Pregnancy
Discussion Title: Has your family had swine flu?
Created by: Meghan
Created on: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 4:26pm.
Created by: Meghan
Created on: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 4:26pm.
Has anyone had swine flu? I have two toddlers at home and I am dreading us getting it. If you or your kids have had it -- what was it like? Is it really "not that bad," as I have heard in the news?
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Replied: 10/16/2009 12:52pm.
The swine flu has been blown out of proportion by the media. Both my children and I tested positive for it. Both the kids took Tamiflu and were better within a few days. Because Tamiflu is in such short supply I was unable to fill a prescription for myself. I have been ill for about a week now, fevers range from low 99.0 and as high as 103.3. It feels like the regular flu, but to a slightly lesser degree. The best thing to do is get lots of rest, use Tylenol, or motrin to reduce fever, or something like Nyquil to alleviate the symptoms such as cough, and to help you sleep.
Speaking with the doctor she too agreed that the media hype has made this strain of the flu seem much worse than it really is. Most who have life threatening complications from the flu have underlying medical conditions that complicate treatment.
With toddlers you have a reason to be concerned because children under 4 can be hit particularly hard by H1N1. Take regular precautions such as washing hands regularly, and staying away from those who are sick. At the first sign of fever get to the doctor within 24 hours so they can prescribe an anti-viral. If caught soon enough, it can be treated with medication. Also check in to getting your children, and yourself vaccinated. Good luck.
Replied: 10/16/2009 6:23pm.
SnglDad, here's some virtual chicken soup, as it seems you have been on top of the other appropriate responses to viral illness. Hope you are feeling better soon.
Replied: 10/17/2009 8:46am.
Thanks Acitez, I am up fairly early this morning, but feel well rested. My fever has finally broken and I feel as if I actually have some stored up energy. Other than a lingering cough, and facial stubble I am feeling much better. Thanks again.
Replied: 10/17/2009 10:28am.
Also want to thank you for your excellent post. Did you get the fever before the rest of the symptoms? My grandson was just born Wed and my son and his wife are so worried about the flu. They both got 2 flu shots but we are hearing that the shots do not cover all of the many strains of flu, just the major ones.
Replied: 10/17/2009 10:51am.
Keep a close watch on the cough. I may have had swine flu in the spring, I for sure had pneumonia in June. I've heard that swine flu sometimes precedes pneumonia.
Replied: 10/17/2009 11:20am.
My daughter had the swine flu a couple of weeks ago. We were able to get her tamiflu right away and that seemed to really help with the symptoms. She was still sick for about a week. It seemed a little less severe than I have seen with other flu in the past but it just spread so quickly around her school.
Marti
http://www.familyeducation.com/home/
Replied: 10/21/2009 7:55pm.
hopefully, my family will be safe from it. I hope it does not get any worse than it has been already. You can't call it a nuisance because people have lost loved ones, but I just hope it does not become anything more than it has been. We just cannot take another destabilizing event in this country right now. It would be tragic on so many levels.
Replied: 10/22/2009 2:44am.
2Xstepmom, Congratulations on the newest family member! Sorry for the delay in responding. The fever did not hit first, but it didn’t take long to appear after my initial symptoms. I noticed I wasn’t feeling well, and felt like something was coming on. I came home from work and was too tired to do anything, and couldn’t get warm, by bedtime I was feeling like I was too warm so I took my temp, and discovered I was in the 102 range. My youngest was already sick with it so even with all the precautions we took; I was kind of expecting it. The next day, since I mostly work alone, I went to work and tried to ignore it. By the afternoon I got a call that my oldest was having symptoms. Long story short, we both ended up in the doctor’s office that day.
From my understanding the flu shots usually cover the three most seen strains from the previous year's flu season. By doing that, they cover the majority, but it will not protect against all strains of the flu.
Replied: 10/22/2009 8:46am.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I have heard that Tamiflu can actually make you feel worse. SnglDad, is that the antiviral you took?
Replied: 10/22/2009 9:22pm.
Meghan, I did not use Tamiflu this time around. It is in such short supply, but I was able to get it for both my kids. A few years ago I used Tamiflu and symptoms were gone within two days. This year both the kids used Tamiflu and both were feeling better within a a day or so. I have always had good results with Tamiflu.