When is the Flu not Swine Flu

Answer: when you are not diagnosed as having swine flu.

I am not being funny.

Imagine the following:

Person A:  They complain of not feeling well.  This of course always happens after 8pm - never at 9 am when the doctor's office is open - and you check their temperature and they have one, say 100.7.  You give them tylenol.  In 4 hours or 6, you give them some motrin.  They complain their throat hurts.  The temperature jumps to 102, and despite all efforts, even with medication it does not go below 101.  Say the next day you take Person A to the doctor.  You ask the doctor about swine flu.  They say no, it is a respiratory or bronchial infection.  If it was swine flu the person would be severely lethargic, unable to walk or sit upright.  You go out and buy the medication for the 'bronchial infection' - zithromax, and for 3 days you are giving the person medication.  Two days later the temperature spikes to 104, and tylenol and motrin do not lower it, a cool bath doesn''t lower it.  You call the doctor and he returns the call 45 minutes later and says not to worry.  When it hits 105.5, then you should head to the hospital. 

You continue giving them the tylenol and motrin and within 14 hours the fever has broken and within 36 hours is gone.  They tell you they are better, up, doing things, going places ... and then, like a shark in the dark of waters, it returns.

The temperature spikes up to 101.5.  Off you go to the doctor after dealing with insipidly pathetic individuals who have the brains of a gopher - they have a mantra:

THEM:  whats your insurance.
ME:  the same as it was 3 days ago.
THEM:  And what is it?
ME: I don't know, whatever it was it still is, I don't have the card.
CLICK - They hung up.

I called back.

ME:  Yes, the person i was speaking to hung up on me.
THEM:  What is the problem you are having
ME: [ I explain it again]
THEM:  Whats your insurance
ME:  I don't know, its the same as it was 3 days ago and before that a week - same same - nothing has changed.
THEM:  Ok, let me look up your file.
THEM: Ok, is it still Blue Cross
ME: I guess.
THEM:  Ok.

I get to the doctor's office and after signing in, 10 minutes later a female calls me up:

THEM:  Is your address still the same?
ME:  Yes
THEM:  And your insurance is still Blue Cross?
ME:  That hasn't changed since I made the appointment.
I went and sat down.


I don't know if I make it clear enough how much I do not like dealing with people like the above three individuals.  I will refrain from any other adjectives or descriptive NOUNS to describe them.

40 minutes later into the doctors office.

10 minutes later - Doctor comes in.

It is perfectly ok to waste my time on the phone and 50 minutes in a waiting room.
[Note to liberals - and you think in your delusional world, that this issue will not get worse when you dump 50 million people onto the health system.  You are seriously deranged and need meds more than any swine flu patient.]

Doctor checks out Person A.  They leave and say they will be back to do a test.  In she comes with a mask on and a helper who is also wearing a mask.  They insert a long swab into the nostril.  Run out of the room as quickly as they entered.  2 minutes later they bring back a little carboard test result showing positive for FLU A. 

Here is where the title/subject line comes in ...

Swine Flu is part of the FLU A family.

I ask if they will test the swab to definitively determine if it is Swine Flu.

No.

Why not?  Because the labs are overwhelmed.  If people want to know for sure they have to go to the hospital and they will do the test.

I ask if I will ever know for sure. 

No, although the only type of flu A showing up now is swine flu.

So here is my question ... why wouldn't they want to have all these swabs to test.  It would be helpful.  if I was a nurse or teacher in a public school - wouldn't it be important to know?  And with the misdiagnosis from the first time, think of all the people who have unknowingly been exposed, and when they go to their doctor, they will never be told if they have the swine flu either ...

Why not????

What reason could their possibly be?

Wouldn't we want to know - so we can allocate resources to those areas most affected?  Isn't it a serious enough problem?















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