# I think I have Swine Flu **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933 "2009-05-19T05:20:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/21 "2009-05-20T15:14:42Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Are potential flu patients supposed to go to the doctor to make sure the flu is being tracked? Last I recall, you were to call your doctor and describe the symptoms, to see if they think you should come in. Taking an antiviral like Tamiflu without a positive diagnosis is unwise, and various strains of flu are developing resistance to that medication. Not all cases of flu are as bad as **Rick** ’s, but most are pretty awful. My husband caught one of the influenza strains a few years back (including a positive antibody test result at his doctor’s office, and a scrip for Tamiflu), and at times felt well enough to type on his laptop while bundled up on the couch. Once he even felt like perhaps he could do some dishes. His burst of energy failed as he was standing at the sink, he crashed down to the floor on his knees, and had to literally crawl back to the couch. Other times he was wrapped up in a bundle of blankets and shivering visibly to the point where you could see his body’s trembling through the blanket layers, and physically unable to get enough strength up to eat from a bowl of soup that was next to him. Staying home is a very good idea, though, considering the fever. Fever with cold-like symptoms will get me sent home from my workplace (a medical center), while those symptoms minus fever will get you told to wear a mask when interacting with patients, in addition to otherwise observing good sanitary practices. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/22 "2009-05-20T15:46:45Z")
A fever of 103.4 is way high for a cold. Mayo Clinic site says 102 is maximum fever to expect with a cold [Common cold - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/common-cold/DS00056/DSECTION=symptoms) The symptoms they list put \*\*hellpaso \*\*pretty clearly in their “see a doctor” category. But if her husband, an MD, is keeping an eye on her, I don’t think that seeing \*another \*doctor is necessarily required. If it were me, I’d be curious if it was the H1N1 type. Also, did you get vaccinated against the regular flu? That would make regular flu a less likely explanation. If her symptoms are more mild than some flu that people have had, maybe that’s the Tamiflu working as designed. 103.4 fever is not a trivial symptom, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/23 "2009-05-27T18:37:16Z")
Anyone noticed that hellpaso hasn’t posted anything since the 20th? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/24 "2009-05-27T19:44:22Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#): > > But if her husband, an MD, is keeping an eye on her, I don’t think that seeing \*another \*doctor is necessarily required. Doctors don’t necessarily know shit about any given situation. Not a knock against them, just a simple fact. > [@Antigen](#): > > To “stash” antivirals and to start taking them before even testing positive for the flu is ridiculous and a waste of Tamiflu. Maybe you have Strep throat, for crying out loud. Absolutely. Not to mention that improper treatment of viruses is one of the factors that allows them to mutate and therefore resist antivirals. If you don’t do things properly, you’re essentially vaccinating the disease against our cures. One would hope that if the OP is a working RN, she would inform her primary provider, and possibly her employee/occupational health provider and/or Infection Control. H1N1 or not, one sick healthcare worker can lead to many sick healthcare workers can lead to many sick patients and people in the community. I speak from experience. -Troy McClure SF, Employee Health Services ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/25 "2009-05-29T12:27:43Z")
For reference: [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/signs-that-flu-is-serious/?partner=rss&emc=rss](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/signs-that-flu-is-serious/?partner=rss&emc=rss) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/26 "2009-05-29T13:32:38Z")
My doctor’s kid ended up with swine flu and the whole family got quarantined for a certain amount of time (a week?) - sign on the door and everything. The whole neighborhood thought they must have something absolutely face-rotting, since both of them are doctors, but just the kid had it, and none of the rest of them got it. Not worth panicking about. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/27 "2009-05-30T05:20:00Z")
it’s been 12 days–i had a fever that peaked out at 106–it’s finally come down, to a max of 103 today. I want you to know that ya’ll made me cry ( not everyone, but the ones that had the hatefullness to accuse me of being f-o-s.). I really thought about not coming here again. I thought this was a place I could talk about the flu and how I was feeling. Step throat is a distinctive disease, with distinctive symptoms–that would never be mistaken for influenza. I’m still not over it, but I hesitate to post here again. I don’t need the abuse. I am an RN, but, fortunately, I don’t have to work anymore amongst patients. that’s probably why I don’t have the immunity I used to have when dealing with patients. f-me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/28 "2009-05-30T05:33:52Z")
Well I am glad you are better. I did see this last night and noticed you hadn’t posted in awhile, so I was glad to see a post from you today! As for the assholes–well they are out there and you just pretty much have to learn to ignore them and not take them too seriously. I wouldn’t let them get to you. Glad all is better. I will admit I was a bit concerned when I hadn’t seen a post since you said you weren’t feeling well. My daughter was sick earlier this week and I had the same thought that she might have the flu, but luckily it wasn’t. Take care of yourself! Welcome back to the living! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/29 "2009-05-30T05:47:34Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > As for the assholes–well they are out there and you just pretty much have to learn to ignore them and not take them too seriously. I wouldn’t let them get to you. Please don’t call other posters assholes. Glad you are on the mend, **hellpaso**. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/30 "2009-05-30T08:02:56Z")
I think this is my sixteenth day on antibiotics. I just looked over a list of symptoms for H1N1 (which is the sweet term for swine flu) and I had all of the symptoms except having chills. The flu is a virus. Are antibiotics for viruses or bacterial infections? They said that I had pneumonia. I had a six centimeter spot on my lungs in a weird place. I was in the emergency room twice and at my doctor’s once. The sore throat that I had was probably from the surgery that I had that first week to stretch the opening near my voice box a little more. Although you most often have a high fever with the H1N1, fever is sometimes absent. My normal body temp is around 97 degrees. It never rose above 99.5. Everything else I have had in spades. I’m wondering if they gave me some test to determine that it wasn’t the swine flu. The first antibiotics did diddly-squat for me. That was Levaquin. I don’t feel that I need any advice. My energy is back and only the last of a bad cough remains. And I do have another appointment to see the doc for x-rays and maybe another CAT scan to check on the lungs. Just want to know how they would eliminate Swine flu so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/31 "2009-05-30T11:13:15Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > it’s been 12 days–i had a fever that peaked out at 106–it’s finally come down, to a max of 103 today. I want you to know that ya’ll made me cry ( not everyone, but the ones that had the hatefullness to accuse me of being f-o-s.). I really thought about not coming here again. I thought this was a place I could talk about the flu and how I was feeling. Step throat is a distinctive disease, with distinctive symptoms–that would never be mistaken for influenza. I’m still not over it, but I hesitate to post here again. I don’t need the abuse. I am an RN, but, fortunately, I don’t have to work anymore amongst patients. that’s probably why I don’t have the immunity I used to have when dealing with patients. f-me. ☹ I’m sorry you were so sick. I hope you were under a doctor’s care. This is a good little community we have going here and we generally pull together and sympathize with each other. We also call each other out on irresponsible, rash, or panicked behaviour. Maybe you had the flu, maybe you didn’t. But I stand by my earlier statement that keeping a “stash” of antivirals around in case you get sick, and then taking them before you know what’s wrong with you is irresponsible. I never said you were “f-o-s”. I’m saying that if you don’t know what’s wrong with you, you shouldn’t start medicating yourself on a whim. **Zoe** , there’s a fairly simple test that can tell if you have influenza. The test we run at our particular lab doesn’t isolate “swine flu” - you need more sophisticated stuff to isolate the strain. But we can take a swab from your nose or throat, dip it in a little vial of liquid to help extract stuff from it, then put drops of that liquid on a little card. Then it’s like a pregnancy test - [a line means positive for flu](http://www.labmate-online.com/assets/images/ilm/pr_files/pr_93/images/thumbnails/1105-RFTH.jpg). H1N1 is a version of “influenza A”, so when we see a positive right now, outside of the regular flu season, there’s a chance it’s H1N1. Positive tests (during this swine flu epidemic - not usually during normal flu season) have to be sent to the state health department for confirmation and further investigation. Antibiotics are no good against the flu, but can be helpful in fighting off the secondary infections that can settle in, like the pneumonia that often attacks lungs when they’re weakened by the flu. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933/32 "2009-06-03T00:41:25Z")
I thought I had the swine flu today. Sunday I had a headache and was achey plus tired Yesterday I was very tired had chills and started a non-productive cough Last night and currently I have the cough and a painful throat. I didn’t work today and went to the Minute Clinic. thye did the flu test and it came back negative. I then had the quick test for Strep also negative and they are sending out for the full test. So somethings you have all the “symptons” but it’s not what you think it is [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-swine-flu/496933.md?page=1)