H1N1-How do you tell?

[still_me]

So, it has been three weeks that I've been sick. The runny nose and chest congestion are gone, but I still have a lingering cough. I am also sooo tired. I don't mean not enough sleep tired. I mean if I sit down I'll fall asleep. I had a fever, sore body, and a sore throat. DS2 was the same way.

DS1 is sick too. He had a runny nose, and then he seemed to get better. Now, he has a fever on and off and a horrid dry cough. He is tired, but is okay to go to school. He has just been going to bed at 6:30 instead of 7.

I don't usually even give a second thought to what has been going on, and I am not one to go overboard on stuff. This is just all weird.

[tifttu]

I'm not sure, but we had the same thing. It was a little over 3wks before I felt human again. As DH put it, he just felt a breath behind all the time. He came down with it right after he got flumist for the regular flu, but doesn't know if it was related or not. He was in Korea at the time. I got it the day after he left home.

[QuiltyConscience]

I don't know. Our Doc told us that they weren't bothering to check anymore, since so many people had it. ( we called, but we didn't go in)

We had some sort of crud for about two weeks amongst us, and it was about what you are describing, runny nose, congestion, cough, fever, achyness and tired..
No intestinal fireworks though.. thank goodness.

As far as I can tell, and what our doc said, we probably had swine flu. It was thankfully, anti-climatic.

[still_me]

tifttu, I completely understand the whole "one breath behind" thing.


No intestinal fireworks here either. I would have probably crawled into a hole and gave up if that was with us too. At one point DH asked me if I was okay, and I about lost it. lol Of course, it was right before my period too.

If this is swine flu (and part of me hopes it is/was) then it was definitely anti-climatic. I only hope that it was just so I don't have to worry too much with the winter coming. We'll never know though.

[QuiltyConscience]

Yeah, me too. I hope we had it and now we're done with it. It wasn't too bad, but I sure don't want to do it again.

FRom the CDC site: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm
How do I know if I have the flu?

You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

* fever *
* cough
* sore throat
* runny or stuffy nose
* body aches
* headache
* chills
* fatigue
* sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

we didn't have any of the emergency signals:
What are the emergency warning signs?

In children

* Fast breathing or trouble breathing
* Bluish skin color
* Not drinking enough fluids
* Not waking up or not interacting
* Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
* Fever with a rash

In adults

* Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
* Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
* Sudden dizziness
* Confusion
* Severe or persistent vomiting

[QuiltyConscience]

From the same site
How long should I stay home if I’m sick?

CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other things you have toPhoto of family do and no one else can do for you. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®.) You should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.
What should I do while I’m sick?

Stay away from others as much as possible to keep from making them sick. If you must leave home, for example to get medical care, wear a facemask if you have one, or cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. And wash your hands often to keep from spreading flu to others. CDC has information on “Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home” on its website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm


We stayed in for several days. DH took off two days from work ( TH and a Fri, and we stayed in that weekend too)

As for what to do when sick, I highly recommend laying on the couch and watching tv to amuse oneself and pitifully sipping chicken soup and cold sprite or hot tea.

DH went to his old stand by cure-all, whiskey, honey and lemon. It always seems to fix most whatever he has. I only resort to that if I can't sleep.

[Meredith]

Oh my God, did I have the intestinal fireworks a couple weeks ago. It was dreadful. Fever, vomiting, the runs, aches, runny nose, sore throat - I had the works. I'm so glad the vomiting didn't last long. The runs stuck around for a while, though. I hated it. I had sulfur burps, too. Ick.

I didn't bother going to the doctor, so I have no idea if I had H1N1. Jett brought it home from school, and lucky me was the only one who got the digestive side effect. Yay.

Dax has had a nasty runny nose for over a week now - no fever, but he's cranky as heck. I'm so sick of having snot boob after he nurses.

[3girls2luv]

DD1 had and she was all better after about a week. No one in our house got it thank goodness. Most people will do ok with the swine flu but you do have watch for the things that pp posted because those are the symptoms you have to really worry about. Be sure to use good hand hygeine and cover you cough. The other thing some people may not remember to do is to change your tooth brush after you have been sick. Also you should change out your hand towel in your bath room frequently since some people will also use it to dry their face or wipe their mouth.

[still_me]

Well, heck. I bet we did have it then.

Mer, lol @ snot boob. I miss those days.

3girls, good reminders. Thankfully, DH is a toothbrush freak and switches ours out every 3-4 weeks. lol I switched them out this time though.

[3girls2luv]

I'm a tooth brush freak too. ;)

[JudyJudyJudy]

DH went to his old stand by cure-all, whiskey, honey and lemon.
I think we're related. That's what my daddy always gave us.


Also you should change out your hand towel in your bath room frequently since some people will also use it to dry their face or wipe their mouth.
This is one thing that I can't get Jacob out of the habit of doing!


As for the emergency signals, I often have these:

* Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
* Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
* Sudden dizziness

so I might not take the symptoms seriously enough.

A formerly healthy teacher/coach died in S. Central Georgia recently. I wonder how long he had warning signals before going to the doctor.

[tifttu]

We didn't have intestinal fireworks, but "goo poo" was the norm for a few days.

[QuiltyConscience]

I think we're related. That's what my daddy always gave us.


It wouldn't surprise me if we were related. Half of Alabama is some kind of kin to me, and we had a lot of distant family over in Georgia too.

I was kind of irritated that I couldn't use my homemade Nyquil recipe in college. lol. It wasn't that I even liked the stuff, but it really worked well. (Christian School)

[JudyJudyJudy]

It wouldn't surprise me if we were related. Half of Alabama is some kind of kin to me, and we had a lot of distant family over in Georgia too.
You know what they say about the South. ;)

I was kind of irritated that I couldn't use my homemade Nyquil recipe in college. lol. It wasn't that I even liked the stuff, but it really worked well. (Christian School)
I went to a Christian college, too, but that didn't stop a lot of people. :p

[Now_serving_number4]

I felt like that and did test + for type A flu several weeks ago.