somone had to do it - so I will - will the Swine Flu change your SC habits anyti

25 comments

• lopaw

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  15 years ago

  LOL - I was wondering when this topic would be addressed. I haven't been to a club in a week or two, but I'm planning on hitting my fave dive club tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if the threat of a pandemic will hurt SC business. Can you imagine entering a club and seeing everyone wearing surgical masks???
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  So far I think the media has overdone the problem. If everyone in Mexico City were infected and less than 200 hundred people died, that number is a whole lot less than the regular flu kills every year here in the US alone. I believe the regular flu kills over 20,000 to possibly about 36,000 people here in the US alone each year on average. So the reality is the regular flu kills over tens of thousands here in our country each year but the media is making this new flu sound like a killer that is far worse but it hasn't shown signs of that yet in my opinion. However I don't want to get sick either.
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  Officials never seem successful at stopping the regular flu so I don't expect much success this time either. Hopefully the story and the flu transmission dies out this year and a vaccine is developed in time for next years flu season. Unfortunately these flu viruses mutate from time to time. There are some probable cases already in South Carolina due to some students who were in Cancun and Mexico for spring break. Either the media is blowing this whole thing out of proportion or someone isn't telling us the whole story.
• jester214

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  15 years ago

  800 people a week die from the regular flu... When 'swine flu' starts hitting those numbers, I'll start considering a change in habits.
• wallanon

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  15 years ago

  A dancer I was talking to tonight had a theory it was a bioweapon created by the Mexican government.
• imnumnutz

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  15 years ago

  agree with jester. where were the panic stricken headlines when the first folks died during the more traditional flu season? And from everything I've read, people in my age bracket are not as susceptible to this new flu as kids and young adults are. I will be at Vegas Rhino tonite. I'll let you know if I'm coughing/sneezing/vomiting in a week...
• Clubber

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  15 years ago

  We all have to die sometime in some way, so why get all freaked out! There still is a thing called "common sense"!
• mr_33

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  15 years ago

  Agree about traditional flu numbers *except* the big difference is traditional flu deaths are the very young, very old, or those with compromised immune systems, whereas Swine Flu is killing healthy individuals. That is a world of difference. Here's a quote: ------------- Why is the Swine Flu may be killing the healthiest individuals rather than the weak and elderly? The same thing occurs with Bird Flu (H5N1) and is due to the fact that both the new Swine Flu and the relatively new Bird Flu strains are just that - NEW. People have no defenses built up and when infected the body's own defensive systems are triggered to a powerful extent. Babies and older adults have weak immune systems which is why they are vulnerable to complications from the usual yearly flu - they tend to get pneumonia and other opportunistic infections after being weakened further by the yearly flu, but don't have systems which really react strongly to the flu itself either because they are young and have weak immune systems or are older and have many past flu infections to strengthen the specific immunity factors which are the same for many flu strains. What happens with young and healthy patients is that their immune systems react so strongly that they can triggers something known as a "cytokine storm". [view link] When this happens the person's immune system overreacts to the totally new flu virus and actually attacks the body's healthy organs and systems - that makes the healthy approximately 15 to 60 year old individual the most likely to actually succumb to the flu. Because this cytokine storm phenomena is generally rare it is also not well understood. Cytokines are similar to hormones and are used by the body to communicate between cells, mostly on a local basis. A cytokine storm can overwhelm the nervous system and cause breathing problems which is why hospitals put critical flu patients on assisted breathing machines. The fact that most hospitals only have a few of these and they are often in use for surgical or other critical patients is what really frightens experts in the pandemic field. Even in advanced countries with a strong hospital system, there is simply no way to provide interim support for tens of thousands of pandemic flu victims - the equipment just doesn't exist to put them all on breathing machines until their bodies are able to recover naturally. -------------
• mr_33

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  15 years ago

  That said, I still plan on going to clubs. Maybe business will be even slower and I can negotiate even better deals.
• Notsosly

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  15 years ago

  90 cases in the US so far, and only 1 death. A 2 year old that had just returned from Mexico. It's got a hip name that will grab you and a built in mascot (the pig!) to help with the marketing. Therefore all the "news" outlets are barraging everyone with 24-7 coverage to maintain and further instill the state of fear and panic that "news media" feel they must create in order to get those precious ratings, and thus advertising dollars. Like a previous poster said... when Swine flu surpasses the current mortality rate for the regular influenza virus, I'll start to change my habits. As it stands now, there isn't even a single case in FL yet, so the only thing holding me back from the club is lack of cash flow from the current economy.
• Notsosly

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  15 years ago

  Oh wait! Apparently their is a case of swine flu in Florida now! The hypochondriac in my office says she has it. Time to run for the hills!
• minnow

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  15 years ago

  lp- I visited LA club last night & plan on hitting another around lunchtime today. The closest thing that I saw to a surgical mask was a closeup of a G-string.(lol)
• shadowcat

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  15 years ago

  FUCK IT, I am still going.
• gatorfan

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  15 years ago

  Talk about a media-sensationalized story, I am curious how many people died this past flu-season from the typical flu virus, my guess would be more than have died from this swine flu. Will it keep me from going to a strip club and having a good time, no way. And the last thing anyone needs are freaked out strippers, so media please cool it with the pandemic warnings, 1918 was a long time ago.
• aquavelvaman

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  15 years ago

  Think I would go too - I think my line would be drawn at avoiding trips to Adelitas for the near future though.....
• jester214

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  15 years ago

  Gator: I've seen estimates that 'regular' flu kills about 800 a week. Even in Mexico the 'hot spot' Swine Flu hasn't killed that many. Besides this heightened hysteria just means that people who do feel sick will run to the doctor for fear of having it... Which means it will be better controlled.
• DandyDan

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  15 years ago

  I try not to worry about stuff like that, but a good portion of the customer base at the clubs I visit most is Mexican, and who's to say they haven't just arrived here? That said, I don't think I'll be changing.
• gatorfan

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  15 years ago

  Jester- Thanks for that statistic, confirms what I thought and why the media is marketing for Theraflu, Surgical Masks, Cleaning Products, and every other industry that stands to make money from the hysteria they are creating. Even high contact jack joints you could just as well get 150 other infections before you'd ever get swine flu.
• Book Guy

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  15 years ago

  I have to admit, the thought occurred to me. But I went to a strip club last night anyway. I didn't even "weigh the options" or somehow think to myself that the "risk was worth it." I simply believe that there is no risk. I went to Jazz Fest today too. Crowds crowds crowds. I have an exam Monday. Between now and Monday I'd really like to get the flu so I can put off the studying. After that I'm done until September, but I'm probably going to do a summer overseas study thing, so I genuinely hope they don't close any borders because of the outbreak. This isn't a particularly bad influenza. Looks like the "normal" seasonal flu kills more people than this one does. The warning about "healthiest individuals" is a bit misleading -- it's not "healthiest" who die from this one; it's "middle of their lives." But it's been mostly people in Mexico City -- the world's respiratory-illness and smog capitol; a place where health care is not necessarily the most modernized and efficient. Here in NOLa we do have a lot of Mexican visitors and a lot of workers who are from Latin America (perhaps here illegally?). I bet a large number of them are crossing that border every other week or so, bringing cash home, etc. So, yeah, "it" occurred to me. And I ignored "it". For now, I just can't believe the scare stories. There's nothing wrong with preparation, on a governmental level -- mobilize the drugs, practice a few alert drills at hospitals so the nurses don't giggle about them -- but for me and your average Joe Blow, what we need to do is ... not fucking sneeze in each others' faces. And, if we're sick, then, don't fucking go in to work, dumb ass.
• chi_sam

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  15 years ago

  Mexican bio-weapon? That's brilliant... So when exactly does an errant quasi-thought make the leap to become a 'theory'? A 'stripper theory' is when, in a rare moment of sobriety, she wonders if the 20 dollar, six-inch plastic heels may be related to the pain in her feet. That makes about as much sense as: "In other news, today a spokeswoman for the CDC showed her tits."
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  The regular flu kills 36,000 a year in the US alone. That fact to me tells me people should have already been taking precautions and preventative measures to avoid getting sick in the first place. If you're sick and achy, don't go to work. If you're sick especially do not go to church and then shake other peoples hands. They should do away with the handshake during church services. 36,000 people a year are dying and church services are spreading diseases and have likely contributed to a number of deaths because many feel they need to go to church whether they are sick or not. Then they want to feel like part of the crowd by shaking hands like everyone else at one point in the church service. Even the priest may be spreading diseases when people shake his hands. Maybe we should ban all hand shaking. Just give a peace sign or bow instead as a greeting. I heard this new H1N1 virus or swine flu is very contagious and the big fear is that it could mutate into something a lot more deadly come next flu season just like the 1918 virus did.
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  Someone should get the word out. Don't shake hands anymore during flu season. We could save thousands of lives every year. Priest in church, health officials, maybe even the President could help get the message out. Instead wave, or give a peace sign, or bow as a greeting during flu season. It's worth it to save thousands isn't it? The only problem is sick people still go to church and cough and sneeze, they pump gas and get their germy hands on the gas pump, they sometimes go to work before they realize they have the flu and touch bathroom doors, handles etc. that you may touch afterwards. You can slow down the spread of diseases and maybe prevent a few thousand but it's almost impossible to stop.
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  Dancers should stay away from work if they are sick too and strip club managers should be agreeable to sick dancers staying away. I've seen sick dancers working too but I prefer they didn't.
• Book Guy

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  15 years ago

  Really, someone should get THIS word out: STOP FUCKING GOING OUT IN PUBLIC AND HACKING ALL OVER STRANGERS WHEN YOU'RE SICK, dammit ...
• casualguy

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  15 years ago

  Well so far so good. I was in a crowded strip club with dancers kissing me and licking me, a couple of girls were very oral but it was too crowded for them to get as oral as I like. I'm not coughing or sneezing and I don't see any flying pigs. I believe most of the excess pork is still in Washington, DC. I didn't see any sign of sick people except when I went to church, definitely a breeding ground since they come there whether they are sick or not. Well if I get sick, I will definitely go to church and return the favor. I will stay away from strip clubs if I get sick but seeing how ethical everyone is, I must go to church and be friendly with everyone even if I'm sick. Actually I didn't see as many people in church the other day. Maybe they were afraid and stayed home. I saw some Mexicans in the strip club. There was a big empty section all around them. I think that was only because it was still early.