Overruling the medically paranoid

[davidjohnson6]

I have a cough / sore throat, and at work have been told to stay away from the office, because others are terrified it's swine flu - unfortunately I was required to dial-in and work from home rather than just having the time off !

II live in the UK, haven't been to Mexico for 10 years, haven't been to Falkirk and don't have a temperature / fever, so it's highly unlikely that I have swine flu - but rationality often counts for little when healthscares get into the mass media.

I have a flight over the bank holiday weekend from the UK which I'd really like to catch, but if I cough a bit, I can just see someone complaining that I might have swine flu and putting pressure on cabin crew / pilots / dispatcher.

Can any cabin crew / dispatcher / captain comment on what they want to see before letting someone like me fly (even if a Daily Mail reader makes a fuss) ?

[Capot]

Hold it in until the main wheels are 100ft off the ground, then have a good clearance cough, sneeze and nose-blow.

Press the call bell, and when the FA arrives, ask

"Hágale tiene algún paracetamol por favor".

But on no account draw attention to your condition before that time.

[PAXboy]

I'm going to Spain in two weeks, I think that I might wear a medical face mask. Since that is designed to protect ME, consider how long it would be before something thinks that I must be ill and that THEY are at risk!!

[TightSlot]

Another PPRuNe user has/had a posting "signature" that always appealed to me...

Never underestimate the power of Stupid People in large groups

QED?

[boardingpass]

On the flight to BCN today, two Japanese tourists donned their face masks after the flight as they were leaving the safety of cabin air and entering the dangerous and mirky world of Spanish airport air. No-one inbound was wearing a mask.

[man friday]

had the joy yesterday of seeing someone walking down main street in Gibraltar wearing their surgical mask.

i'd like to thank her, whoever she is 'cause i haven't laughed that much in years!

[CornishFlyer]

Funny thing it, the experts are saying these masks are useless in the prevention of picking up this flu virus so all these masks effectively are, are just badges stating that the wearer is a hypochondriac. Makes me laugh

In response to the initial query though-don't worry. Most people don't over-react and you'll be fine if you suffer from symptoms of a cold etc. I'm guessing most people with swine flu feel so bad, the last place they'd want to be is on an aircraft so I wouldn't worry-go for your trip as normal providing the whole world hasn't gone down with it and you're the last man surviving :ok:;)

[FlyingScientist]

I have just (Saturday) flown from the UK to the US with a slight cold, occasionally coughing or sneezing. I was concerned about possible (irrational) reactions, too, on symptons that currently about 2-3% of the population of my home town show. In fact, I saw (and heard) two members of (BA) cabin crew sneezing as well - causing no reaction at all.

My advice is to take care of the traffic when crossing a street...

[jportzer]

Funny thing it, the experts are saying these masks are useless in the prevention of picking up this flu virus so all these masks effectively are, are just badges stating that the wearer is a hypochondriac. Makes me laugh

That's true in general, but a Japanese colleague pointed out to me that they're common among some Asians because they've been promoted as way of reducing the spread of a disease if YOU have it. If you have the flu, but have to go out anyway, wearing a mask reduces the chance of you sneezing your virus all over the place, and thus spreading it. Something to think about for the original poster.

But of course the virus is mostly spread by surface contact - washing your hands before eating or touching your mouth, is considerably more useful than the masks.

[OFSO]

Tales from my wife:

(1) She flew FR from Gatwick to GRO last week, and being asthmatic was coughing as usual. (The smell of JP.4 or whatever upsets her, unike us manly men who thrive on it). Anyway, happily coughing away in row five right, other passengers recoiled in horror, which meant she had an empty seat next to her during the flight....

(2) She has been grinding away the Jemsonite gellcoat on a new sculpture she's doing, she coloured the gellcoat green, and not wanting to breath in too much dust, bought a very expensive facemask which can be moulded to the contours of one's face. On taking it off after use, she discovered that UNDER the mask her skin was bright green with Jemsonite dust - and methinks your average virus is smaller than dust particles....

[stepwilk]

Facemasks are idiotic. Do these people have any idea how minuscule a virus is? Probably one of the smallest physical objects known to man. To a virus, a facemask is like a window screen with foot-square grating. A serious respirator might help, or maybe wearing a full scuba-tank/mask/regulator outfit, but a facemask is like a condom made of cheesecloth.

[ex-XL-in-exile]

The vast majority of over-the-counter face masks are next to useless in preventing the wearer from picking up a bug - they're designed to stop the wearer spreading a disease that they already have :O

[WHBM]

If you are a manufacturer of face masks you must think all your birthdays have come at once. Double production, double the price. A few choice planted stories to the journalist buffoons at the downmarket end of the media and they'll be able to double the price again.

I'm waiting for "Lone Ranger" masks for kids to start advertising on TV. Am I showing my age ?

[stepwilk]

Facemasks are _also_ useless at preventing viruses from propagating outward. The cheesecloth-condom simile applies both ways.

[davidjohnson6]

If you have the flu, but have to go out anyway, wearing a mask reduces the chance of you sneezing your virus all over the place, and thus spreading it. Something to think about for the original poster.

jportzer - I did think about that.... but then I thought that if I was wearing a mask on a very full plane AND coughing, it would probably make the masses react even more !

In May 2003 just after returning from South Korea at the time that Sars was big news because of people dying in East Asia, I did an experiment in the office at work. Tell people I'd been to the Far East, and people winced but didn't react in a big way. Tell people I'd been to the Far East, and walk around while wearing a respirator mask, and people were running away from me.

It seems that in general the masses view wearing a mask almost as a sign of the wearer being extra toxic, rather than the wearer trying to prevent the infection of others.

[apaddyinuk]

I had the sniffles the other night on a flight. Sneezed a few times and made a point of saying "oink" afterwards too! :}

[FlyingScientist]

CDC H1N1 Flu | Interim Guidance to Assist Airline Flight Deck and Cabin Crew in Identifying Passengers Who May Have Swine Influenza (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/aircrew.htm)

[jportzer]

Facemasks are _also_ useless at preventing viruses from propagating outward. The cheesecloth-condom simile applies both ways.

That would be true if the virus particles were somehow floating around on their own. They're not. They are largely contained within liquid droplets associated with your saliva, mucous, etc. These liquid droplets are expelled out your nose when you sneeze and will float around in the general vicinity for a few moments, which is why they say you would only get the flu if you were within 2-3 rows of the infected person. The facemasks - worn by the infected person - do a great job of stopping the liquid droplets from a sneeze. I suppose so does covering your nose with your hands - and then immediately washing your hands - but the facemask might be more practical if you can't get to a sink without first spreading the virus somewhere else.