Swine Flu

[Jhadur]

According to the NHS Direct website Sam has swine flu, at least thats what it told her after she put in her current symptoms.

Hopefully LMF's is just a "normal" flu/bad summer cold case.

[Feek]

Originally Posted by Jhadur

According to the NHS Direct website Sam has swine flu, at least thats what it told her after she put in her current symptoms.

Well perhaps she has!

I'm just going by what the doctor told us - There was a confirmed case at her school on Wednesday, she went in on Thursday but despite the school telling parents not to keep their kids at home the place was half empty. Thursday evening she felt crap and this morning she was a lot worse.

[Wellington]

To the docs!!!

[divine]

What symptoms of swine flu differ to that of regular flu?

I can see a lot of people with colds deciding they have swine flu soon, just the same as people always say they have flu when they clearly do not.

[Dazzy_G]

Girl in my house at Uni had a confirmed case, nobody else in the house caught it off her though. We all had out Tamiflu just in case.

[Haly]

Originally Posted by divine

I can see a lot of people with colds deciding they have swine flu soon, just the same as people always say they have flu when they clearly do not.

No doubt there. Some people always seem so determined to have the worst thing possible for some reason.

However, hope those who are concerned, just have a regular bug

[Dunketh]

The NHS Direct recently told my wife she may have swine flu over the phone and wanted to test her, when she went to the Doctors to be tested it turned out to be a Virus, Chest Infection and Sinus Infection....Phew!

[Jhadur]

Originally Posted by Feek

Well perhaps she has!

The symptoms she put in were along the lines of headache for couple of days, feeling run down and sneezing occasionally.

Originally Posted by Feek

I'm just going by what the doctor told us - There was a confirmed case at her school on Wednesday, she went in on Thursday but despite the school telling parents not to keep their kids at home the place was half empty. Thursday evening she felt crap and this morning she was a lot worse.

That sounds more likely then. I hope she pulls through ok Mr Feek. Keep us updated.

[Fayshun]

I've volunteered to be the Custard Swine Flu contact.

I've got a face mask and everything.

[Tak]

The NHS symptom checker is pointless tbh - I've had a headache on and off all week with an aversion to lights, I have had muscle ache and problems sleeping, I've sneezed, I've had an up and down temperature, but these are *normal* for me. If you put them into the web site you get a nice panic inducing red box which says "CALL 999" :/

I really hope LMF has "seasonal flu" or a bad summer cold. As others have said, keep us informed and if we can help let us know - children are pulling through this a lot quicker than adults so fingers crossed for her xx

[other stuffs]

We have been getting vast amounts of information through at work (for people who don't know, I'm an admin at a nursing home). The current problem is that containment is no longer an option as it is widely spread, but at the same time media outlets are making such a hype over it that it is causing people who actually are ill to be delayed in getting treatment. Anything between 8k and 15k people normally die of seasonal flu in the UK each year. Currently there are 30(?) confirmed cases in the UK over the last 2-3 months.
The major problem is it hits a different age group to seasonal flu and it is more aggressive in people who have lung problems/susceptibilities. This means the "work force" age is the one which is more likely to get it, although it is also the more likely group to recover with minimal problems.
Children are meant to be contagious for 7 days after showing symptoms, adults 5 days.

The current drug being given out is tamiflu which tbh I wouldn't want to take unless I was blood test confirmed as having it. The side affects sound bloody nasty and if I could get away with sleep, plain fluids, paracetamol for fever and ibuprofen for muscle ache then that is the route I'd rather take. The worry is that some doctors are prescribing it to anyone with ILI (influenza like illness); come the winter when many flu bugs are more forceful and deadly, I'd rather have that as a last resort back up rather than discover because of taking it when I didn't have the illness that it would no longer work.

We have had information about a "vaccine" come through at work and I've noticed a few stories about it on BBC; further research shows it hasn't been proved as working yet and also, as with any flu vaccine, the flu virus mutates rapidly so it may not even work for some people or may in fact give them the virus.

TBH it is all a case of common sense esp with regard to personal hygiene (throw tissues in the bin, wash your hands regularly, remember majority of flu and cold bugs are spread through touch not the air) - seasonal flu kills, bird flu kills, swine flu kills.

Yes its a worry, yes we should be "aware", yes we should hope those who are ill have a speedy recovery, no we shouldn't panic or give excess hype to the current situation.

I have tried to keep out of a lot of this stuff as I have some different information available to me than others (anyone else in medical areas are possibly the same) but if I get any other information which isn't publicly available then I will always post it. As with many things, the media will always portray the "headlines" and it can take some digging to get the whole picture.