on treating the flu. Use some of those blue nitrile gloves and N95 masks you cache away for worst case events - the flu can be a worst case event. You'll increase everyone's odds of survival if you do.

Does taking medication like Immodium help if you are suffering from the flu symptom of diarrhea? Providing you aren't vomiting too much to take the Immodium. The kind I take dissolves without having to wash it down with water.

BTW my father who was born in 1909 lost a little sister to Influenza when he was a boy. That would have been the time of 1917. They had on picture of her & my dad taken before she had become ill & that's about the only rememberance of her they had.

Tim

I am not a doctor so please consult with your own doctor if you actually experience a bout of severe diarrhea, but to answer your question, no, Immodium won't "help" diarrhea, unless you're simply referring to stopping the need to run to the bathroom every ten minutes. Medicines like Immodium just slow down/immobilize your intestines so it's not getting "pushed out" but you're still losing fluid into your gut. After using Immodium, you could become dehydrated without ever needing to sit on the can. Certain infections will also resolve more quickly if you let your body naturally flush them out of your gastrointestinal system.

Better to try and keep hydrated. There are recipes for homemade oral rehydration solutions (ORS) you can make with stuff like table salt, sugar, baking soda (I know I've posted at least two different recipes in the past) or else you can buy a number of commercial products. Pedialyte is good for infants and young children. There are also companies that sell powder packets with the World Health Organization's official ORS recipe. I like and highly recommend a drink powder like Hydralyte (formerly Gookinaid) for routine drinking as well as for more urgent rehydration needs. Ceralyte is another ORS, rice based, which comes in various formulations.

Man, 50 more years?! It's been almost that long since Fantastic Voyage.

Just as well; I don't trust robots. Or apes.

It is advantageous to delay contracting the flu as long as possible. It is far better not to fall ill during the peak of a pandemic, when medical resources will be seriously overtaxed, and a vaccine may become available in the meantime.

Jeff

I just read something the other day about bird flu/pandemics.

From Marc Siegel, professor of medicine at New York U School of Medicine: "The fear of bird flu has become particularly virulent. There is a vaccine for this fear: it is called information with perspective."

The media trots out bird flu pandemic possibilities during news lulls; now that the elections are over, we shall probably see more of it. Just keep in mind that in the last five years, there have been 243 deaths from bird flu. Most of them have come from direct contact with diseased poultry, but none of those cases were passed on to another human. It has never been found in any of the Americas. The USGS has tested nearly 200,000 migratory birds and can't seem to substantiate the opinion that their are a major source of H5N1.

Annual deaths worldwide by regular flu is generally in the half-million range.

Be aware, but maintain perspective.

Sue

. . . and frequent hand washing is often considered your number 1 best defense.

Jeff

Also look at when you go to the grocery. Go at the off times/off days. If the one you usually frequent is busy after work on Friday, go in the late evening on Monday. Change it around until you find the least busy time of the day/week. If you're looking for something in particular, you may have to time it to where you get there shortly before the rush.

I did some reading on this many years ago. I am not in the
health industry. Here is another POV.

Assess the nature of the disease, 1)how it moves and 2)incubation
period.

A long incubation period may be bad, because the disease can
travel and be on all sides of you. Its also hard to keep away
from all people. Any person might be contagious.

How it spreads: directly like TB, Flu etc. or through some
animals like fleas, rats, flies, mosquitoes.

Imagine that a bunch of city people have relocated to rural
areas, camping out, and are tolerated by local people.
Cholera can be carried by flies from excrement leavings.
Yellow Fever can be carried by mosquitos. These are just 2
examples of diseases carred by flies and mosquitos. How are
you fixed for bug netting materials, chemicals etc?

I have read that hospitals would not take highly contagious
patients with bird-flu, during a pandemic. Patients would be
routed to local "treatment" centers.

Read some old and new govenment publications. Maybe, some are
on the web.

Edit:
To more directly answer your question, I had a handheld
scanner (10 years ago) and found it very informative.
There is a constant battle to uprade gov and emergency
radio (and stop you from listening). Ask around.

Ask your "info question" of some reporters: radio, tv,
print, freelance etc. These guys have ways and means,
and workable scanners.

Ask admitting nurses at hospitals and clinics, how you
might get a heads-up on a upsurge of similar cases.

Agreed, avoid people.

A doctor reminded me that the germs can be on any package
or even cans. (How long do the germs live and what can
they live in or on?) Also, germs could be on meat or
produce or in ground meat.

You can actually wash fruit with liquid soap; it works.
No soap taste transferred to tomatoes in my experiments.