Don't Scare Everyone!

As a health professional in training, I have been hearing more about H1N1 treatments and trying to stay up to date on disease information. The reason that this flu seems worse is because it is new and because it can affect all populations (not just the young and old as the traditional flu attacks). The scare is something to recognize but not be frightened of. The swine flu is a version of the flu. Prevention is key and treatment as soon as symptoms arise is important.

So why are so many people freaking out?

The other day at work my manager almost refused to stay at work because our store had no face masks and had run out of hand sanitizer. She asked another employee to check the local stores for supplies so she could feel safer. The local Walmart and other stores were out of hand sanitizer and face masks as well. Our next requirement was to sanitize the counters every 30min and stay farther from patients than normal. She almost thought about requiring each employee to buy and bring in their own facemasks to work. While working we were not allowed to refer to the flu as the "swine flu" but as H1N1. The manager kept telling employees and patients that H1N1 was the correct name and by calling it the swine flu we were hurting our own economy as well as the science of disease.

That same day, the Dean of the College of Pharmacy, told her council members (me being one of them) that the college was a vital resource for the city of Des Moines and that we would need to act promptly if called upon by health officials. We were on the emergency call list. This response seemed a little less extreme than my manager's but still somewhat exaggerated considering at that point there had been no cases in Iowa yet.

I work at a pharmacy and understand that prevention, cleanliness and caution are all important to stop the spread of the flu. However, if health professionals are getting crazy about the disease then think how the patients will react? If people start walking into every clinic or store they would only get more frightened if everyone there was wearing a mask and spraying Lysol everywhere. By starting rumors that our economy will begin to fall because of the flus name is only going to end people into greater panic. Health authorities need to stay calm while being cautious in order to effectively manage such outbreaks. The public needs to stay educated, ready and realistic.