To: Dog Gone
Don't know if its related or simply hayfever, but out in SoCA right now, seems like everybody I know has had some sort of ailment on the par of a light flu.
Starts with exposure to somebody who has it, remains dormant for 3-8 days, then slight itching in throat for about a day, following day some sinus drainage is noticed and associated with phlegm in the throat/lungs. About the second day a cough develops that becomes somewhat trademark of the ailment. Cough is to remove phlegm in slight amounts, but very concentrated from mid chest area, high lungs. end of second day to third day is worst, mainly due to sore throat from repeated coughing and one might hear or feel the inhale associated with some phlegm in the airway. 4th and fifth day the symptoms lesson, although some seem to have a persistent cough for about 3 weeks in lessening degrees.
Slight fever of maybe 1 degree might accompany for about 12 hours within the first 72 hrs.
The good news: It's not serious enough to go to the doctor over and is sort of like a light hayfever, except with heavier small quantities of phlegm. Rest of misery is probably more due to secondary sinus symptoms and the lingering periodic deep cough.
Bad news: One becomes drowsy easily, sleep tends to allow sinus drainage which accentuates the effects. I know of at least one mother who took her 6 month old into the hospital for pneumonia from the effects.
Not much in the news about this one, but unlike all other flus I've seen in the last say 10-15 years, this one seems to hit everybody, delayed by as much as a week, and not really accompanied by nausea or high fever. Accordingly it isn't considered that serious in the initial stages.
Then again, maybe its just hayfever with a high pollen count and change of outside ambient temperatures.
I was curious if there hadn't been some sort of airborne mass anthrax inoculation, but haven't seen anything of it in the news or conspiracy theory websites.
FWIW the sampling of persons I know who have had this in varying degrees is about 12 of 15 for those within daily close proximity (within 1-2 meters or in a confined space-car) for more than 5 minutes, about 30 of 60 for those within passing proximity (1-5 meters separation) for anywhere of 10 seconds to 30 minutes and about 50-70% of those outside my direct area of association, but cognizant via others. Of this set, at least one had returned from Cambodia about 4 months ago, one had been recuperating from a double bypass heart surgery and believed it was symptoms from his recovery, and four others associated it with being passed by family members.
For these reasons, it might simply be due to other common factors (aka hayfever) or perhaps some association between them exist. Don't know. But I'd count on productivity being down by 1-3 mandays over a 3 month period.
FWIW, the week preceding the symptoms, I had noticeable degrees of exhaustion,...not to the point of nausea or fever, but dehydration, and unusual drowsiness after high stress working periods.
Over the past couple of months I just attributed these symptoms to being an innocent bystander of others getting some hayfever. Now that I actually count the numbers, and those who have gotten this 'bug' known for never getting sick, I'm not so sure it isn't a slight flu epidemic.
49 posted on
05/10/2005 5:15:19 AM PDT by
Cvengr
(<;^))
To: Cvengr
/offcolor humor attempt on
Then again, there was that funny looking chunk of hairy meteorite we passed amongst office co-workers about a week ago...
/offcolor humor attempt between coughing episodes off
50 posted on
05/10/2005 5:19:43 AM PDT by
Cvengr
(<;^))
To: All
51 posted on
05/10/2005 5:51:26 AM PDT by
unseen
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