melissel Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Does this sound like it? DD3's been sick since last Tuesday--came on mild, was bad Saturday-Tuesday, then got mild again. Now she seems to only have the cough left. I started having symptoms Sunday night, peaked on Tuesday, but am still having a yucky cough and 100-ish fever now. DH started much earlier than the rest of us and only has the cough and feeling run down left. (Nothing yet for DD6. I'm hoping against hope!) We were all at the dr. and DD3 was diagnosed with strep, but no one tested for swine flu. DH and I passed our RapidStrep tests, but the dr. said given the state of our throats, he did not doubt it was a false negative and gave us amoxicillin anyway. Our throats are much better now, but I'm still a mess respiratorially. DH had bad headaches, mine were mild, but my body aches were attention-grabbing. We've just been staying home (I have such terrible cabin fever!). So, if this IS swine flu, does that mean we're relatively safe from it this winter? Can we get the same strain again, or has it already mutated a bunch of times? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Well, there are many strains of flu. The H1N1 flu strain will not be the only type of flu around this winter. Other flus are just as bad. The only way to know which strain you have is to be tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Well, there are many strains of flu. The H1N1 flu strain will not be the only type of flu around this winter. Other flus are just as bad. The only way to know which strain you have is to be tested. True, but no one's testing around here anymore, not even the pediatricians. That's kind of why I'm :confused: about the predictions. If no one's testing anymore, and everyone says, "If you have flu-like symptoms, assume it's H1N1," how will we measure the impact of an epidemic? (That's a rant, I know you don't have the answer, LOL.) The only reason I'm thinking it's swine and not regular is that we literally have not regular flu in many years--I haven't had it since I was a teen. I imagine it could be anything at this point, even just a really bad cold. It does seem to fit all the symptoms though. I was hoping maybe I could stop worrying about it if we have it now--at least until next fall! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 True, but no one's testing around here anymore, not even the pediatricians. That's kind of why I'm :confused: about the predictions. If no one's testing anymore, and everyone says, "If you have flu-like symptoms, assume it's H1N1," how will we measure the impact of an epidemic? (That's a rant, I know you don't have the answer, LOL.) While doctors aren't routinely testing, there are many surveillance programs going on that are looking at representative samples, so we'll still have pretty good information about the types of flu that are circulating. It is true that right now, most of the samples that are tested are swine H1N1 http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2008-2009/images/image331.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Ah, that makes sense. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) It sounds like flu, and most of the flu right now is H1N1. There are some people testing, just not most individual doctors. The number of cases would overwhelm the labs and wouldn't make any difference for most people in terms of treatment. In most cases it also won't make a difference in terms of something like whether or not to stay home. The best thing to do is assume H1N1 as far as being around other people if you have the symptoms. By the time the test came back the person would no longer be contagious. From a more public-health standpoint they are doing surveillance testing at certain practices/sites and they do test everyone who gets admitted to the hospital or has a more severe case (at least around here I know they do). Last I heard, 95% of flu circulating in the US is H1N1 so that's why the "assume it's H1N1 if you have flu-like symptoms." As far as being protected this winter I think some of that depends on whether the virus mutates or not. Every influenza virus mutates and we would assume this one will as well...when that happens is unknown. But I think (not an official opinion but one that most docs I know share) having it now would mean you have some immunity so even if you are reinfected you would hopefully not be as sick. That is one reason why some people think that the elderly are more protected with this virus, there was a similar strain that circulated in the 50's (?) and so they may have some immunity. Edited August 28, 2009 by Alice ETA: Perry types better and has better graphics. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bookwormmama Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Did the doctor say why they weren't testing for the swine flu? That is HIGHLY suspicious to me... especially when the WHO and CDC are recommending MANDATORY vaccinations for all countries of the European Union {which thanks to President Bush, that also includes our country The United States}. Some countries, including the U.S., may be using military force to enforce the vaccination program. I am suspicious of a "virus" that seems to have disappeared for the summer only to resurface now all of a sudden everywhere, where the WHO is recommending mandatory vaccinations of all countries and the main target group of people that are being "tested" for the vaccine are pregnant women and children. Sounds fishy to me... like a Population Control suspicion. I am sorry you guys are all sick. I would demand testing to know what kind of flu virus you have. There are so many strains as someone else pointed out. The Dr. and you should know what kind you are dealing with. Especially so you don't go out and infect others or think you're safe from swine flu later when you may not be and get even worse infected later. Knowledge in this case is a good thing, guessing might not be. In any case, stay away from anyone who receives the swine flu vaccine. It is a live virus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) Did the doctor say why they weren't testing for the swine flu? That is HIGHLY suspicious to me... especially when the WHO and CDC are recommending MANDATORY vaccinations for all countries of the European Union {which thanks to President Bush, that also includes our country The United States}. Some countries, including the U.S., may be using military force to enforce the vaccination program. I am suspicious of a "virus" that seems to have disappeared for the summer only to resurface now all of a sudden everywhere, where the WHO is recommending mandatory vaccinations of all countries and the main target group of people that are being "tested" for the vaccine are pregnant women and children. Sounds fishy to me... like a Population Control suspicion. I am sorry you guys are all sick. I would demand testing to know what kind of flu virus you have. There are so many strains as someone else pointed out. The Dr. and you should know what kind you are dealing with. Especially so you don't go out and infect others or think you're safe from swine flu later when you may not be and get even worse infected later. Knowledge in this case is a good thing, guessing might not be. In any case, stay away from anyone who receives the swine flu vaccine. It is a live virus! Gosh, this is just so full of misinformation I cannot keep my mouth shut. NO. The CDC and WHO are NOT recommending mandatory vaccination. This is just absolutely false. Flu viruses almost always disappear in the summer. Nothing nefarious there. The vaccine is first being tested on adults. If no safety problems are identified, then testing will begin in kids and pregnant women. They are the groups most likely to have complications. Would you prefer they didn't test the vaccine? :confused: Most strains are H1N1. Knowing the strain isn't going to change anything, as Alice pointed out. I feel like a broken record. Edited August 28, 2009 by Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) Gosh, this is just so full of misinformation I cannot keep my mouth shut. NO. The CDC and WHO are NOT recommending mandatory vaccination. This is just absolutely false. Flu viruses almost always disappear in the summer. Nothing nefarious there. The vaccine is first being tested on adults. If no safety problems are identified, then testing will begin in kids and pregnant women. They are the groups most likely to have complications. Would you prefer they didn't test the vaccine? :confused: Most strains are H1N1. Knowing the strain isn't going to change anything, as Alice pointed out. I feel like a broken record. Forgot one. It is not a live virus vaccine, although there may be one coming later. Live vaccines are weakened and altered so they don't cause disease, although some people may get mild symptoms. Generally immunocompromised people (including pregnant women) shouldn't get live vaccines. Also, I want to add that I obviously can't definitively say there will never be a mandatory vaccine program. If there were to be a severe pandemic with extremely high death rates, it is conceivable and IMHO, would be warranted. This pandemic isn't like that. Also, there isn't going to be enough vaccine for everyone so it's a moot point. It wouldn't surprise me if some hospitals make it mandatory for their HCWs. Edited August 28, 2009 by Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Also, I want to add that I obviously can't definitively say there will never be a mandatory vaccine program. If there were to be a severe pandemic with extremely high death rates, it is conceivable and IMHO, would be warranted. This pandemic isn't like that. Also, there isn't going to be enough vaccine for everyone so it's a moot point. It wouldn't surprise me if some hospitals make it mandatory for their HCWs. More about mandatory vaccines... I would not be surprised if sometime in the next few years we see the flu vaccine added to the list of required school vaccines. This has been in the works for awhile and isn't really related to the pandemic flu, although the push for it may gain more momentum now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 More about mandatory vaccines... I would not be surprised if sometime in the next few years we see the flu vaccine added to the list of required school vaccines. This has been in the works for awhile and isn't really related to the pandemic flu, although the push for it may gain more momentum now. It's already mandatory in NJ. There are exemptions, of course, but I'm not comfortable claiming a religious exemption that I don't actually qualify for. We have some decisions to make about preschool this year *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 More about mandatory vaccines... I would not be surprised if sometime in the next few years we see the flu vaccine added to the list of required school vaccines. This has been in the works for awhile and isn't really related to the pandemic flu, although the push for it may gain more momentum now. I read the vaccine wouldn't be available till October, and even then there wouldn't be nearly enough to go around. So mandatory vaccinations wouldn't work, I mean, if you don't have it then how can you 'make' people take it. I wish I had links to those articles, pretty sure they were AP. They were on my google news this morning. Is it all misinformation Perry? Or does that jive with what you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I had asked about this in another post...but no one responded...since my hubby had flu like symptoms...he went to the dr. The dr. said they can test but there are almost NO insurance companies that cover the testing. We called the insurance company and they stated it is not fda approved and considered experimental still. Thus...it is NOT covered by most insurances. SO....to get tested we would need to pay out of pocket... 300.00 for the test. My hubby said forget it...they still would do tamiflu regardless of the outcome. They said they assume it is H1N1 and that is that. I was curious as to how they track it since they dont seem to be covering testing. I imagine if you are in an ER they test...but you would be responsible for the bill later? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 My comments in red I read the vaccine wouldn't be available till October, and even then there wouldn't be nearly enough to go around.At least October, maybe later. So mandatory vaccinations wouldn't work, I mean, if you don't have it then how can you 'make' people take it. Exactly. I wish I had links to those articles, pretty sure they were AP. They were on my google news this morning. Is it all misinformation Perry? Or does that jive with what you know? I'm not sure which articles you mean. As far as misinformation, yes. The claim that the flu vaccine will be mandatory is misinformation. Like I said above though, seasonal flu vaccine (and h1n1 will become seasonal eventually) may become a routinely required school vaccine in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Gosh, this is just so full of misinformation I cannot keep my mouth shut. NO. The CDC and WHO are NOT recommending mandatory vaccination. This is just absolutely false. Flu viruses almost always disappear in the summer. Nothing nefarious there. The vaccine is first being tested on adults. If no safety problems are identified, then testing will begin in kids and pregnant women. They are the groups most likely to have complications. Would you prefer they didn't test the vaccine? :confused: Most strains are H1N1. Knowing the strain isn't going to change anything, as Alice pointed out. I feel like a broken record. Seriously;p And the frightening thing is that it DIDNT disappear during the summer like a good flu virus should;) K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Did the doctor say why they weren't testing for the swine flu? That is HIGHLY suspicious to me... especially when the WHO and CDC are recommending MANDATORY vaccinations for all countries of the European Union {which thanks to President Bush, that also includes our country The United States}. Huh? Nothing in that opener made sense. Not testing is the norm now the world over except where sampling studies are being done. There is no mandatory vaccine and the EU and we aren't part of the EU. Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 My comments in red The article saying it wouldn't be available till October. Thanks for responding (I try to take the weekends off from here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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