Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Swine Flu Deja Vu

This week, swine flu is all over the news, and lots of people are going into panic mode again. I am not worried. Remember the bird flu? Better yet, remember swine flu in the 1970s?

People bought into the scare factor again then too. They were giving away swine flu vaccines back then, and I took it, and the vaccine made me sick as a dog. I have lived through a few bouts of flu in my lifetime and that vaccine made me sicker than any dose of flu ever did. They quit giving out the vaccine because it was causing more problems than the flu. I have never taken any more flu vaccine since then.

Our bodies have a natural ability to respond to illness and help us fight the bacteria or virus that cause the disease and discomfort and we regain our strength and recover. Yes, there are a few people who have died from this, but year in and year out, millions of people get the flu and almost all of them survive it.

So once again, we should ask the more important question. Why are we willing to believe that the swine flu, the bird flu, the whatever are going to cause incredible levels of destruction and death? How many of those things that people were alarmed about never came to pass?

The fear may be doing us more harm than the flu. The fear may be doing us more harm than a lot of things. Don't give in to the fear. Live life as if you expect to be able to handle illness and then get on with everything else in your life.

No comments: