Be honest, are any of you stock piling because of swine flu, and if so what?

[Bumperslucious]

I can't believe I am starting a swine flu thread! Anyway, just wondering if anyone is stockpiling, in fact I know some of you are.

Can you give me rational reasons as to why I should and what sort of stuff? My freezer isn't very good so were I to stock pile (hypothetically so to speak) what would be good items?

[flowerybeanbag]

Really? Are people stockpiling? Blimey!

[ilovetochat]

you can get food delivered, i am ill with a viral infection/possible swine flu and need lots of tissues, toilet roll, ibuprofen, calpol for dd, wetwipes, rehydrant sachets.

[BananaFruitBat]

Paracetamol & Ibuprofen.

Might get in some Beechams All-in-One too.

[ElfOnTheTopShelf]

I have't stock piled anything food/drink wise, one thing I did was to get tablets though, as the supermarkets/chemists dont allow the sale of too many medicines to one person, so if you're sick and you have children of different age ranges (plus adults) it can take a few trips to get the right medicines iyswim

I have got the following in my medicine cabinet:

Calpol
Nurofen for children
Dyrolite (sp!)
Beechams cough medicine
Nurofen
Lemsips
Immodium
Sudafed
Vicks vapour rub
Cool and Soothes

And made sure the batteries are working in my themometer

[elliott]

well I've been reading the govnts current planning assumptions which suggest a worst case scenario of 12% of the workforce absent at a time. If we can't manage to keep basic food supplies going on 88% of our workforce then we're in trouble!

[pasturesnew]

no, am assuming that online supermarkets would continue to deliver if we were all ill in bed.

[scienceteacher]

Swine flu only lasts a few days though, doesn't it?

I know it can be hard to get going, but after the worst days, you could probably ut an online shop together.

You could also call upon friends and neighbours.

[Bumperslucious]

Ah, I hadn't though of medicines. I'm not being paranoid, honest! Just wondering if I should be.

Might start stockpiling drugs...

I did think the reasoning behind stockpiling food was in case everyone in Sainsburys got it and there was no food

[Rindercella]

Nope, it hadn't occurred to me.

[Bumperslucious]

Having had one week last month where DH, DD and I all had D&V I can see how it can be a real PITA if the whole family come down with an illness at once. I believe we had no clean towels, sheets or tea towels that week .

I was just reading in the Guardian online that the worst case scenario was 65,000 dying from SF and best case 3,500, though in actual fact 21,000 people died of flu during the winter of 1999-2000 due to normal flu and no-one really batted an eyelid. Interesting.

[ElfOnTheTopShelf]

the only reason I went to get medicines was because both me and DD were poorly the other day, as were my neighbours, my parents, and my DH was working away. I dragged myself to the shops and thought I'd get all the medicines we'd need that I'd ran out of, and was only allowed to buy two things.
So am all stocked up now - worth having in anyway (obv if locked away!)

[BakewellTarts]

I do have a Zombie food store, as if I'm ill I'm not sure I would be able (last time I had flu I couldn't move) or find the time (if nursing the rest of the family) to put in an online order and so prefer to be prepared.

I have a selection of tins, pasta, rice, UHT milk and water. My rule of thumb is that we only have a zombie store of something we already use and I cycle them back into my normal storecupboard so nothing goes past its sell by.

[Drusilla]

I am that anyone is actually stockpiling anything?! I think it's going to take more then swine flu for the likes of Tesco to be unable to trade...

[ElfOnTheTopShelf]

medicine is different though, the only reason I got some was due to the fact you cant do a one shop / one delivery to get everything you need, and it isn't about shops not trading, its about shops refusing to sell due to reasons on how much medicine can be sold to one person iyswim

[ShrinkingViolet]

I bought ceraeal bars, spaghetti hoops and baked beasn the other day, and put them away on a high-up shelf for "just in case". Sensible idea to stock up on the different paracetamol-type stuff we needs as well, as ElfOnTheTopShelf says, it can take a few trips to collect together the different age appropriate stuff. I'll probably bake and freeze a couple of loaves of bread, and have some pre-prepared meals in the freezer too.
So, only a little bit more organised than I try to be am anyway

[ShrinkingViolet]

cereal and beans - I can spell, honestly

[TDiddyIsaMan]

I did earlier this year but then said sod it and used up the stock.

what is the point given that we are all going to get it. Actually my asthmatic DD6 is being treated as a suspect case and other 2DC have worse asthma so they are on the riskier end of the spectrum. And their school has had several cases so it is out there and we can't avaoid it.

Just hoping that it doesn't mutate over come back stronger over the winter.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Well okay I'll admit that for the past six weeks I have been buying up the limit of paracetamol and ibuprofen plus children's meds.

Buy soft loo rolls in case you get D&V. Tissues obviously and generic disinfectant.

Oh and you might want to add disinfecting all door handles and surfaces to your recovery plan.

[lisad123]

nope, and trying not to panic tbh. We are all likely to get it, although we have been lucky so far.
Stock piling really?

[TDiddyIsaMan]

really- the duration of the illness is relatively short. EIther you will have it mild or it will knock you down. Food is not the issue. If you have it bad your biggest issue will be getting to the tamiflu. I was home alone with DD who was/is badly affected. Couldn't take her into surgery or phramacist so had to wait in the car alone outside.

Also, I think you want to get it now before it mutates into something much harsher later?

[DebiNewberry]

No, unless you live in a remote place, or by yourself possibly, bloody ridiculous to be stockpiling.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

I havent stockpiled but did take it as a bit of a wake up call to make sure we have an appropriate stock of medicines etc. I put together a box (out of reach) of all the different bits - calpol, nurofen etc as you can only buy limited amounts in one go. This isnt actually specifically for swine flu but general bugs as I realised we were not really that organised if anything did happen.

I also bought cream for bites and stings, plasters and eye drops so more of an organisational thing than anything else which in my opinion is a good thing.

Food - either it will be mild or you will be too ill to eat presumably? I made sure I have general jars of baby food / tins of spaghetti in case I get it but the children dont - so they can be fed easily - but again this was more of a wake up call in case of general illness.

What I did make sure I had plenty of was wine and chocolate. And I strictly followed advice to rotate this back into the general food just in case it went out of date

[alittlebitfat]

Bumper... sadly probably cos most of them were elderly that it wasnt highly publicised, when young people are dying from it, it will make headlines

[IotasCat]

Yes I've been stocking up on paracetamol and ibuprofen as well ( and tissues)