My Son Has the Swine Flu – A Daily Journal

A Dad’s Point Of View

By Bruce Sallan

We just went through the swine flu with our older son, Will. We didn’t panic or allow the hysteria of the msm (mainstream media) to scare us. His first reaction was simply, “Darn, I’m going to miss Halloween.” I believe our media have become hysteria mongers, as well as all too often focusing on their agenda vs. objective reporting. They devote way too much time to subjects unworthy of so much coverage, such as the balloon boy or the tragic deaths of celebrities.

With the swine flu, we’ve been deluged with scare reports from the media, ignoring the fact that each year tens of thousands of Americans die of the regular flu. As with AIDS, the panic is over-wrought and generalized to scare everyone when the reality is there are more at-risk groups for just about every such illness. Read more

Let’s Relax a Bit on the Swine Flu

Ok, I realize that we need to take the swine flu seriously. But enough with the hysteria. It wasn’t long ago we were all frightened we were going to walk outside and see dead birds in our backyards and to run for the hills because of the bird flu.

Everyday on televison I see  people with masks on and the number of reported cases in this state and that country.  Now we hear the Vice President (who I think is a good family man), say on the Today Show he would discourage his family from going on planes, subways or any crowded area because it would be easier to pick up the bug if someone sneezes in a confined area.  I heard it mentioned  if you or a family member is sneezing, has a cough, runny nose, or a fever to be checked out to make sure it is not the swine flu. Huh?  That could be half the population on any given day. Let’s just wash our hands, cover our mouths when we sneeze or cough, and take normal precautions.

As reported in an article posted by Vincent Iannelli,M.D ,  each year, the flu is reported to be responsible for almost 36,000 deaths.  So the flu is always something to be taken seriously.  However,  just this morning it was reported by the Associated Press in my local newspaper, that the swine flu may be less potent, with the virus showing little staying power.

So let’s all take a deep breath and ease up a bit on the panic.