OT: Swine Flu -- Important warning signs

[Keith A]

About a month ago, my youngest daughter had the swine flu. We took her to the doctor when her fever spiked and they tested her for the flu and it came back positive for type A. Since the swine flu that is currently active is a subtype (H1N1) of influenza A, they don't know 100% that you have the swine flu -- only that you have influenza A. But at this time, the swine flu subtype is the only active influenza A and therefore it is pretty certain that she had the swine flu. They treated her with the antiviral medicine "Relenza" and for her it was an uneventful case of the flu with cold like symptoms and a fever -- after a week of bed rest, she was back in school.

Since that time, I have done some reading up on the swine flu (and the flu in general) to have a better understanding of this illness. One of the things that has worried me are the reports of people dying from the flu who were otherwise healthy. This was in the news again this week when Max Gomez (age 5) died after three days from what initially appeared as the symptoms of a cold.

The AP ran a story about this which included why the flu can become dangerous and the warning signs that would cause you to seek immediate help. I thought this was some very good information and wanted to pass this along. Here's the link to the AP article (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gosZT65zBsJouSmP7qIYS45Y-alAD9B9OA6O1).

[don'TreadOnMe]

Thanks Keith.
Seems like good info, there are so many variations/degrees of concern over this darn thing.

[merckx]

Thank you for that, Keith. That was informative.

[malcolm]

If you look at the cdc numbers all flu in the country since the spring is swine flu at least 99% per the cdc. We are seeing a ton of it in the southeast. The symptoms mentioned in the article are certainly worrisome and you should seek help, however most clinicians agree this flu is for the most part a milder disease than seasonal flu. People are not as ill and the duration seems shorter even without treatment. I think the symptoms mentioned in the article are good, by the point most of them are present you already have a critically ill child. General rule of thumb for a toddler with fever is, if you treat the fever and when it comes down the child is eating and drinking and playing a bit they are not toxic, treat the fever and they still just lie there won't get up or eat or drink that kid is sick, most times this will occure before outright lethargy and blue/hypoxic digits. Be mindful sick kids can go down the tubes quickly particularly with respiratory problems/hypoxia. Take all this with a huge grain of salt and use common sense.

[Keith A]

Malcolm -- Thanks for the info!

[daker13]

My daughter is just now over a solid ten days of illness. She had a bewildering group of symptoms and I'm still not sure if it was swine flu or not. It turned out she had strep throat, but with something else on top of that. I'm a worrier, so I'm glad she seems better now.

Those warning signs are pretty clear cut, except for "Improvement of symptoms, then a return to fever and worse cough"--that more or less described my daughter's illness-- and "Fever with a rash"--she had hives with a fever, which is pretty common. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether or not your kid is showing the warning signs of something more serious.

[malcolm]

the getting better then getting worse with flu is because flu is a setup for bacterial superinfection. What happens is as the flu is resolving you seem better then the fever and cough recurr because you have in the interim developed a bacterial pneumonia, often staph which is very destructive to the lungs. Many if not most flu deaths are from secondary infections often pneumonia. Many of the deaths with this epidemic of swine flu have been reported as overwhelming pulmonary/lung inflammation or cytokine storm, this would be directly related to the virus and not subsequent bacterial infection. I don't think this is necessarily unusual with flu, but the age groups and the fact that it has apparently occured in folks without comorbid conditions makes it somewhat of an outlyer. If you look at the number of folks with swine flu vs the number of deaths I don't think it is really any more, it is just the unusual age groups and such or at least that is my interpretation. Stay safe, wash hands and don't go to work sick.

[Keith A]

malcolm -- So what should a person be watching for to know if the person they are caring for has gone from normal flu symptoms to ones that are potentially life threatening?

[malcolm]

I would say most of the ones listed in your article are worrisome although several seem late particularly in children.

For kids I think the suggestion I made above is a good rule of thumb. For adults flu will certainly make you feel as if you want to die. When the temp is under control the bodyaches should be tolerable and you should feel at least a little better. Flu really shouldn't make you short of breath, your chest may burn and you may cough a lot but shouldn't be truly short of breath. Your mentation should be intact especially if the temp is under control.

With infection post flu, a seeming recovery then relapse of fever and worse cough is suggestive of pneumonia although it isn't uncommon to cough for a week or so after you are better you shouldn't have fever. The best advice I can give is use common sense and err on the side of seeking help. If a family member is doing something that worries you or seems to have difficulty breathing or just seems more ill than you would expect especially if the temp is controlled they should probably seek care. Never feel guilty for seeking care of a loved one, I can tell you after 20 years in the ER I would rather tell a hundred parents I didn't think anything was wrong with their child than to have to attempt to ressucitate one.

[SEABREEZE]

If you look at the cdc numbers all flu in the country since the spring is swine flu at least 99% per the cdc. We are seeing a ton of it in the southeast. The symptoms mentioned in the article are certainly worrisome and you should seek help, however most clinicians agree this flu is for the most part a milder disease than seasonal flu. .

There was a segment on the 6 oclock news two evenings ago. A Sheriff in Broward county FL, came down with the H1N1 flu, wound up in the hospital in critial condition, they gave his family a 50/ 50 chance he would make it.
Fortunately he did , however it took out his kidneys, now he is on dialisis 3 times a week.

I dont call that a milder disease than seasonal flu.

Keith, good to hear you daughter is now doing fine.

[malcolm]

There was a segment on the 6 oclock news two evenings ago. A Sheriff in Broward county FL, came down with the H1N1 flu, wound up in the hospital in critial condition, they gave his family a 50/ 50 chance he would make it.
Fortunately he did , however it took out his kidneys, now he is on dialisis 3 times a week.

I dont call that a milder disease than seasonal flu.

Keith, good to hear you daughter is now doing fine.

It is never good to base things on a study of one particularly if you are the one.
I stand by the original statement it is for most people a milder illness

[Dekonick]

It is never good to base things on a study of one particularly if you are the one.
I stand by the original statement it is for most people a milder illness

Malcom is correct. In general, the H1N1 is mild compared to the other variants of the influenza virus. You can also die from a splinter, but in general splinters are not considered major trauma. The swine flu can be deadly - for certain - but is not as dangerous as the standard flu we get every year. What is alarming is that it tends to infect otherwise healthy individuals at a higher rate than is typical of influenza. More young hosts = greater mortality among healthy young people. Don't get me wrong - it is a potentially deadly virus. What you need to keep in mind is that in general it is less deadly than normal variants. We are also at greater risk of infection as it is a virus against which the general population has poor immunity - so when you can go get your shot/flumist.

A greater concern would be a virus strain (like H5N1) that causes cytokine storm - that tends to be deadly to healthy people. If H5N1 had become more virulent, we would be looking at a lot of dead young folks. Eventually it will happen - hopefully we will be prepared to fend it off when it does. H1N1 is not the plague to worry about.

[SEABREEZE]

They are going to air this evening @ 8pm on National Geographic all about the H1N1 flu.

I beleive its called Pandemic

[Keith A]

They are going to air this evening @ 8pm on National Geographic all about the H1N1 flu.

I beleive its called PandemicIt's called "Swine Flu: The Science Of Pandemics" at 10pm here on the East Coast.

[stephenmarklay]

Thanks. With a 1 year old boy and 4 year old girl I think about it all day. My hands are dry from washing and a woman at the office was diagnosed and continued to work. :crap:

[Keith A]

It's called "Swine Flu: The Science Of Pandemics" at 10pm here on the East Coast.I watched this show over the weekend and found it very informative.

[Lifelover]

This thread deserves a bump!

Great info.

THANKS

[Keith A]

One other question I have about the swine flu -- what about the vaccine for this? I know that every vaccine carries some amount of risk to having adverse, even serious side effects...and this one hasn't been around very long. Has anyone received this vaccine yet? If not, are you planning on getting one?

[ridethecliche]

Thanks. With a 1 year old boy and 4 year old girl I think about it all day. My hands are dry from washing and a woman at the office was diagnosed and continued to work. :crap:

Some people are total idiots.

Then you realize that there are some people who can't afford to stay home, and it's a downward spiral from there.

[Dekonick]

One other question I have about the swine flu -- what about the vaccine for this? I know that every vaccine carries some amount of risk to having adverse, even serious side effects...and this one hasn't been around very long. Has anyone received this vaccine yet? If not, are you planning on getting one?

Got mine - no issues.