--- In [email protected], "Hugo" <richardhughes...@...> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > I am NOT a doomsday or apocalypse freak. I do > > NOT get off on imagining the worst as a way of > > feeling self-important. > > > > However, I am also the son of a man orphaned > > by the 1918 flu pandemic that killed an estimated > > 20 to 100 million people worldwide. Therefore my > > ears perk up every time the mention of such a > > pandemic appears on the News. > > > > So today, in the spirit of my old Boy Scout motto > > "Be Prepared," I went to the pharmacy to take > > advantage of the fact that in Spain one can buy > > antibiotics over the counter, without a prescription, > > to "stock up" on one of the two antibiotics that has > > been shown to kill off this latest flu virus. I try > > to never take antibiotics unless I absolutely have > > to, but I like being able to get the antibiotics > > *if* I have to. So what did I find? > > > > They're already scarce. > > > > Spain has so far only had 3 *suspected* cases of > > this swine flu, and the pharmacy I went to had to > > try four different suppliers before they found a > > box of them they could order for me. > > > > So, just in case you have similar "just in case" > > plans for yourself or your family, t'would be > > better to act upon them sooner than later IMO. > > > > 'Nuff said. The two antibiotics in question are: > > > > Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) > > Relenza (zanamivir) > > Probably an extremely good idea. I get asthma so I've been > watching the news on this with not a little trepidation I can > tell you. > > If it breaks here and looks like it's going to be a bad one > I'm going to stay indoors for a few weeks as the only way I > could get stuff like that is by going to my doctor, which is > the last place I'd go during a flu pandemic. I get paranoid > sitting in the waiting room as it is with all those sick > people coughing all over me! > > The scary thing about flu is that a major killer outbreak > is inevitable sooner or later as there is so many of the little > bastard germs mutating, it really is just a matter of time. > Fingers crossed that this isn't one of those times.
Amen. I keep track of these things because I've had respiratory problems in the past and like to "Be Prepared." Also, even though my father as an infant survived the flu that killed both his parents, I'm not convinced I inherited his hardy genes, so I like to have a "fallback position." One of the reasons I take precautions like "stocking up" like this is that the last time there was a potential pandemic scare in the U.S., what happened was the government was reputed to have "cornered the market" on the drug that could treat it, so that they could reserve it for the armed forces and government personnel in case the worst happened. Well, of course the worst did *not* happen. But anyone who thinks that would not happen again in a real pandemic is incredibly naive. When it comes to the necessities of life in a crisis, we and people like us get the "hind tit."
