H1n1

lmf64

New Member
DOOD Aftoonoon. (Good afternoon) I have been informed that I have the H1N1. The phone nurse at the hospital said that it's too early for the regular flu, so they are assuming (not testing, it's too expensive) that anyone who presents with the flu-like symptoms I have are infected with the swine flu. GREAT! argh I have a niece and nephew who are high risk (due to ages, 1&3) and sister in law who recently had a knee replacement and is a diabetic, all of whom I've spent time around since I began to feel like I might be coming down with a head cold. I began running a temperature yesterday afternoon, but started to feel crummy on Tuesday. Non-productive cough, sinuses that ran non-stop (they quit that last night, thank god my nose couldn't have taken much more), achey, head full of crud and then low grade temp (highest 101.3). So my question, to all you medical type people, is it really too early for the regular flu? or could I possibly just have a cold?
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
No idea about timing of seasonal flu -- but hope you feel better soon!

My kids all got some kind of flu bug last Spring, but we have no idea which one it was either, so I'm not sure if I should bother getting my at-risk kid the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. He gets the standard flu shot each Fall, though. It's possible it was neither of those viruses, too. I wish there was a quick and easy way to know for sure... surely there is a titer test, but it's probably not widely available and probably expensive.

Anyway, feel better soon!
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Sounds like a regular cold to me. Seems irresponsible for the phone nurse to suggest it's the N1H1 without even seeing you in person, let alone not get a test done!

When I had the flu, I was out of commission for almost an entire week.

I had aches and pains, congestion that hit my chest almost overnight, and it felt like a machete was ripping through my head 24/7 - advil and tylenol could barely make a dent in the pain I felt. I had a fever, chills, hot sweats, cold sweats, and I was mentally delirious. I barely made it out of bed in time to the bathroom, I was thirsty and had a dry throat, but no desire to drink anything, barely ate. It was the absolute worst sickness I have ever had in my life.

For about a week, I've been feeling like I'm coming down with something, so I've upped my intake of Vitamin C and tonight I'm going to put vicks on my feet - hopefully I will knock it out.

I sure hope you're feeling better. Just in case you are coming down with the flu, any flu, take care of yourself and keep away from others.
 

smallworld

Moderator
My understanding is that it is too early for seasonal flu and any suspected flu cases right now are H1N1. I have also heard that some folks who have the H1N1 are presenting with lower fevers than are typical with the flu (in the 101 to 102 range). Having said that, there are a lot of flu-like illnesses out there right now that are not H1N1 and are just plain old crummy viruses. The only way to know for sure is to have the nasal swab test.

The thing to remember with any flu-like illnesses is to immediately seek medical attention if you seem to be getting better and then suddenly take a turn for the worse (for example, if the fever goes away and then returns).

Hope you feel better soon.
 

smallworld

Moderator
gcvmom, the recommendation from the CDC is that if your children were not tested for H1N1 at the time they were ill, they should have the vaccine because there is no assurance they have immunity from the virus.
 
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