I'm Sneezing Due to Allergies. Am I Going to Freak Out People if I go to a Public Place? (Fairfax: apartment, house) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

normie · 04-26-2009, 05:28 PM

Just wondering how you guys feel about all this talk about swine flu. Do you think people in NOVA are going to worry about it? The reason I'm asking is I suffer a great deal from allergies. Right now I'm sniffling and sneezing off and on. I'll go for long stretches being just fine, then while I'm walking in a store or standing in line at the bank it suddenly hits.

On the one hand, allergies are part of life in NOVA. I don't want allergies to keep me from going places. But I also don't want to freak people out if everyone's worried about swine flu.

So I thought I'd see how you guys are reacting to all this. Are you worried that it will become a problem in NOVA? If I go into a mall and start sneezing, would you hope a mall cop would show up to escort me back to my car?

This is an honest question, I'm hoping to get an honest response. Do you think I should stay home for the next few days until things calm down? Or, do so many people have allergies right now that we're all stuffed up and nobody is going to pay me any mind?

athousandlogins · 04-26-2009, 05:36 PM

I was out shopping this weekend and I'll be totally honest with you, I felt a little squicked when I heard people near me sneezing. I didn't like it. And it happened a few times.

But I didn't call the cops or anything - I told myself, "it's probably allergies" and went on with my life. No big deal. It is that season and a lot of people do have allergies here, I know that. And, I feel like ultimately, if I'm SO scared about the flu thing, I should stay home. I just washed my hands REALLY well when I got home.

(I'm pregnant, so I'm way more cautious about illness than I would normally be. Normally, I might have barely noticed the sneezes...)

athousandlogins · 04-26-2009, 07:31 PM

Also, yes - I do think it's likely to become a problem here. I mean, there are 3 major airports with international flights within 90 minutes of my apartment. And people who live here are constantly traveling up and down the East Coast on business and to see family, and to LA for the same reasons. There have been confirmed cases of flu in NY and California already. We're really, really not isolated here - which is normally one of the best things about the area, but it works against us when it comes to pandemics, I imagine. And a lot of us take public transportation by necessity, which is a wonderful invention but also pretty much the quickest way to catch and transmit germs.

That said, there are still a lot of unkowns. If it does become a problem here, I don't necessarily think it will mean chaos in the streets - so far, the cases reported in the U.S. have been very mild. Thankfully.

mlv311 · 04-26-2009, 07:50 PM

I suffer from allergies and asthma and this area is one of the worse for both (despite being on medications). I wouldn't stay home because you are sneezing. Frankly, a lot of people here sneeze and cough a lot. I don't think anyone would report you for it.

To answer your question, I wouldn't be surprised if the swine flu comes to the area--it is just a matter of time.

Denton56 · 04-26-2009, 10:59 PM

Oh please, half the people around here have allergies and are sneezing. I don't think twice about it. I'm old enough to remember the last swine flu scare when ONE soldier died in NJ. People panicked, everyone got vaccinations, then people got sick from the vaccinations, and that ended that. Nothing else happened. Much ado about nothing.

ChristineVA · 04-27-2009, 04:58 AM

I don't think it's a big deal. There will always be some person panicking though. But geez, everyone is sneezing and wheezing now.

That said, I was in Kohl's on Saturday night and there was a lady in their coughing something awful. I swear I wanted to tell her to see a doctor. She sounded like AquaLung or like she had the "consumption." Blech. She coughed right on me, of course, as I walked by and I could hear her all the way into the purse department.

slduvall · 04-27-2009, 05:17 AM

As with most flu symptoms, sneezing really isn't a symptom. Coughing yes, but not sneezing. And as others have posted, lots of people here have allergies. If you didn't before you move here you soon will. As for that lady in Kohls...yuck...and rude. We've got the "cougher" here at work.. becomes sort of like white noise after awhile, but I swear some day I'm going to walk by and see a lung on her desk.

Nancy in Nokomis · 04-27-2009, 06:02 AM

You cant help it - but - yes I will steer clear of sneezers, coughers, hackers - but than I always do. I will be extra paranoid now. Of course the media will downplay the seriousness of this issue - they dont want people to panic.

ChristineVA · 04-27-2009, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

You cant help it - but - yes I will steer clear of sneezers, coughers, hackers - but than I always do. I will be extra paranoid now. Of course the media will downplay the seriousness of this issue - they dont want people to panic.

Are you serious? I think it's quite the opposite. The media is all about ratings and sensationalism. If things are quiet, they have to report on something. Not that anyone is making up this swine flu thing but I think the media is doing its best to spin people up.

Usually every year in the winter on the local news we get the weekly flu reports, the cameras at the local emergency rooms, the stories of how bad this flu season is, etc. This year, hardly a THING on the flu. Why? Because we got a new president and the economy was falling apart at the seams. Flu was not a big seller.

normie · 04-27-2009, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Are you serious? I think it's quite the opposite. The media is all about ratings and sensationalism. If things are quiet, they have to report on something.

I totally agree, the only other thing that happened this weekend was Bea Arthur dying. So what are the news stations to do? They have to fill a hour-long news report and compete with other stations and the internet. So they played up the one big story they had, a flu outbreak.

Of course, having the feds declare an "emergency" didn't help, I do wish they'd come up with less dramatic language. Why not simply call it "Prevention Funds" instead of "Emergency Funds." Because that's what it is--declaring an emergency doesn't mean there's a crisis, it just means federal funds and a stash of antibiotics are freed up. Just like when they declare a "disaster" before a hurricane hits so they can be prepared for it.

Meanwhile, I think I will stay home for the most part. I'm not going to do anything dramatic like quarantine myself, but since there are plenty of things to do around the house for the next few days, seems like a good time to keep my sneezy self at home. We have enough stress, I don't need to add to it by sneezing on folks. Wednesday it'll rain and the pollen will be gone.