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News & ArtsMonday, September 28, 2009
Snoutbreak Folk Medicine or Child Abuse?
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 11:38 AM
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
Some parents—ingenious, brilliant parents—are holding swine-flu parties to expose their kids early, hoping that'll work like a vaccine. Says the good Dr. Thomas Sandora of Children's Hospital in Boston:
"Intentionally exposing your child to a potentially fatal infection is never a risk worth taking."
In other afflictions, Irish prisons are preparing for Purell parties. Prisoners don't have access to alcoholic gels now, but they will if an outbreak begins:
"Prisoners here have shown ingenuity in the past—so if and when the authorities bring the raw materials in for them, they do not pass up the opportunity," said a senior officer."This gel is practically pure alcohol and the rumours circulating are that it can be diluted with fruit, water and sugar to give it a reasonable taste while retaining the buzz."
2
I remember similar attempts from elementary school in the 1950s. I am the oldest, and when I brought something home from school like chicken pox or measles or mumps my mom always tried to make sure my younger sisters caught it from me. Same logic. And some mothers did try to intentionally expose their children. . .
3
Mmmm... purell cocktail. You don't even have to clean the glass after you drink it!
As for "swine flu parties" dumb idea. But exposing kids to chicken pox early is a good idea. Chicken pox in kids is barely a nuisance, but for adults it can be deadly.
As for "swine flu parties" dumb idea. But exposing kids to chicken pox early is a good idea. Chicken pox in kids is barely a nuisance, but for adults it can be deadly.
4
Never underestimate the stupidity of parents, especially when they start spouting that "my kid can grow up to be anything, even the President" bullshit. That kid is on a fast track to middle management no matter what they say.
5
The swine flu party is an internet rumor. It was dispelled on TBTL months ago in a little segment they call: "Shut it down America!"
6
@Brendan, you're lacking a link for the swine-flu quote.
@5, debunked internet rumors are unfortunately not permanently branded thusly, and continue to circulate. No doubt many credulous parents will hear of this and think "Wow, what a great idea!"
@5, debunked internet rumors are unfortunately not permanently branded thusly, and continue to circulate. No doubt many credulous parents will hear of this and think "Wow, what a great idea!"
7
Can't they just add something to hand sanitizers that makes them unpleasant to ingest? From what I've read, they already do this to ethanol to keep people from ingesting it.
8
Prisoners are ingenius. They make a wine called Pruno from scraps of apples and oranges, ketchup, sugar, etc., taken from the mess.
9
It depends. The ones at highest risk from H1N1 are those with highly functioning immune systems, mostly young adults - and pregnant women.
But I wouldn't recommend exposing oneself to the live virus when you can get an inert viral load from a flu shot instead.
Will it kill you? Nah, while it is more virulent, it isn't that fatal if treated properly.
Now, go back to washing your hands with hot (not scalding) water and soap (not antibiotic) and you'll be fine.
But I wouldn't recommend exposing oneself to the live virus when you can get an inert viral load from a flu shot instead.
Will it kill you? Nah, while it is more virulent, it isn't that fatal if treated properly.
Now, go back to washing your hands with hot (not scalding) water and soap (not antibiotic) and you'll be fine.
10
(oh, caveat, I got my standard flu shot today, but I probably already had H1N1 since some friends went to PAX and the YDA conferences and got it)
12
@7,
I'm surprised it's not already made with denatured alcohol. Or are prisoners desperate enough to consume that?
I'm surprised it's not already made with denatured alcohol. Or are prisoners desperate enough to consume that?
14
Another good resource to counter the hysteria of the antivax liars:
http://skepticdad.wordpress.com/
http://skepticdad.wordpress.com/
15
An easier link is just to go to the NIH directly at www.nih.gov and read the real skinny, or just use PubMed.
16
So what exactly prevents Purell from using methanol in their gel? Or even ethyl alcohol with a noisome denaturing agent?
17
@16: Methanol is rather dangerous -- getting a bit in your eye can cause blindness. Butanol and isopropyl alchohol are rather toxic. If you are going ship a product containing an alcohol that humans are going to be in close contact with, ethanol is the safest choice.
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