Swine Flu or Just Bad Cold Symptoms

from what I understand the swine flu comes with a very high fever thay keeps on going back up for about a week. 100 isn't high at all. there are cold symptoms and aches too. Maybe he has a touch of something else

Hi, and sorry to hear your little one is sick. First- DONT PANIC!My Four year old had swine flu last month. Here's what happened:
I have a four year old son who almost never gets sick, and he had similar symptoms to your daughter in August. Because I am pregnant and we have a 1 year old AND we are currently in London where there is a LOT of swine flu, my GP told me to just pop in for a Swine flu test ( I was feeling some symptoms of a cold too). I came back positive, so tested my son and baby who also came back positive for Swine flu. In the end, I was about as sick as a bad cold, the baby was sick with fever and real flu symptoms (gave her Tamiflu) and my 4 year old breezed through it like a common cold with some fever too, in a matter of days. The only part worse than a cold was that he seemed to have a lingering runny nose and cough for 2 weeks, but in the end I did NOT give him the Tamiflu after reading all of the bad side-effects they have found in preschoolers especially. The anti-virals are only useful when taken early during the virus anyway. As I said, he is a healthy kid, and I never would have known he had the swine flu had I not tested myself, and then had the kids tested, because he had what seemed more like a bad cold.
I guess my best advice would be to get her tested as fast as you can ( there is a small window in which the swabs will come back positive with H1N1 while a person is symptomatic- after that you will never know if she had it or not) just so you can know if she has been exposed, thus being immune in the future and not needing the vaccine ( I am happy my kids wont need the vaccine now).
It is very useful information to know if she has had it, since the vaccines are not well tested yet either. If she doesnt seem too ill, then I would avoid giving the Tamiflu because of the potential side effects ( of course ALWAYS see what the doctor advises)- she should get better with or without it. It is also important to TEST YOURSELF if you even have small symptoms ( I hardly had any symptoms at all, but was positive!!)because of your asthma- as you would probably be advised to take Tamiflu or Relenza because of the asthma. Of course I am not a doctor, so I am just relaying the experience I had with it and how it affected my 4 year old. I hope it gives you some peace of mind, and a good plan of action! :-)
Good luck!

Nothing we advise here can replace getting her tested by a doctor. You should be able to get into an "urgent care" place today even though it's a holiday (call first, though!). Some drs. are not testing and saying "if it seems like flu, it's swine flu," but since you have asthma and flu could be a real issue for you, insist that she be tested and they'll do it. Also, if your pediatrician's office has a "nurses' triage line" or "advice line" you can call that and describe what you did here for further advice and tips on when it's getting serious. If your ped. doesn't have that, consider finding one that does! Invaluable for when you're just not sure whether to go in or not. Swine flu is indeed going around and the symptoms vary kid to kid but my daughter had a low fever for a week but was negative for swine flu. Testing is the only way to know. Your dr. will probably advise you to get her the seasonal flu shot when she's well and her swine flu shots when they're available. And if you have asthma, they'll tell you get at least a seasonal flu shot too.

I'm adding this paragraph to respond to what Greer posted -- I don't think you are necessarily immune to the flu just because you've had it (and neither is your child). I know that I've certainly had flu more than once in a single flu season, back in the days before flu shots, so clearly having one bout did not give me immunity to it later the same year. And there are different strains, so even if your child does have H1N1 "swine" flu now, she could get another strain later (that's why there will still be "seasonal flu" shots available as well as swine flu shots this year). I would defintely ask a doctor. You can also check on www.flu.gov and at the Centers for Disease Control web site, www.cdc.gov.

Hi

Myself and my 3 kids have all been out of sorts this last week with the same symptoms , really sore throat where we can barely swallow , cough that sounds like a bark , short raspy breaths that are worse at night and low grade fever , took my middle daughter to the Dr as she was the first to become unwell and Dr said she had croup. Although none of us feel 100% were not so unwell that we cannot do anything , kids still play but need meds for the fever , I am taking some tylenol for the headache and it also helps with the throat , we even went to the beach this weekend and the kids had a great time.

If you are concerned there is no harm calling and speaking to a nurse but I think that there is a virus doing the rounds at the moment (can't you tell the cooler weather is on it's way)!!.

I hope she feels better soon

K.

My neighbor's son had swine flu a couple of weeks ago and he had a temp of 103 for a week before needing to go to the hospital. What I'm saying is that he had a high fever that didn't go away no matter what they gave him. If you're really concerned - talk to you doctor, but swine flu, like other flu strands, is only dangerous if the symptoms suffered are severe. Otherwise, it can pass like any other flu without anything remarkable happening. When my kids do get the flu (normal flu), I give them children's probiotics, and they get better way faster. That's something you can do (since I always hate just "waiting it out" like most doctors tell me to do when my kids aren't feeling well). Hope you little one feels better soon!

Hey there L A- totally understand your concerns as I just went through the same with my 3 yo daughter. I'm treating it like a regular cold with appropriate steam, saline, cough medicine when necessary and it seems to be getting much better. She seems to get these little colds (or allergy symptoms) when the weather changes which her pediatrician warned me about. She's also just changed schools so she's got a whole new set of germs to get used to. I think you're doing it just right, but I'm like you (and a lot of mama's!) in trying to figure out when to hit the panic button! Good luck.

welcome to the wonderful world of allergies. still a child who suddenly starts running a temperture of 100.4 , should be watched closely, has the child been exposed to something
new or different in the last few days ? has your dog or cat be given new or different heartworm or other medication.
small children are an endless fascination to anything with fur. have you or anyone near the child changed soap or perfume lately.. have you had the lawn outside treated with a chemical lately.. it can take days sometimes for allergens
to build up in a childs system before they show a reaction
such as a fever or sneezing.. have you changed cleaning supplies in the last few days or even weeks. had the rugs steam cleaned or the drapes dry cleaned... gotta be something
K. H.

have no clue what your child has, but just want to add to be very careful about using tamiflu. it does NOT cure the flu, it merely (in some cases) shortens the duration and has some very severe potential side effects, and has been banned in some countries.
khairete
S.

Hi

Great question. There are nasal swab tests to assess for flu- normal variety and other (like swine flu). I would take her in to be swabbed just so you are sure. Treatment is largely the same - lots of fluids and rest and tylenol to keep her comfortable. Sometimes if you catch flu early enough you can take a medicine called tamiflu which shortens the duration of the symptoms but she may be out of range as this is usually an option in the first 24 to 48 hours.
See if you can get her in for an acute visit and a flu culture. Good luck! hope she is well soon.

I also say do not worry too much. Swine flu, bovine flu, whatever; it could be a flu. Simple to take things step by step. Occilococcinum is the best thing for the flu just follow label directions no side effects safe for everyone
L. m

If you are concerned, take her to your Doctors. Colds do not ususally present with fever, so you should suspect and viral or bacterial infection whenever your child has a fever. If it is 24-48 hours since the symptoms have appeared, and she does have the flu, your doc can diagnose it and put her on Tamiflu to reduce the severity and duration of the illness. Otherwise, you just get to wait it out.

My three year old daughter, and then I 2 weeks later, both had swine flu. While the flu itself was not that bad (low fever, cough, body aches, headaches, and for me (not for her) extreme lethargy), it lasted about 5 days for both of us. The bigger problem we both encountered was a sudden onset of pneumonia 1-2 days after the flu went away. That required breathing treatments and high powered antibiotics for us both and was more severe than the flu since it was a secondary infection due to the immunocompromization from the flu the week before.

Good luck... wash your hands and face frequently. If you are the primary caregiver for your child, then be prepared to get sick to. At the first sight of symptoms for you, get to the Dr right away so you can get on Tamiflu and avoid any complications. Put your husband in another room or on the couch so he doesn't get it, too!

M.

Well, I don't know, but I was told my 18 month old had the swine flu early this summer (they aren't testing for it). She had a very mild fever (100-101) for several days and then an occasional cough with very very mild congestion. The most obvious symptom, other than the persistent low grade fever, was that she totally lost her appetite and had some very soft goo-y poopy diapers (I know, TMI). It was mild, lasted maybe a week and a half, and she was fine. But she clearly felt off and was not herself.

I hope your daughter is feeling better. If it is the flu, she may be lucky to get it while it has mild and hopefully it will boost her immunity so she doesn't get it when it gets worse. Wash hands a lot and teach her how to cough into her elbow. Good luck - let us know how she does.