In New York City there has been a panic among ordinary people as the Swine Flu has spread throughout the five counties. Its spread has caused several deaths; as of this writing there have been fifteen. The city is not alone in this state of panic, for the World Health Organization has upgraded the status of the disease to a six, which means its spread is worldwide though its wallop continues to be described as mild or slim pickins.

Another casualty in NYC has been the schools, over 40 of them were closed temporarily by the powers that be to be disinfected because a cluster of infected people had been found in those schools. Thus it seemed that the disease was moving through the city like a giant ball flooring everything in its path.

I became worried about the disease after the deaths because the people were similar to me in demographics and health; about the same age and had chronic diseases. I have several underlying conditions, though mild, they are chronic and the fact that they are upper respiratory diseases sent alarm bells off in my head. I was inflamed with fear.

Hence I made the rounds of the local emergency room when I felt a tightness in my chest accompanied by shortness of breath. And when I got to the emergency room it was like a scene from a battlefield, for it was crowded with people who looked like humanity had socked them in the face; there wasn't sporadic coughing, but a symphony of coughing which filled the room bursting at the seems with people.

Some of the patients in the emergancy room were wearing surgical masks to keep out the big, bad germs. I surveyed the the situation and came to the conclusion that I wasn't sick enough to be there and that if I stayed any longer I would get sick. I went home scared and not sure what ailed me.

However I went back to the emergency room several days later and was given a chest X Ray and told I had Bronchitis. I was given an antibiotic to kill the bacteria and knowing that it couldn't kill any viral infections I requested Tamiflu as I might have flu since no one tested for it. The doctor refused because I didn't have any symptoms and they sure wasn't going to test for any.

Two days later I went to my doctor and she looked at my entire medical record in the system and said I met the protocol for Tamiflu according to the US Centers For Disease Control; Guidelines which she didn't elaborate about; I surmised that because of my age, chronic diseases with one of them being Asthma ;a possible trigger for something more sinister like viral pneumonia if I caught the Swine Flu.

I asked her about the side effects of Tamiflu and she whipped out her Blackberry and keyed in the name of the drug. "Oh a rash..she said absent minded ..you may behave strangely. She didn't elaborate about this "strangely" and I didn't ask questions; but I knew she was talking about some major psychiatric problem and I was going to be on the ready and march by reading the insert of the Drug Manufacturer or Pharmacy.

Tamiflu is an antiviral drug used in the treatment of viruses and has been around for awhile; it was used to prevent and treat the Avian Flu. It comes in different doses and it is at the discretion of the physician which dose is prescribed. There has been clinical research and medical articles written in Medical Journals, so it is not some fly by night experimental drug just rolled out on the market.

I filled the prescription and looked at the insert about possible side effects, sure enough it had a caveat about possible psychiatric side effects. My dosage for the medication was 75mg tablets, twice a day for five days. I awaited patiently for any side affects, but all I felt was as if I had drank 3 cans of beer on an empty stomach; not intoxicated but not alert enough to drive a car.

After I finished the medication I was somewhat confused because I really didn't know if I had Swine Flu or not, for it seems that testing alive people is not a priority and/or there are so many people in NYC that the health care system was stretched in May. There is a report now that the emergency rooms are no longer crowded with people who have Swine Flu symptoms even though several people have died.

For the average person trying to navigate in this sea of disease and uncertainty it may be helpful to do the following:

1. Have a personal physican/clinic
2. Ask questions about any drug you are prescibed
3. Always read the insert of any prescription you fill
4. Report any side affects