Chile Forum

Did I not call this back about 100 or so posts? Argentina is full of it:

They are declaring an early national holiday and shutting down schools in 16 provinces and the minister of health resigned today.

http://www.reuters.com/article/internal ... RX20090630

Argentina, you are nothing special. You get sick just like everyone else in the World.

Anyone have Chile flu stories?

Thus far, the caretaker of the apartment complex where my pareja's mother lives in Santiago caught it and the profesora of my pareja's daughter also came down with it.

No problems with anyone in my immediate circle besides the normal run of colds and mild gripes. And I was never contacted by the gobierno after my last entry to Chile via DFW-SCL.

My cuñado's daughter's friend's brother got it. Apparently said cuñados kids school has quite a few cases.

Then there is la prima - - she got sick, went to the doctor, he looked at her and told her she has the swine flu and sent her home. Don't they have to test for it? I could just be the flu, no? If all the doctors are confirming cases of swine flu with 2 minute consult then the numbers seem like they'd be off... oh and la prima was healthy again in 2 days... after a few day so sniffles, coughing and tiredness.

We live in El Tabo, on the central coast. My housekeeper just told me there is an outbreak of H1N1 in the local school involving about 18 students. I asked if they closed the school and she said that the school closed anyway for winter break. She didn't seem to be alarmed about the situation. hmmmm...

gregf wrote:My cuñado's daughter's friend's brother got it. Apparently said cuñados kids school has quite a few cases.

Then there is la prima - - she got sick, went to the doctor, he looked at her and told her she has the swine flu and sent her home. Don't they have to test for it? I could just be the flu, no? If all the doctors are confirming cases of swine flu with 2 minute consult then the numbers seem like they'd be off... oh and la prima was healthy again in 2 days... after a few day so sniffles, coughing and tiredness.

My husband and I got sick at the beginning of June. We first went to a GP he had gone to before, she said it wasn't AH1N1 since we didn't have a fever. No tests were done, it seems like having a fever is the main way they are deciding if it is AH1N1 or not, at least at Integramédica where we went. Unfortunately we ended up getting a lot sicker, despite her saying it was a virus that would go away in a few days. We had to go back to a respiratory specialist who did a more thorough examination with chest x-rays and all and it turned out to be bronchitis plus sinusitis. On the plus side the second doctor we saw was really good, so I know where to go if I have problems again. If anyone here in Santiago needs to see a doctor for similar problems, I can give you his info.

A friend's husband is a pediatrician at Clínica Indisa, which is one of the places they do the tests. He saw 100 kids last Saturday, 60 of them had AH1N1.

Yea, there is a lot of people with it in Temuco. Everyone was panicked early on, now everyone is just accepting it and going on with life. I believe it does make sense when in doubt to prescribe the anti-flue medication and skip the delay and cost of the testing. Banco Estado the other day looked more like a hospital with a bunch of people behind the desk with masks. Likely handling all that money, makes them flue central. All the schools have cases, and anywhere else their is high probability of personal contact. Even our contact at the local notary just got back from being sick for a week.

I have relatives that have been diagnosed, friends, and friends of friends all across Chile. How many really had the H1N1 vs. the regular flue, who knows (accept the WHO of course )? It is flue season, and a nasty one; but, besides the paranoia generated by H1N1 it still does not strike me as any worse or better than your normal flue season.

At least the pandemic of HYSTERIA has abated somewhat. I've actually got this flu - achy bones headache, fever the lot., However It's at least the 5th time I have had influenza in my lifetime starting from 1963 and this one is pretty mild. Cure: Bed rest, lots of liquids, aspirin, or Tapsin....If you don't see any more posts from me you know it got me.....but don't hold your breath.

And btw, here's where all the panic originated....

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/issues/C54/

I don't generally agree with this site but I do this time.

Medicine used to be an art and the capacity to diagnose, a gift. Then we stopped being physicians and were demoted to" providers". We no longer had patients but "clients". To protect ourselves we ordered lots of tests. Our "clients" were not happy if they were told that "tincture of time" was the treatment for their problem....they needed that Rx that made them feel better. Ever heard about the "placebo" effect? And we wanted happy clients, otherwise the "vultures" would get to them. ( I agree with Shakespeare, if you get my meaning). Costs got out of hand. And now we are in a pickle. Need reform. But what needs reform first is the "client's" approach that more testing means better medical practice.
H1N1 is a virus and antivirals have limited effect against it. I commend the GP that told Gringalais that it was viral, instead of running up the bill and lining her or other people's pockets. It was an honest approach based on experience and practicing an art.
Viral illness can sometimes lead to secondary infections. Acute viral sinusitis and bronchitis are the norm and do not need treatment unless they become bacterial infections and that is not likely unless symptoms persist over 10 days and there is fever.....If one gets an Xray of sinuses ( a very poor test for sinusitis) 99.9% of regular colds will show inflammation of the sinuses.....Do all colds need antibiotics? Ever heard of antibiotic resistant bacteria? They are the product of overuse of antibiotics.
Testing for H1N1? What a waste of money! There is a pandemic going on. What would be the difference in treatment if one had regular seasonal influenza or H1N1? It is an exercise in academics for statistical purposes.....think about it. Is it worth the cost?
While back in Lake Woebegone (just returned yesterday)I read that Chile has the highest number of cases (percentage wise) of H1N1 in the world. I also read that Argentina has 1/2 the cases but twice the mortality. Wish I knew what that means. I hope that it means that Chilean medicine is very good. I was also shocked by the government offer to pay the cost of extreme measures for those critically ill with H1N1 and that some of the patients (sorry, clients) had been placed on ECMO....do you know how much that costs?
Hopefully, Chileans will not allow the cost of medical care to get out of control. Radiation therapy (X rays) and blood letting (tests) should not replace the diagnostic skills of one's Dr. (Happily, not a "provider" in Chile).

Great post nopat, I for one am quite reassured by a doctor who has the bones to tell me (or my kids) to go home and go to bed... I am a fan of reality and straight-talking, plus I don't think medicine is wizardry and magic potions, hopefully there are plenty more doctors out there like you.

Personally I would not consider taking a flu vaccine of any kind, nor do I recommend them to family or friends. They have a history of not working, and the side effects often outweigh the benefits. But then I am not fond of vaccines of any stripe...though in certain situations some are indeed warranted. I agree with my hubby (nopat) and his comments on medicine. As a direct entry midwife my motto has always been 'less is more...' and it has never proven me wrong.
Remember the last Swine Flu vaccine during Johnson's gov't produced an epidemic of Guillian-Barre syndrome.
Just my 2 cents worth.

I'll take it from the experts. Thanks, "no" and "Stork".

RWS. You are absolutely entitled to do as you wish. But I would caution you as to what you term 'the experts'. Do your homework first.

Just to clarify, "Stork", I consider you and your husband to be the experts posting in this thread. I accepted as true what you and he wrote above.

Good article from October 3, 2008 on flu vaccines by a doc.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html

My question: …and if they become mandatory?