Bird Flu

PregsMcSnoozalot

Ok, so DH has tried to calm me down (between laughing hysterically at me...can I wring his neck please?), but I'm all flipped out.

This morning there was a hawk sitting on our fence and DH was like "come out and look at this hawk!  I bet we can get close to it if we walk slow!"  So we're inching toward the hawk, and it's doing this weird thing opening and closing it's mouth.  Then we get about 10 feet away and it starts sneezing.  

I'm like "it's sneezing!  BIRD FLU!" and run into the house.  

Now there has been some extensive googling and crying fits because you CAN get bird flu from an infected bird sneezing in your face.  I realize it wasn't exactly in my face because it was 10 feet away, but the wind could totally have blown the saliva/mucus at me and then I could have breathed it in.  Right??

Bird flu kills 60% of people infected, and I'd imagine a greater percentage of pregnant women because we are immunocompromised.  I have not had a flu shot in about 8 years  

Now I feel like I'm just going to have to wait and see if I'm dying for the next 2-7 days (the incubation period).  

All I want to do is sit and do some hysterical crying.  Have I gone over the edge?  Could this flip-out be attributed to the ridiculous amount of estrogen surging through my veins or is this a realistic concern?  I've attached an estrogen graph for reference  

So, is this funny (as DH seems to think) or would you be worried??

rach1285

Don't worry... I make funny faces before I sneeze too! The poor guy prob just had allergies ;-)

ETA. I from what I read after looking it up, transition seems most likely from droppings. Drinking or swimming in contaminated water gives you the highest risk, so don't drink the bird bath water!

PregsMcSnoozalot

Hmm, the graph didn't attach....let's try again.

Tbags83

I'm going to vote for going over the edge on this one.... In the kindest possible way of course If it helps, he probably was making warning noises at you, not sneezing, but I wasn't there so I don't know. Also, most birds with the bird flu are water fowl/domesticated birds not predators like hawks. Deep breath!

Big+Lil

I remember when the bird flu hit hard, maybe 2004? I was teaching and this student had 89 absences or something ridiculous. When I asked the family why, they told me they thought it was bird flu related since they lived near a chicken farm.

I like that story, and it reminds me that it was mainly chicken related. I think you're safe, and you made me smile.

Big+Lil

Also, I dare you to cross post on the first tri board to feed into new worries.

cakebatter27

This made me laugh. It's literally the little things that set us over the edge now.

I think you'll be okay :-)

PregsMcSnoozalot

cakebatter27 said:

It's literally the little things that set us over the edge now.  

@cakebatter27

So true.  My last meltdown was over DH's failure to put the correct combination of chemicals in the pool last weekend when we were having a pool party in two days.

There was crying and screaming with that one!  And I pretty much never ever raise my voice.  Not my finest moment  

ghostof5letters

You've lost your mind

PregsMcSnoozalot

ghostof5letters said:

You've lost your mind

Yeah, that is my concern...well, besides imminent bird flu death    ~:>

ghostof5letters

You need to research the velocity of hawk sneezes and the speed/direction of the wind in relation to where you were standing.

Seriously, I'm going to giggle about this with my friends for the next few hours.

PregsMcSnoozalot

ghostof5letters said:

You need to research the velocity of hawk sneezes and the speed/direction of the wind in relation to where you were standing. Seriously, I'm going to giggle about this with my friends for the next few hours.

@ghostof5letters

Actually I HAVE been thinking about the wind!  It wasn't too windy, but it was definitely going in a hawk to my nosewardly direction     And the hawk sneezed 3 or 4 times, so that's a significant mucosal output!   

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Hopefully I ran away fast enough that I got out of there before the wind blew it over to me.

Also, I can put you and your friends in touch with my DH, you guys can laugh at me together  

8-}

pantherRN

Did someone teleport me back 30 weeks to 1st Tri?

You've gone over the edge.

PregsMcSnoozalot

pantherRN said:

Did someone teleport me back 30 weeks to 1st Tri? You've gone over the edge.

@pantherRN  It actually makes me feel much better that you think so!    

And yeah, it does feel pretty first tri crazy, doesn't it?  I was thinking that too.  

DH thinks it's because we're so close to having baby in hand now that I'm starting to have the crazy "my baby!" hormonally induced anxiety.

A chilling glimpse of things to come?  

iris427

Helpful life hint: animals carry diseases. Don't get all up in their business if you're just going to freak out about germs after.

TallMomma29

FWIW, I don't think the human flu vaccine would protect you from bird flu anyway, right?! Also, to make this morbid, I am pretty sure your chances of dying in a freak car accident are way higher than the chances you can contract bird flu from a hawk that sneezes in your general direction ;-). (That said, I am terrified of going into bodies of water in the south bc I am convinced I will attract a brain eating amoeba... So I would probably panic a bit too ;-)) Your post is hilarious! Definitely over the edge, but funny and it sounds like you already realize you've gone a little crazytown!

chevronseven

TallMomma29 said:

FWIW, I don't think the human flu vaccine would protect you from bird flu anyway, right?! Also, to make this morbid, I am pretty sure your chances of dying in a freak car accident are way higher than the chances you can contract bird flu from a hawk that sneezes in your general direction ;-). (That said, I am terrified of going into bodies of water in the south bc I am convinced I will attract a brain eating amoeba... So I would probably panic a bit too ;-))

Your post is hilarious! Definitely over the edge, but funny and it sounds like you already realize you've gone a little crazytown!

My SIL lives in Florida and she won't let her kids go in lakes because of the amoebas. I can understand it there but I suggested they come visit us in Iowa over the summer and we'd go boating, and she was still completely opposed to it. It doesn't get hot enough for long enough here for the amoebas to live!

Also, OP, a sneeze does not equal the flu. Animals sneeze all the time. Light sensitivity, allergies, the common cold....

PregsMcSnoozalot

iris427 said:

Helpful life hint: animals carry diseases. Don't get all up in their business if you're just going to freak out about germs after.

This is totally true!  Part of the crying fits were devoted to being mad at myself for going out to look at the damn hawk.   Stupid allure of nature!

marsalisails

jessa8907 said:

ghostof5letters said:

You've lost your mind

This. Also, why didn't you have a flu shot in the 1st Tri if things like this worry you so much?

This exactly. A) you're fine, get vaccinated. The strains may be different, but it's better than nothing.

jnnfrrose6

Do birds have mucus?

PregsMcSnoozalot

Apparently so!

kwh33ls

ghostof5letters said:

You need to research the velocity of hawk sneezes and the speed/direction of the wind in relation to where you were standing. Seriously, I'm going to giggle about this with my friends for the next few hours.

All I can think of is "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" 

BoraBoraBaby

This is pretty funny, but mostly because I could see myself reacting the same way. Many times throughout my pregnancy, Google told me that I'm likely to get very sick or even die. Deep breaths! Almost there

cuntasaurusrex

I just can't.

Big+Lil

@TallMomma29‌ they have had the amoebas in the Colorado River in AZ too, where we boat all the time. I worry so much about my daughter getting one!

Big+Lil

GTKY: Irrational Fears edition

RKSnyder

Oh, this just reminds me of how much fun we can have as labor buddies, @PregsMcSnoozalot‌! I think you are fine but I totally understand irrational emotional outbursts right now! I've had quite a few of my own and when my DH laughs at them it just tends to make me overreact even more!

bewilderingstar

And to think the first thought to run through my head would be, "Aw the poor hawk!! It's got ze allergeeees!"

TallMomma29

Big+Lil said:

@TallMomma29‌ they have had the amoebas in the Colorado River in AZ too, where we boat all the time. I worry so much about my daughter getting one!

-----

Ahh! I thought it was just a southern thing!! I know it's still very unlikely, I just don't want anything to eat my brain. ;-)


@PregsMcSnoozalot‌, you wrote this mostly in a joking tone right? (Like you really were worried but you can see the humor in it .... "isn't it funny that I thought I might get bird flu?? But I totally couldn't right? .... Right?!). I mean.. You attached a graph!

PregsMcSnoozalot

@tallmomma29

Yeah  

...while my husband was laughing at me I would periodically stop crying and start laughing with him, then cry again that he had made me go out to look at the damn bird, then laugh that I ran away yelling "bird flu!", then cry because bird flu is scary, and so on.  

I'm feeling much less insane about it today, and have stopped planning my funeral, etc.    

Thanks for telling me I was being nuts, ladies, sometimes a girl's gotta hear that!

tourqeyes

Ahahahaha. Thank you for this.

tourqeyes

Ps - I saw on the other post you have less than two weeks until an outside baby. Why are they taking him out so soon again??

PregsMcSnoozalot

@tourqeyes

I have a PITA placenta.  It was a complete previa that turned into vasa previa, which is even worse than placenta previa, AKA super bad news.  

Vasa previa babies are usually delivered at 35 weeks, but it turns out that our baby's exposed vessels are not actually covering the OS as in true vasa previa, but are still close to it, so they are letting him cook an extra week (June 13th is 36 wks), but watching me like a hawk.  Cervix is still long and closed (4.5 cm!) and my frequent BH have actually slowed down a LOT since I've been on more restricted bedrest.

I don't know how much you guys want to hear about vasa previa, but basically, if I go into labor or break my water it's a life and death emergency for the baby, so they are obviously wanting to avoid that.  

36 weeks is the point at which they declare him safer out than in, so that's when they're doin' it  

unaveragejane

PregsMcSnoozalot said:

@tourqeyes

I have a PITA placenta.  It was a complete previa that turned into vasa previa, which is even worse than placenta previa, AKA super bad news.  

Vasa previa babies are usually delivered at 35 weeks, but it turns out that our baby's exposed vessels are not actually covering the OS as in true vasa previa, but are still close to it, so they are letting him cook an extra week (June 13th is 36 wks), but watching me like a hawk.  Cervix is still long and closed (4.5 cm!) and my frequent BH have actually slowed down a LOT since I've been on more restricted bedrest.

I don't know how much you guys want to hear about vasa previa, but basically, if I go into labor or break my water it's a life and death emergency for the baby, so they are obviously wanting to avoid that.  

36 weeks is the point at which they declare him safer out than in, so that's when they're doin' it  

I came back to check and make sure you're not feeling the sniffles today (har har), but now I'm all worried about you running around in the yard with an emergency waiting to happen! Ack!

BBColt78

PregsMcSnoozalot said:

@tourqeyes

I have a PITA placenta.  It was a complete previa that turned into vasa previa, which is even worse than placenta previa, AKA super bad news.  

Vasa previa babies are usually delivered at 35 weeks, but it turns out that our baby's exposed vessels are not actually covering the OS as in true vasa previa, but are still close to it, so they are letting him cook an extra week (June 13th is 36 wks), but watching me like a hawk.  Cervix is still long and closed (4.5 cm!) and my frequent BH have actually slowed down a LOT since I've been on more restricted bedrest.

I don't know how much you guys want to hear about vasa previa, but basically, if I go into labor or break my water it's a life and death emergency for the baby, so they are obviously wanting to avoid that.  

36 weeks is the point at which they declare him safer out than in, so that's when they're doin' it  

Vasa previa sucks. Did you also say that the placenta is deteriorating too or did I make that up?

Glad your chances of bird flu are slim to none. Good thing you got that flu shot
:-/

PregsMcSnoozalot

@BBColt78  Placenta is calcifying, which is a sign of "maturing"/aging.  It's just little flecks of calcium at this point, so docs aren't worried about it at all.  I'm the one worrying about it, of course  

Didn't get the flu shot, which I totally regret now that a bird has sneezed on me, haha......but I did just get the Tdap.  Twisted Dh and mom's arms into getting the Tdap, too  

BBColt78

PregsMcSnoozalot said:

@BBColt78  Placenta is calcifying, which is a sign of "maturing"/aging.  It's just little flecks of calcium at this point, so docs aren't worried about it at all.  I'm the one worrying about it, of course  

Didn't get the flu shot, which I totally regret now that a bird has sneezed on me, haha......but I did just get the Tdap.  Twisted Dh and mom's arms into getting the Tdap, too  

Ugh, I need to think about those shots for people coming to stay with us. My MIL and GMIL will each stay with us for a week.