DAY 2 OF MY SWINE FLU EXPERIENCE IN EPPING

Last night, at home in Epping, I took the first of my 75mg Tamiflu or Oseltamivir tablets. I am required to take one tablets twice a day and I am told I will feel no different, but they should bring the effects of the virus and its contagious properties to an end quicker than they would do naturally.

My nose today has been running like a tap and is very sore. My eyes have also been watering a lot, a bit like the effects of hay fever if you hayfever suffered from that horrible condition. My joint pain in my shoulders and elbows seems to have reduced, but the pain in my fingers seems to have intensified - although as someone concerned yesterday did point out to me, perhaps I shouldn’t be typing if I have muscle / joint pain and they’re quite right. I have definitely noticed that since taking the Tamiflu, I feel less dizzy and I have less of a head ache.

I must admit, I have been a bit frightened after reading the BBCs story today, which tells us about the first “healthy” person’s death from swine flu and that this person lived in Essex. The full story can be found here. According to the Government, 14 people have died in the UK of the virus so far and, in London and the West Midlands, the virus will soon reach “epidemic levels”.

I guess my biggest concern with this virus is that the more people that contract it, the more likely it is to mutate into something else. If this happens, our Government have spent hundreds of millions of pounds commissioning 60million doses of Tamiflu and they would have to spend that money again on a new anti-virus serum should it be necessary. In the middle of a recession, the last think we need really is this nasty flu bug! It really is a tragedy that people are suddenly having their lives snatched away from them now though. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those effected.