How would you deal with a major pandemic?

With all the discussion of the bird flu mutating, infecting swans, killing family members through contact of infected etc.
How would you deal with a major pandemic in your state, city, locality?
Would you continue going to work? Going to the store? Wear a mask everywhere?
Or, go into lockdown and hole up until the worst had passed. Leading health authorities agree we are woefully unready for such a crisis.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

As a nurse, I'm kind of on the front lines for pandemic possibilities. It's a constant concern. One is somewhat prepared for infection from patients. We have universal precautions because we assume all patients have SOMETHING infectious. It's the family and visitor and co-workers you have to worry about. People have unimaginably horrible manners when it comes to public hygiene. They cough right in your face; don't even bother trying to cover their mouths or turn their heads.

I took to wearing a mini-mate 1500 around my neck. It's a little ionizer that basically burns up the bugs in the air before you breathe them in. It hangs on a lanyard, uses a rechargeable lithium battery (every day!) and is about 3"x3"x1". Haven't brought home anything from work in over 20 years.

Once had an ebola case at the hospital. The off-going charge nurse was giving report to the on-coming charge nurse and they were making patient assignments (which nurse gets what patients). I heard the word "ebola" and my name mentioned. I said, "excuse me. did you just say someone up here has ebola?" The nurse nodded. I said, "I'm leaving the hospital. If I hear on the news that there's even one more case, I'm leaving the state. Is that ebola patient in an isolation room?" They weren't. I asked how many people had been in the room and the answer was frightening. They'd come in through the ER, transportation had taken them upstairs, lab had come in and drawn their blood, a nurse aid had come in and taken their vital signs, radiology had taken them to do an x-ray, etc. I called the lab on my way out and told them that the blood work in their lab from patient soandso was ebola infected. The lab did not know what ebola was! Apparently no one at that hospital knew what it was and were treating it like the common cold. So yeah, I worry about pandemics. Can't live in fear, though. If necessary, I'll wear a mask until it's time to just leave.

Wow whitewave, never heard of the 1500 ionizer. Could you please tell me who makes it? Worked at Metro Health Medical Center for 10 yrs. Then in dialysis for 20 plus more. Lots of blood. I got out after burnout two years ago. I'm sure you remember the 80's. When individual pt rooms in isolation had big red signs that said 'Aids, hepb, etc., universal precautions. Then hippa and its precursers came along and everyone was to be treated with universal precautions. They felt the safety and privacy of pts was more important than medical staff safety. To a certain degree I understand the change. But I was dang sure to be double gloved, masked and keep the pointy side out when doing blood draws on known bad news. Then the whole evolution of recapping needles, procedurally and engineering wise. My greatest fear is aggressive mrsa that eats you from the inside out in some cases. And it's becoming so much more prevalent in society. I read a long time ago it would be bacterial and viral organisms that would be the downfall of man. Many years ago, can't remember where. Today I read arctic birds are harboring antibiotic resistant organisms, caught and cultured on a research ship. No close proximity to man. They concluded it could only be from migratory birds spreading it to the local flocks. I think this is going to be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
Thanks for your input.
John
Sorry, you said 'mini mate', buying one tomorrow.
Can't resist. Ebola? Sheooot, is that some kind of online bowling thang?
Just terrifying. I'd have been right behind you out the door. Only because of the number of numbnuts that came in contact with without realizing its virulence.

dit on 15-1-2008 by jpm1602]

[edit on 15-1-2008 by jpm1602]

I've been burned out for yeaaaaarrrsss. But as grandma used to say: If you don't feel like working, you just keep working until you DO feel like working.

Here's one place you can get the minimate: wein minimate Oh, and it says the battery lasts about 50 hours. That has not been my experience. I keep 2 rechargeable batteries. One in the device and one on the charger. Swap them out every day.

Docs are starting to just let people suffer through their illnesses rather than prescribe antibiotics. People don't take them the way they're supposed to and it's causing resistant strains to develop.

For those who may not know: when the doc prescribes antibiotics for 7 days or 10 days, it means that the wee beasties will not be killed off in the 3 days it takes you to start feeling better. It kills off the weakest ones first and if you quit taking your meds after you start feeling better (about 3 days), then the ones that didn't die off in those few days have time to develop immunity to that antibiotic so that it will NEVER work again for that illness.

If you're a good patient and always take your antibiotics the way they're prescribed, it still may not do any good because the lazy patient who you caught the illness from gave you a resistant strain. See the problem? I'm surprised we haven't had a major pandemic already since antibiotics have been around long enough to effect this phenomenon.

An airborne carrier like birds, mosquitos, bees, etc. could make the problem 100 times worse since those creatures can potentially infect a larger number of people over a wider geographical area.

Be safe out there, people (and don't breathe too deeply-lol)

I do everything I can to make sure our immune system is as strong as it can be. I make everyone in my house drink water, and eat foods that will give them energy. Faces are washed twice a day, hands are washed before anyone handles any dishes, glasses, or silverware. I make a point in the cold flu season to go through the house and clean high traffic places, like door knobs, walls, fridge door, bathroom. When we go out to eat, the place we eat is decided on by how many people touch or get near our food. Therefore hog troffs are off limits, fast food joints are seriously limited. Pizza is a pretty safe choice. Hands are disinfected before the food comes. I know it sounds way over the top, but I have three kiddos, and three x's as many kids who come in and out of my house. We dont get sick very often. Just by keeping the eyes and noses clean boost your immune system more than you could immagine. If there was a pandemic, I would build from there. I would be the only one to go to the stores, dissinfecting the handle on the grocery cart, and to be honest I would probably wear gloves in there anyway along with a mask. Then I would wash everything that came in my house. Oh change the air filter often, and be sure to dust. If dust lands there so do germs.

Thank you for the replies. All very solid. What say you wilderness beasties? A virus or bacteria that can bug out in your system getting past the latest and greatest semi automatic and bugout bag stores? I really thought this topic would have gotten more thought. But I think the truth is it scares the bejeebees out of all of us.

Good question. Why is this on BTS? Did you start it here, or was it moved? It seems appropriate for the survival from on ATS... I digress.

I guess it depends on the pandemic. If it were something like the Spanish Flu, Bubonic Plague...etc where large numbers of people were dying and the recovery rate was next to nothing, I would try to ride it out and avoid public places.

Ulitmately I would have to try and do what was best for my family. I would probably entertain the idea of sending my wife and child to go to live with my family in the country. I would have them keep isolated while I continued to work so that I could feed them.

I work in a cleanroom environment so if I watched myself, I would probably stand a better chance than most.

Let's hope we never have to make these choices.

Originally posted by jpm1602
How would you deal with a major pandemic?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

depends, what kind, is it something like the T-Virus?

Man! Now this made me do some thinkin' and stuff!

Hmmmmm........... How would I deal with a major pandemic, how would i deal with it...............
Hmmmmmm................

Wait! I got it!

I would go out and buy ALOT of tequlia, and beer and stuff! Yeah! And like I would sit there and keep drinkin', and drinkin' that tequila and beer and stuff. Yep, and like I would drink so much that those germs would be all drunk and stuff, and those germs would pass out and stuff. Yeah! Now that's some good thinkin'. Then like when they came up with a vaccine to cure that pandemic, I would stop drinkin', and those germs would wake up and getted zapped with that vaccine. I bet those germs would be so surprised!
Oh brain, that is some really good thinkin' and stuff.

Rofl Iom, last time I did that I got put in the bad boy corner

I'd fire up the bread maker. Buy loads of beans and other stuff the locals won't eat. Get a shed load of dvds and a few new games for the xbox. Lock the front door and let it pass!!

Just like I did during SARS. Man that was one freaky time in my life!!

MonKey