Hi - before I ask, if you really just had a bad cold or the "stomach flu" then please don't answer. I am looking for experiences of those who have recently had the real flu (influena A, B etc.) as either diagnosed by a doctor or with symptoms so severe there was no mistaking the diagnosis. So if you recently had the flu:
1. What were your symptoms
2. What was the progression and severity of your symptoms over time (i.e. did you feel a bit under the weather for a day or two and then half-dead for several days or were you knocked on you butt from the beginning)?
3. When did you start to feel better?
4. When did you consider yourself not contagious?
5. What did you do to treat your symptoms and did that help?
6. Did it spread to your family?
7. Would you have done anything differently about treating yourself or your family?
Thanks for your responses - I have had relatively mild "flu-like" symptoms for a day and am trying to guage my chances of this turning into the full-blown flu vs. just being a fairly mild virus and figure out what obligations I need to cancel or re-schedule this week so that I don't spread this to any of my tutoring students, etc.
Go get tested now if you think it might be the flu, you can start on Tama-flu and the symptoms will be much much milder.
My whole family got it over Christmas, and what other people answered is pretty much what we experienced
my younger son got hammered with it. it started with a fever of 101.6, and progressed to a blinding headache, agonizing sore throat and uncontrollable chills.
he went from 'not so good' to flat out in less than 24 hours. i lit into him right away with oscillococcinum, sage tea, garlic soup, warm blankets and cool washcloths. the worst was over in about 24 hours, but it was a bad 24 hours. he stayed weak and sick for about another 2 days, then slowly came back to normal. all told he was sick for about a week.
we also treated symptoms with OTC meds, sinus headache and sore throat medicine and good old tylenol.
we didn't do anything other than normal precautions ie wash hands and kept him to his own pillows and blankets. my husband got sick too. i didn't.
khairete
S.
One day one I was just so tired. Fell asleep when I sat down.
Day two progressed this way, I was thinking, I need to go work out, thinking that for about an hour. Then something hit me and I just knew I had the flu. I did.
I got body aches first then congestion, cough, fever 103 with med. this went on for 2 good days then felt better slowly. I felt contagious for a week. It's been 3 weeks and I still have a cough.
I took allergy med, mucinex, Advil, throat drops. Had to take one Tylenol after 3 hours of advill I still had 103 temp. Took the Tylenol and it broke the fever after an hour. Most people would have had chicken soup. We had pizza my H ordered.
My H got it too, after having flu shot. His was about a third lighter. Nobody else got it. We stayed in our room, mosly except I lysoled the door knobs and light switches everyday.
I had friends that had the flu and we went there a week later. I would have not gone to their house.
My whole family and I had Influenza over the holidays.
1. The symptoms were high fever, chills, sore throat, headache, coughing, chest congestion, head congestion, lethargy
2. The progression for me was: I felt run down and like I was fighting something for a couple days, then hit like a ton of bricks on Christmas Day.
3. Started to feel better about 4 days later
4. Considered myself not contagious about 5 days after the onset
5. I treated my symptoms with Theraflu, Motrin, and Nyquil. It only helped a little.
6. Yes, it spread to the entire family
7. I would have had my husband and I get flu shots. The kids had the shots and had much milder, short-lived symptoms. I'm never skipping the flu shot again.
Hope you feel better soon!
My son, last week, was sick, with Flu like symptoms.
But so I took him to the Doctor, and he was given a Flu Test.
It came out negative.
He had had the Flu shot a couple of months ago.
Now, per his symptoms, I was not sure if he had the Flu or not. It is going around at my kids' school right now. So that is why, per the Doctor, I wanted him to get the Flu test. To make SURE.
But I kept him home from school, all week. Because he was quite sick.
My kids' school, also sent home memos... telling the parents that if their child is sick, to keep them home, if at all possible.
Because, the Flu is going around, and also a stomach illness, and bad colds. MANY kids, have been out sick... for even a full week. Lately.
Then the other thing is, if you are sick, but you don't know what it is, I would stay home and cancel your obligations this week.
As long as you are contagious, you can give your illness to others.
And there is no finite way, of determining how long you... are contagious or not. Nor can you predict that.
Viruses, can live on surfaces for several days.
Some are airborne, and some are passed around by hand/mouth touching of surfaces.
To me, if you really want to know what you have, you need to go to the Doctor.
OTC meds, do not "cure" a cold or illness/virus. It only, alleviates discomfort.
And since you are sick, and say one of your students gets sick... if they have other medical/health concerns (ie: asthma etc.) your giving them an illness, can be very serious for them.
I have Asthma. I stay AWAY from sick people, if I can help it.
You need to tell your students, you are sick. And it can be up to them... if... they want to attend or not.
My teen was diagnosed with a head cold at 10 am on a Friday morning. By the time I got home from work at 5 pm he had 103 fever, chills, body aches, bronchial congestion - the full monty of symptoms. By 3 am Saturday morning he was vomiting.
Saturday morning at 9 am flu swab was positive - and I had the bronchial congestion.
We both started Tamiflu. For him was also breathing treatments, and antibiotics to prevent opportunistic infections.
We were both majorly ill for about three days, then the flu symptoms subsided. He went into bronchitis/pre pneumonia later in the month. I wound up with pneumonia by Thanksgiving.
If you think you have the flu go get checked and stay away from everyone. I don't know what strain we had - but it was virulent and the resulting complications from it where worse than the actual flu.
My daughter had a positive flu test last week.
1. What were your symptoms
Fever (102), congestion, cough, headache
2. What was the progression and severity of your symptoms over time (i.e. did you feel a bit under the weather for a day or two and then half-dead for several days or were you knocked on you butt from the beginning)?
Headache & fever, general malaise, then cough. Progressed quickly, 1 day or so.
3. When did you start to feel better?
Day 5 after she started tamiflu
4. When did you consider yourself not contagious?
After fever was gone 24 hours
5. What did you do to treat your symptoms and did that help?
Fluids, rest, Tamiflu. Really only the Tamiflu helped
6. Did it spread to your family?
No, but we took preventative Tamiflu as well
7. Would you have done anything differently about treating yourself or your family?
Taken her to dr sooner so start the Tamiflu sooner.
Had the flu three weeks ago. Had a bit of a sore throat, cough in the morning. Went out to replenish cough medicine stock. By 1100 I was home and on the couch and not getting up. Fatigue, weakness, chills, cough, rigors, body aches. I set up in the guest room for 2 days, separate towels, hand sanitizer, separate tissue boxes, stayed away from my husbnad and 2 kids. I also got them on Tamiflu w/i 24 hours of me going down for the count. After I was fever free for 24 hours I was OK to work, but continued to wear a mask while I was still coughing. the rest of my crew faired much better, cough for the kids (one had a 1 day fever), husband was safe. Of course he was the only one who DIDN'T get the flu shot. It took 4 days to feel a bit better, 7 days to feel myself again.
