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More on the Swine Flu

Think that, maybe, I shoulda wished for a million dollars, instead of an early(ish) case of the swine flu.

It appears as tho' my swine flu wish has been granted...not that I really wanted my kiddos to get sick, in actuality, I was just hopin' to sail through the flu season without a scratch...or a sneeze, actually.

Literally, just a couple of hours after I picked our pediatrician's brain at work (she happened to be on call), I came home to discover Little A. had a bit of a cough.

Didn't really think much of it, until this morning, when he climbed in bed with us...burning hot.

When we woke for the day, I took his temp...102.4. Hmmm..."Little A., do you hurt anywhere?"

Little A., "No...but my face hurts", as he's rubbing his forehead. "And my tummy hurts, and my legs hurt." So much for the "confirmative" no, he first gave me.

A call to the clinic, a visit with our "swine flu guru" (luck of the draw...we just happened to get to see him!!)...and, we came away with a diagnosis of "suspected H1N1".

His influenza swab came back negative...which, as you know from this post, is only 50% accurate...i.e. the influenza swab has a 50% false negative rate for diagnosing H1N1.

He met the criteria of the CDC and MDH (MN Dept. of Health) for treatment...he had all of the symptoms and was less than 5 years of age, and so he gets the coveted TamiFlu.

I did get some great info from Dr. Swine Flu Guru (I did refer to him as that...he smiled...), and now, I will share it with you. (Aside by me...I was advised to put a disclaimer on my blog about medical information vs. medical advice...please see my left sidebar!!)

So, pandemic. H1N1 got the label because of the speed with which it spread throughout the world and, also, because it "didn't act like a typical virus"...i.e, it didn't go away. There were H1N1 cases throughout the summer, when, typically the flu virus goes away. In the past (and I forget which year Dr. Guru told me the last flu pandemic was) when a virus made it around the world and back, it was usually much stronger than when it had started, and herein lies the "fear" of the H1N1.

Dr. Guru told me that "they" are finding that it is a much more mild virus than what "they" were originally expecting, phew!! But, there is still a big risk for people with underlying medical conditions.

My opinion about "getting it now, and getting it over" was supported by him...he verified that since Little A. has it now, he will have good immunity to it, should it strengthen. That made me feel a little less guilty for my wishful thinking yesterday.

Here I was, all prepared to post on my opinion of the flu vaccines, when this happened! I will still post that one, but thought I'd give you a little update, disease-wise!

I leave you now, to go encourage fluids to a certain little man I know...



Comments

  1. Oh boy ... any other symptoms? Just the fever and body aches?

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  2. Bless his heart! Just went through the exact same thing. Its no fun but the tamiflu works fast!!
    Hope he gets better soon :)

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  3. I had what we think was the flu about three weeks about. DIdn't go to the doctor, because though I had all the symptoms, I was too sick to feel like going to the doctor, yet not sick enough to really need to go and get medicine, just needed to sleep and push fluids for about 4 days. It took about two weeks before I felt 100%. Hope he feels better soon. No one else in the family go it. Once I was back up on my feet, I disinfected the entire house (which may explain the two weeks. ;) ) Take good care of him and be sure and take care of mom too. Don't want to get sick yourself before he feels better.

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  4. Aww, sorry your family has been hit with this. Well it is a good thing that your son in fact does not hurt anywhere, except for everywhere. Hope he feels better soon and this leaves your family quickly.

    At least you are getting it over with early. Too bad about the million dollars though.

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  5. Sorry to hear your little man is not feeling well. Hope he gets well soon and doesn't make it too terribly painful for you or doesn't "share" with the rest of the fmaily. I guess it kinda helps that you are a trained "nurse" and not just a fly by the seat of our pants nurses.

    Good luck and hope he feels better soon!

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  6. uh oh! Hope the little man feels better!!

    Love all this information! :)

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  7. Oh goodness! Hope he feels better soon. Thanks for your posts on this topic. It's always nice to have as much information as possible. :)

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  8. Can I ask a question? Why did you decide to take A in to the doctor? Do you normally when one of your kids is exhibiting "flu-like" symptoms?
    See, I tend to be very "mellowdramatic" about childhood illnesses too. I'll treat a fever, cough, etc. at home for a few days ... if after, say, 4 days they're still running a fever or the symptoms don't seem to be going away, then I'll call the pediatrician. I just wonder with this flu, should we get it, if I should call/go in sooner? Is Tamiflu (spelling?) available for kids as young as 2,4 and 6?
    Thanks for your advice. Er, I mean opinion : )

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  9. Awww poor guy! I did want to say that although I am a stay at home mom lol my husband works on Capitol Hill in DC, and their docs don't recommend the vaccine and believe the flu is milder than what people are portraying. Also, risks of the vaccine are not even determined, so yay for him for getting it and getting it out of the way...hopefully he won't get it again!!! Get well soon lil guy!

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  10. Hope your little one feels better soon. It is running rampant around our schools here, the entire girls volleyball team got it. Last night was our homecoming football game and it was a miracle we won with so many out sick with the flu.

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