PrincessMommy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I've heard its bad in certain parts of the country (TX particularly). I know one person online who say's she's got it, but she also had the flu shot - so it's a different strain. I haven't heard of a single case here in MD amongst all mine and my family's acquaintances & friends. Some of us in the family have been sick this last week, but I'm pretty sure it's a cold - it certainly doesn't seem like the flu (which I've had once and never want again). What's it like where you live? Every year I vacillate between getting the shot or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I know several people now who had tested positive in our area of SC. According to our ped, it's ramping up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I know two separate families that have it in different parts of KY. They didn't get the flu shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I know two separate families that have it in different parts of KY. They didn't get the flu shot. did they get the strain that the flu shot is for or a different one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I knew MANY people who had it by this time last year (including us). This year, I don't know anyone who's had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 None of us get the shot, and none of us have gotten the flu in ages. I don't know anyone locally with it, either, so the outbreak here isn't bad. We have had some viral dry cough that has been worsened by horrendous allergy issues this year, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Rampant in my little small town. DD had it last week and I have it this week. :glare: DD was diagnosed with swab, I didn't bother. Doc said it was only kicking in the last couple of weeks in our area. He had just met one of his patients at the hospital and there were at least 5 other flu cases there. Small town hospital. We don't do flu shots, but I haven't had the flu in YEARS. It's a bad one...goes straight to the chest. Literally within 2 hours my chest was killing me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Rampant in my little small town. DD had it last week and I have it this week. :glare: DD was diagnosed with swab, I didn't bother. We don't do flu shots, but I haven't had the flu in YEARS. It's a bad one...goes straight to the chest. Literally within 2 hours my chest was killing me. hmmm.. . that's helpful to know about. I have one child with asthma. This may be the year for her to get it to protect her lungs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 hmmm.. . that's helpful to know about. I have one child with asthma. This may be the year for her to get it to protect her lungs. I might consider it. For DD and I both, the fever came on, no head cold/drippy/sniffy thing at all, but then chest pain and that hacking cough that makes you hunch over and yell owwww every time you finish coughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm in MD too and I don't know of any flu. There is a nasty, headachy cold making endless rounds, but no flu that I've heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 My hubby said the news said three people in a near by city died from it and they don't know how to treat it because it's a new strain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 My dd had influenza A. I've heard a couple other people had it in town here too. For dd, she had a fever that went up to 104 and a horrible cough. The fever went up and down for several days, the cough is still hanging on even now that it's a week and a half later. Dh and I didn't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I might consider it. For DD and I both, the fever came on, no head cold/drippy/sniffy thing at all, but then chest pain and that hacking cough that makes you hunch over and yell owwww every time you finish coughing. My brother (RI) and his wife had the flu a couple of weeks ago and he gave me the same description - out of the blue and pretty bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 eta: just googled the local paper. One person died 5 days ago and one person died 2 days ago and maybe one pediatric death, with 14 confirmed cases of h1n1 swine flu in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 We all had it the week before Christmas. There were a lot of kids in their school who also had it. The doctor told us he had seen several confirmed cases the same day we went in. We're in Florida. We took Tamiflu and for three of the four of us it worked wonderfully. Oldest had a harder time but she always does when she gets sick. We didn't have the shot because this was only the second time we've ever had the flu. The first time was only two years ago though so we will get the shot from now on. The weird thing is that the first time we had it almost two years ago, we didn't get it until the end of April. I wasn't expecting a mid-December outbreak here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It is bad here in Texas. As of last week, there were three confirmed deaths in my small county. And a great deal more in Dallas and Houston. For the first time in my life I am actually getting pretty worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 hey,maybe you're near me! South Texas area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Panda- the headachy cold thing is exactly what my kids had the year they actually got the flu. It was no worse than a cold, and yes they tested for it. My son actually got both strains that year. They didn't even really act/ feel sick. OP- Apparently it's bad here (TX), but I don't actually know anyone who has it. It's the H1N1 going around again. I do know the doctors office has split the two waiting rooms into sick and well, instead having them split by who you see. Our local mom's FB page is having vax wars over the flu vaccine. It's driving me bonkers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Oh, my friend in Dallas posted on FB today, that they are having to add beds to the hospital to deal w/ it, and all the docs and nurses are masked. So I guess it's really bad there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 No one in my circle has come down with the flu this season, and I haven't heard anything about it on the local news. The kids and I never get the flu shot, and have never had the flu. DH is required to get the shot every year (he's in the Army Reserves), and he's also never had the flu. We've all had one or two colds already this season, but nothing too serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 hey,maybe you're near me! Laredo area? Not Laredo, East Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Ours is listed as regional. TBH, our biggest contact with lots of people is through Rebecca's gym. Several people have already been sick, two hospitalized with pneumonia, but we're still fine. I'm loving those immune support vitamins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trlt Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It is bad in the Dallas area. A 13 yo girl just died in Carrollton. We are vaccinated but its still worrisome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Not Laredo, East Texas. oh well, because our kids are the same age. Just there was 3 deaths in the news here also, so I assumed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Rumor has it it's headed west. We got our shots. I had the flu several years ago and was so incredibly miserable, I make sure I get a shot every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I haven't heard of anyone having it here yet. My dh developed cold symptoms last week when my ds was in the hospital and the MD's there made him get cleared by his MD to be in the unit, so it must be in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 did they get the strain that the flu shot is for or a different one? One got type A. But that means nothing to me. I don't know what kind is in the vac. I'm not sure about the little boy I know that got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momofeat Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 hmmm.. . that's helpful to know about. I have one child with asthma. This may be the year for her to get it to protect her lungs. We debate the shot every year, mainly because we also have one with asthma. We did it this year, but now I'm hearing more & more cases of flu in spite of the shot. However, we don't know if the shot helps with the severity. A 12 yr old girl here died from pneumonia caused by the flu just a few days ago. I don't know if she had had the shot or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I thought the flu was body aches and such, but the way I hear some people talk I wonder if I have it. I thought I had a sinus infection--sinus pressure, sore throat, SO MUCH drainage, watery eyes--and it's lasted 8 days so far. :-( those sound like similar symptoms of people with the flu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrygal Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Well I went to a wedding on Saturday (close family, had to show up for pictures at least.) Sunday the whole wedding party was sick, Monday one was tested positive. Dr. said it's likely h1n1. Now a bunch of guests are also sick. We came out unscathed.... however I think I'll lock myself inside until May. We have a newborn and I'm terrified. Terrified. I got the flu shot as did my 18 month old (she has respiratory issues.) She worries me more than the newborn. DH went to the hardware store this morning and said the owner looked awful... she was at the wedding.... he walked next door to the other store and bought hand sanitizer. I'm so proud I trained him well. We live in WI. The dr. said it's just starting to take off here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 oh well, because our kids are the same age. Just there was 3 deaths in the news here also, so I assumed. That would have been cool. We don't have many friends in the area. I would love to get to know someone from the hive in real life, well, as long as you don't have the flu, that is ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrygal Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 We debate the shot every year, mainly because we also have one with asthma. We did it this year, but now I'm hearing more & more cases of flu in spite of the shot. However, we don't know if the shot helps with the severity. A 12 yr old girl here died from pneumonia caused by the flu just a few days ago. I don't know if she had had the shot or not. They say it can reduce the severity if you do get it. I don't know how they test these things though! My SIL has it with pneumonia to boot... very very sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I thought the flu was body aches and such, but the way I hear some people talk I wonder if I have it. I thought I had a sinus infection--sinus pressure, sore throat, SO MUCH drainage, watery eyes--and it's lasted 8 days so far. :-( those sound like similar symptoms of people with the flu. I've only had confirmed cases of the flu twice. Each time my body hurt like never before and it was hard to do anything other than sleep in bed. When we had it just a few weeks ago, my 13 year old slept for three straight days. I'm not exaggerating. I had to wake her to drink, take medicine, and go to the bathroom. I guess we could have had it previously with just cold symptoms but we've never been tested or gone to the doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That would have been cool. We don't have many friends in the area. I would love to get to know someone from the hive in real life, well, as long as you don't have the flu, that is ;-)[/quote ] I've seen other posters saying they've made real life friends on this board, so yeah, that would have been cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I know two separate families that have it in different parts of KY. They didn't get the flu shot. One thing I forgot to mention...the one man that has the flu, his wife hasn't gotten sick yet and she DID get a flu vac. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 The predominant circulating infuenza virus in North America is H1N1, which is included in the current vaccine. However, genetic drift and vaccine escape happen, so it's still possible to catch the flu if you have been vaccinated. Vaccination should help reduce severity if you still get sick, so if you believe in getting the flu shot, then my advice is to go ahead and get it asap. http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/search.php?searchid=4581854 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm in the Houston metro area. One job is in a school in a suburb and one is in Houston. My boss at the Houston job has the flu, confirmed by lab test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It started going through here (Central FL) right before Thanksgiving, and TONS of people have had it...bad. I had a flu shot and still had it pretty bad for a week or so. My 11 and 18 yr old both had it, but 22 yr old ds never got it. Monday we had a local woman (28 yrs old) pass away from complications of H1N1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I know 2 people (mother and son) who had flu-like symptoms. They haven't been to a doctor, so it's not confirmed. Locally, one woman died - a healthy woman in her 30's - and 3 people are on life support. One of the ones on life support is pregnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 i'm in DE and know of no one who has had it and haven't heard about it being around here. I'll quarantine my family if people we are in contact with normally start getting it. We don't do the vaccine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 The local docs are saying it is very bad. There are three deaths in San Patricio County ( very small population), and one over the bridge in Corpus Christi. Of course that may not be an accurate count as only deaths of children under 18 require notification. Almost everyone I know is sick, or has had it since Thanksgiving. We are in hiding. They are talking about a mass vaccination here. My kids have gotten the flu shot, because of asthma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It ran through my daughter's whole house in 12 days. The five month old ended up hospitalized, but is ok now. All the kids took Tamiflu, and had the flu shot before, except for the baby. She is in San Antonio. Eight kids and mom and dad all tested for Type A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It seems to be around here a lot. I live in the Chicago area. My friend's son just tested positive for h1n1. My son tested positive a week before Christmas and I believe my daughter had it too although we didn't test her. I don't know what strain they had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Our state is still green for the moment. I don't know anyone locally who has had the flu. All of the active duty people get flu shots, and it is free for dependents to get flu shots. Several people on my Facebook have had the flu, but it has been a mix of influenza A and H1N1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 What exactly are the flu symptoms this year? I had what I thought was a cold but it kept morphing into something more: 1. Headache, body aches, low fever for two days 2. Body aches gone, lost voice and painfully scratchy throat 3. Ears painfully plugged up, then cough starts 4. Awful, awful productive cough. Just awful. 5. Mild fever returns for two days then goes away again 6. Continued horrible cough, on/off exhaustion for a week 7. No appetite, some indigestion Whatever this is, everyone I know is getting it. It lasts about 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 What exactly are the flu symptoms this year? I had what I thought was a cold but it kept morphing into something more: 1. Headache, body aches, low fever for two days 2. Body aches gone, lost voice and painfully scratchy throat 3. Ears painfully plugged up, then cough starts 4. Awful, awful productive cough. Just awful. 5. Mild fever returns for two days then goes away again 6. Continued horrible cough, on/off exhaustion for a week 7. No appetite, some indigestion Whatever this is, everyone I know is getting it. It lasts about 2 weeks. That sounds like H1N1 to me. We had it two years ago. The cough lasts forever, the Kleenex we went through, OMG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda S in TX Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I might consider it. For DD and I both, the fever came on, no head cold/drippy/sniffy thing at all, but then chest pain and that hacking cough that makes you hunch over and yell owwww every time you finish coughing. All eight of us are recovering from this right now. 16dd is the worst. She hasn't been diagnosed with asthma, but when she gets sick it goes straight to her lungs. I was the first one sick, and I'm still coughing ten days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 We have been sick since the day after Christmas. We all had the flu shot. I have no idea if it's the flu but the symptoms sound the same. Starts with a sore throat. Temperature, coughing really bad and fatigued. My oldest DD has had a temp for the past 6 days straight. They put me on antibiotics but then I have compromised lungs which is why we all do the flu shot. They did not test or put my DD on anything, just said it was going around and to email if she wasn't better by the end of the week. I will call tomorrow if the temp has broken by then. 7 days seems like a lot to me. 4 people in our area, from 37 to 60 have died from what I know. I am in Northern California. Also, my DD (the one with the fever) also has asthma and she got the nasal "shot" and that was particularly hard on her. Next time we will just get the regular shot. My other DD (without asthma) does fine with the nasal one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Flu activity in Oregon started picking up the last two weeks in December. It's predominantly H1N1. You can learn a lot from the CDC weekly surveillance update. Here's the FluView report for the last week of December. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ I've mentioned this in other threads, but again, I find it interesting that when they say there is a lot of flu activity, it is still the case that most people with flu-type symptoms (influenza-like illness) do not test positive for the flu. Of those sick enough to go to a doctor and get tested, 27% tested positive for the flu for week 52 (the one linked above). You can scroll down and find data for your region--for Oregon's region (10), it was close to 35%. But that still means about 2 out of 3 sick people have SOME OTHER VIRUS, not h1n1, influenza A, or influenza B. Still, those are nasty illnesses to get and the vaccine is still the best thing we have to prevent it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Quick question for those who were very sick with the flu, or know people who were very ill -- did you take Tamiflu for it? The news reports I have read, have said that Tamiflu is proving very effective against the flu this year, and I'm wondering whether or not that information is accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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