Poll for you married people out there..

[motopolitico 0]

So my GF has H1N1 and I've been making runs to the store for her to get her palatable foods, fluids, and medicines, and checking in on her multiple times a day, but she is upset that I won't stay and watch a movie with her or stay and cuddle. She has a nasty secondary cough from a post nasal drip, and I just can't bear the thought of all those H1N1 aerosols coming my way and infecting me. She asked me, "what if we were married and living together" and I explained that I would probably sack out on the couch to try to minimize my exposure, and she was very unhappy with that. This poll is just to get a reading from some other people to see where they stand on the issue, and see if I am being excessively paranoid. I'm already using lots of hand sanitizer after being around her, but haven't started using gloves and a mask.

Edited October 28, 2009 by motopolitico

[Wolverine 10,360]

I've been married forever. The couch is the only way to go......regardless of which of you gets sick. My teenage twins have the flu and so far the wife and I have escaped. We're in three weeks deep now.

 

Good luck on staying well and bringing your girlfriend around to practical reality.

[unclejake 428]

Ditto on the practical reality! My wife and I have been married for 26 years and we BOTH agree that it is only SMART to try and stay healthy yourself so you can take care of her!! One of you needs to be well to bring home some income, (unless you have a LOT of sick time at work), plus the running back and forth to the drug store! How old is your girlfriend...young? My wife just said that she needs to grow up and put on her big girl panties. She is not too concerned about your health!

[camon 233]

Tell her whats what the Sean Connery way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FgMLROTqJ0

 

 

I kid, I kid. Seriously if I were sick I would want my woman/kids/whatever NO WHERE NEAR ME. I would prob quarantine myself into my office and barricade the place. If the other is mad at me for not giving them attention too bad, they will get over it and thank me in the long run for not getting them sick.

[Garys4598 1,065]

I picked the first option (silly friggen me). In truth, I hazard to guess my wife and I would likely at least initially continue to sleep together in the same bed. Yet I'm relatively sure it would be she that would in short order quarantine herself by sleeping in one of the other bedrooms (or as specified in this particular scenario, the family room couch). Point being, it would be her choice as far as I'm concerned.

 

Personally, I think H1N1 is more hype than anything else. My wife and I are not yet "over the hill"; I'm not concerned about whether or not my body will be able to fight off the sickness if I protract it. I say "go pound sand" to the friggen H1N1 immunization as well.

 

But that's just stupid me.

[MD_Willington 11]

I sleep in a separate room most of the time anyway - we co-sleep, I have 3 kidos and they all camp out with mom, we see it as a safety measure too, if something happens then she can scoot with the kids out of the house.

[VanKiller 322]

After 30 yrs of marriage, Vicki and I still share everything, and always sleep in the same bed. At least when we are able to. (The exception being the govt sponsered camping trips to far off lands back in the 70s & 80s)

[tover26 18]

Dude, with H1N1, you might as well sleep in the same bed... just being around her you're going to get sick even if you sleep on a different bed. The only real advantage that I see to separate sleeping arrangements is that she'll be able to sleep uninterrupted by anything you might do and, if she's inclined, to feeling guilty for being up all night coughing and choking and being miserable. H1N1 is infectious enough that you're probably going to get it... and while they say misery loves company, that isn't necessarily true at 3 am when you're going to have to get up and go to work the next day, sick or not sick.

 

Get her lots of soup, comfort foods, movies she'd like, and magazines. You'll score points for being there for her whether she wants these things or not, when she's feeling better she'll remember you were there for her.

[chupa 34]

My wife has had the flu since sunday, I made her go to the doctor and get it checked and it is not H1N1. More than likely she contracted it at work, working in retail she is in contast contact with other people and their DIRTY money!!

 

I have been keeping my distance from her and so far so good my son nor I am showing any symptoms, we still sleep in the same bed. The real challenge is keeping my 2 year old from giving her a kiss or drinking her drink!! I told her on Monday if she starts dragging one of her feet and moaning, I would have no choice but to put her down. lol!!

[rd99fxdl 17]

Might as well get the exposure,if you don't get it great,it'll also help build your immune system.

[dlcjr1973 24]

We have two of three kids down with the swine flu right now (positive on both A & B tests). In our case at least, it seems to be mostly hype. Tamiflu wasn't recommended by the doctors - only broad spectrum antibiotics. Like the seasonal flu, the most serious dangers of H1N1 seem to be from bacteria-related complications (strep, pneumonia, etc.). Antibiotics for the complications; OTC meds for the symptoms; rest, time and plenty of fluids for recovery. The two sick kids are on the recovery side of it, the third child seems fine and the wife and I are more exhausted than sick. We didn't take any quarantine precautions, but we did get extra serious about hand-washing and covered coughs. So far so good...

 

Regards,

 

Sapper

[gtnichols 51]

I say get the flu if you have a chance, and can take off work

Once you get it you are immune to it, and it could mutate to something worse in a year or so,..

unless you have asthma or something,..

 

Might as well get the exposure,if you don't get it great,it'll also help build your immune system.

[Spartacus 1,619]

Probably wise not to sleep right next to her. In our house the rule is that the sick person gets to sleep where they want to and are most comfortable.

 

Remind her that she needs your special throat balm for her sore throat too!

[TO THE FLOOR IN A 63 121]

The poll didn't have a spot for me...my wife made me get up at 4:30 last Saturday to wait in line for the H1N1 flu shot. But with all due repect we were in the front 25 on line and when they started giving the shots at 9:00am we were out of there by 10 after...better then those in line around the collisuem and down the road.

[mav 459]

According to everything I have been reading, h1n1 is no more dangerous than other flu, and maybe less, the media has just blown it out of proportion for a story.

[motopolitico 0]

The poll didn't have a spot for me...my wife made me get up at 4:30 last Saturday to wait in line for the H1N1 flu shot. But with all due repect we were in the front 25 on line and when they started giving the shots at 9:00am we were out of there by 10 after...better then those in line around the collisuem and down the road.

 

C'mon, you couldn't have voted "other"?

[Azrial 1,091]

Just be a man about it and give her a little tender loving care, like I do!

[janusthephoenix 24]

If you get sick, you can't very well nurse her back to health, can you?

[chevymann 13]

Same bed.. Neither of us is willing to sleep on the couch. I'm lucky I never get sick... Unless it's that nasty "brown bottle flu"....

[crackback 135]

I was sick with the regular flu around the 2004 AFC championship ( I still think Brady without Moss is a "system quarterback" 5yd out-route hack, but thats another topic for another thread) and it was just damn awful. I never needed both albuterol and codeine just to be able to not cough long enough to sleep. Anyway, there is no way H1N1 was anywhere near as bad last month. IMHO its mostly hype just like Brady and Ted Ginn Jr. for that matter.

Edited October 28, 2009 by 690gr

[motopolitico 0]

So far, the results are more mixed than I expected. Interesting. I think she's on board now, although she is really, really bored. You can only watch House, MD so many times. My efforts may have been in vain. I feel like I'm getting a cold. If I start to run a fever, I'm gonna have to miss work. As a "temp" employee, my employer does provide sick time, but they look really hard at attendance when they consider who to keep and who to lay off. I figure if my temp is under 102, I can probably work. Fortunately, it's not too close to very many people, and it's a clean room environment, so I'd be unlikely to sicken anyone else.

[TO THE FLOOR IN A 63 121]

When I was working as a fireman I would go in no matter how sick I was. I would make them send me home....which they did a number of times. I remember throwing up off the side of the truck and I looked forward and both the guys I was working with were looking at me in the mirror. Maybe the flu wasn't as bad back then???

[jrance@iacwds.com 716]

My son sent me this on 10/21 and perhaps it will be of assistance. I continued to sleep with my bride when I was immune deficient in the extreme due to a transplant. No issues arose. She was careful about what she brought in and did the hand washing/ shower routine when she got home from work. Maybe I was lucky but we were both happier that way.

 

1911

 

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

 

 

 

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

 

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

 

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

 

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

 

4... Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

 

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

 

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

 

 

[janusthephoenix 24]

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water

 

+1 My father taught me that one. It works.

[motopolitico 0]

Sorry to rain on the saltwater parade here, but according to Snopes.com the first two steps are confirmed, and there is good evidence that the other things listed can help relieve flu symptoms, but there is no evidence that the rest of them actually kill H1N1 viruses. The relevant article can be found here: http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/prevent.asp

 

Google searches for "gargle salt water" and "Vinay Goyal" turned up several versions of this piece, so it's definitely travelled far and wide.

 

For what it's worth, I gargled some warm salt water and swabbed my nose out with salt water soaked cotton wool, and felt 100% better and fully functional. It definitely relieves cold/flu/sore throat symptoms, but I trust the advice of physicians from the developed world ahead of those from the developing world when it comes to evidence based conclusions.

[Paladin 37]

It seems to me the only practical course of action is to try to reduce the odds of transmission to others. If I'm sick, the last thing I want or need is my wife or kids to get sick too!

 

Seems like just plain common sense.