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<p>Because people are still getting sick with it…</p>
<p>I know a few people who’ve had it, and one of my friends is pretty sure he’s got it now. It worked just like a regular flu: they got sick, then got better. So no, I’m not worried about dying from the swine flu.</p>
<p>Once you notice that you have a fever, how long does the flu last? I don’t want to miss class for this.</p>
<p>^Well, when I caught the regular flu a few years ago, I had a high fever and didn’t get out of bed for maybe… 3 days. The throat pains/coughs lasted about a week, maybe a little more.</p>
<p>My sister had it a few months ago and she was sick for about a week, but she got really sick, it wasn’t just like a light cold. I probably should have taken her to the hospital but I didn’t know and my parents weren’t home that whole week.</p>
<p>We are even supposed to get food delivered from the cafeteria if we get a fever, they really don’t want us coming out of our dorms if we get sick. So I guess I will probably miss at least one day of classes and had better buy a thermometer. I am going to be hard pressed not to go to class if I only get a mild fever. I wonder how many college students actually bring a thermometer.</p>
<p>^I don’t know how it works at your school but at my youngest son’s school, in order to be exempt from classes (without the missing time being held against you when grading takes place) you have to go to the Health Services center and they decide if you should miss classes. A couple of times last semester son was so sick that Health Services “banned” him from classes for 48 hours. They gave him official notices to give to his professors stating that he was not to attend classes. This didn’t mean that he didn’t have to do the work. He contacted all of the professors via email and the professors updated him on assignments and classwork.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how it works yet either. The email I got just said that if we had a fever to self-isolate in our dorms and send an email to our professors and our academic adviser to notify them, and that if we have a fever prior to move in not to move until it clears up. Apparently there will even be a very small number of rooms to quarantine high-risk roommates of a sick student, and as both my roommate and I are asthmatic I wonder if we will be considered high risk.</p>
<p>Twisted are you at UMich? I haven’t heard anything about this from my friends up there.</p>
<p>KU already has dozens of cases. They are asking parents to take pick up their kids and take them home.</p>
<p>I am not worried at all about swine flu. Personally, I think it’s sensationalized. Everywhere I turn there’s some sign telling me how to wash my hands or a bottle of hand sanitizer laying around. I’d like it to go away so that people would stop getting sick… but more so that people will stop making a huge deal about it!</p>
<p>^ Where are you at that this is happening? The hype died down like three months ago here.</p>
<p>Yes, romanigypsyeyes. Here is the email we got:</p>
<p>Dear students & parents of students:</p>
<p>The start of the academic year at the University of Michigan is always an exciting time, whether you are coming to campus for the first time or returning for one final year.</p>
<p>As a parent, there are many things to think about and, no doubt, one of them is keeping your son or daughter healthy. </p>
<p>That’s why we are writing to both students and parents to share important information about the H1N1 strain of flu (formerly called swine flu):</p>
<p>The University has prepared throughout the summer to address what public health officials expect to be an increase in the number of cases this fall as students return to classes at the U-M and across the country. </p>
<p>We are requesting the following actions be taken by students: </p>
<p>If you are sick with the flu before coming to campus for the start of classes, please wait until you are fever free for 24 hours before arriving. Please e-mail the Dean of Students to advise us that you will be arriving late (<a href=“mailto:deanofstudents@umich.edu”>deanofstudents@umich.edu</a>). Your residence hall housing assignment will be secure and the Dean of Students Office will notify academic advisers about any absences. </p>
<p>If you get sick during the term please stay in your residence hall room or apartment, away from class and other public areas, until you are fever free for 24 hours. Your instructors are being asked to be flexible in their approach to student absences because of the flu. This self-isolation will give your body time to recuperate and will help prevent the spread of the flu. </p>
<p>If you must miss class, please contact your instructors directly to request an accommodation. In addition, please also notify your academic adviser. If this is not possible, you may contact the Dean of Students Office for assistance. </p>
<p>Please share this information with your parents if they do not receive university e-mails.</p>
<p>How will you know if you have the flu? </p>
<p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines flu-like illness this way: A fever of 100.4F or greater, plus a cough or sore throat and possibly other symptoms like runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, vomiting or diarrhea. Fever is a key factor. </p>
<p>Where do you go to get help if you are sick with the flu on campus? </p>
<p>You may not need to see a physician if your symptoms are mild. When in doubt, come to the University Health Service ([Home</a> | UM University Health Service](<a href=“http://www.uhs.umich.edu/]Home”>http://www.uhs.umich.edu/)). The majority of people who become ill are getting mild to moderate cases of the flu and are recovering fully in a week or less, without any medical intervention. </p>
<p>For ill students staying in their residence hall rooms, the university will make arrangements to provide food to them in their rooms. Residence hall staff will be checking on students regularly and transportation to the University Health Service will be available for those who need to see a physician. There will be very few housing spaces that might be used to quarantine high-risk roommates of ill students. </p>
<p>What else do you need to know? </p>
<p>The best way to stay healthy is to wash you hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water, cough or sneeze into your elbow, and to keep your hands away from your face. </p>
<p>Students through age 24 will be among the first to be offered the opportunity to get the H1N1 vaccine at no charge as soon as it is available later this fall. </p>
<p>Following CDC guidelines University Health Service physicians will not be prescribing the antiviral medication Tamiflu unless there is an underlying health condition (severe asthma, diabetes, HIV disease, immune deficiency) or the individual is considered high risk (pregnant or over age 65). </p>
<p>Hand sanitizer will be more available in the common areas of campus buildings and facilities this year.</p>
<p>You may e-mail additional questions to: <a href=“mailto:fluquestions@umich.edu”>fluquestions@umich.edu</a>. We will do our best to provide answers or point you toward the appropriate resources. </p>
<p>Those of us working on H1N1 preparedness pledge to do our best to keep students healthy and safe and to keep parents informed. </p>
<p>As developments warrant, you can expect additional e-mail messages. We also have developed several Web pages with links to the latest advice from medical experts at the U-M and from agencies like the CDC and the World Health Organization.</p>
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<p>The hype here died down around three months ago as well, however as Fall approaches it is picking back up. (Clearly! XD) There have been a bunch of stories about it on the news again. I am not really more worried about it than I would be about a regular flu, but I do worry about having to miss class and the flu and asthma compounding and sending me to the hospital. That would cost a fortune and is not entirely unlikely with any flu virus, I just appear to be ten times as likely to get this one. I am usually pretty good at avoiding the flu. :</p>
<p>^ Huh. Wow. That is pretty extreme, but I guess a necessary precaution. Although, I don’t know what good it would really do as you’re infected long before the symptoms start. </p>
<p>Good luck at UMich and stay healthy! :)</p>
<p>I am not getting the vacine…Im not worried about swine flu, even though I am pretty sick right now lol.</p>
<p>My sister is sick right now but my mom told me she is always sick when school starts. I am just trying not to catch whatever she has, I am supposed to move in six days and I will SHOOT HER if I get sick. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if I want to get the vaccine or not. I worry because it is obviously a new vaccine, it would suck if we all rushed out in droves to get it and it hurt everybody. I don’t really know enough about clinical trials to know if I should trust it. But at the same time I’d REALLY like to avoid getting the flu. I got a bad flu last year for the first time that I was old enough to even remember it and it was awful, I had high fever, chills, vomiting, and unbearable body aches. I wasn’t even able to care for myself. So I’d really like to avoid that my first semester of college if at all possible.</p>
<p>^ At least get the normal flu shot. The new vaccine should be safe, since there’s not much in it that can hurt you. I just flat-out think the vaccine won’t work.</p>
<p>If I can get it for free it’s worth a try I guess, and I SHOULD be able to get Tamiflu-- might have to have asthma specialist write a letter before he retires end of September. I meant to get a flu shot last year but never got around to it, and having not had the flu since I was like 5 wasn’t too concerned until I got sick! When do the regular flu shots become available? I don’t hear anyone talking about them yet.</p>
<p>A bunch of clinics in Oakland county are going to have them around the 2nd week of Sept. Might be worth the drive from AA.</p>
<p>EDIT: Sorry, it’s closer to the end of Sept. $10. Dno if you can find it sooner or closer but better than nothing: <a href=“http://www.oakgov.com/health/initiatives/flu_main.html[/url]”>http://www.oakgov.com/health/initiatives/flu_main.html</a></p>
<p>I have no intention of getting the vaccine. I’ve heard from my dad about a healthy man who got a regular flu vaccine and ended up paralyzed–it’s a rare reaction, but still, I’d rather risk getting the flu. My mom got the vaccine once and said she was sicker for three days afterward than she ever was with the flu. </p>
<p>The only thing I’m worried about for myself is missing classes. My little brother, on the other hand, has been getting sick every two weeks or so, so I am worried about him.</p>