Several of my students have already sent me emails letting me know they won’t be in because they’re running high fevers 
@romanigypsyeyes, how are you feeling? Better, I hope.
I’m starting to. I got some throat-numbing spray and it has been a godsend.
At this point, it feels like a bad cold with an elephant sitting on my chest.
Love that spray!
I know you know this - but the mom in me requires me to say - please take it easy until you are 100%.
Watch out for any secondary infections! A relative got really, really ill with pneumonia just before Christmas. She thought it was just a bad bad case of flu that would not go away but thank goodness she went to the doctor.
I’m up to literally 1/4 of my students out documented with the flu.
A friend of mine was just admitted to the hospital (not flu). She said the ER had people lined up on both sides of the halls. There’s no room anywhere. She’s in some makeshift room. All the staff is wearing masks and working really hard. She said no visitors. She doesn’t want anyone else to get sick. Sounds awful.
One hour after taking 2 full strength aspirin for a 100.2 temp, my temp is 100.2.
I don’t think it’s flu, though. I feel bad but not like I can’t get out of bed. When I had the flu 15 years ago I felt deadly ill. I’ve got chills, mild body aches, and nasal congestion. DH was sweet to go to the pharmacy to get me some Afrin, but of course the bottle won’t open. Just my luck.
My older daughter may have started with the flu on Monday - fever, aches, chills, but it’s now bronchitis. She was fortunate to get a Dr appt this morning and avoid the ER or UC. The worry was pneumonia as it hurt on one side and to breathe.
Dr prescribed a cough medicine with codeine to help her get some sleep, but no pharmacies in her area have it in stock.
So far, so good that no one else has it.
Well this is going to be fun. I have to go to the ER because I was just in a car accident (I’m OK but really sore). I’m afraid to go to the ER though because it’s a flu germ cesspool.
I’m going but I’m not happy about it. -_-
@romanigypsyeyes, you have had such a hard go of it! Will be thinking about you-hopefully everything checks out ok! Ask for a mask if you are going to be sitting in the waiting room.
This isn’t even the half of it. My fridge and computer both died this week too.
But hey. It’s my birthday at midnight so let’s get just get all the bad out in the next few hours.
I’m grabbing a mask when I get there and keeping as far away as possible.
@Nrdsb4 my son has had similar symptoms the past few days. Low grade fever (100.2 was highest it got), nasal congestion and cough. Headache from the nasal congestion. While I normally would not have taken him to the doctor for his symptoms and just let it run its course, he is scheduled to go on a school ski trip tomorrow for the weekend. After hearing on the news last night about a normally healthy 10 y/o kid who died from flu complications, no way was I sending my son on the trip unless it was just a cold. So I took him in to our pediatrician’s walk in hours - we were the first patient so no other sick kids there yet. They did a flu test and it came back negative. She said as long as he feels ok tomorrow and does not have a fever, there is no reason to keep him from going, that it’s just a cold. His lungs sounded fine. She did give him a prescription cough medicine, but it doesn’t have codeine. It’s called benzonatate.
Oh dear Romani…yes, you do need to go to be checked out. Lol @ getting all the bad stuff over with before clock strikes midnight.
And Happy Birthday!!!
This child went to school with my cousin’s grandson.
Wasn’t Influenza A but Influenza B.
https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/New-Canaan-boy-is-state-s-first-child-flu-death-12502405.php
A University of Alabama professor died of flu today - at least that was the headline…no details on the link I read other than he went into the hospital last Wednesday and died today. The “last” makes it sound like he was in there for a week, not 1 day. We also had a 64 yo die of “complications from flu” in our local suburban hospital who was otherwise healthy…it seems this strain easily turns into pneumonia.
In terms of vaccine strains, here are this season’s strains, from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm :
A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus
A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus ← this is has the greatest concern about vaccine mismatch to the wild virus this season
B/Brisbane/60/2008-like (B/Victoria lineage) virus
If you get the quadrivalent vaccine, you additionally get the following:
B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (B/Yamagata lineage) virus
Note: most influenza vaccines are trivalent, so you would only get the first three. But you can ask specifically for a quadrivalent vaccine and go to a medical office or pharmacy that has it.
@ucbalumnus --I’m a huge fan of Costco. Ours gave out the quadrivalent to everyone.
My nurse said she got the flu from the flu vaccine. I told her that was impossible.
I’m cranky and annoyed. Why on earth are there so many nurses who believe this crap?
My daughter has the flu. She’s in Florida and I am not. She went to the Health center Wed morning (after going to tennis, which is her first class of the day) as she thought she might have strep throat, but it was the Flu (told her the test would take 18 minutes, but hers was positive in 8 or 9). She’s really bad today and I think she may end up in the hospital tonight as she can’t breathe and there is something wrong with her eye (pink eye? different infection?). I feel so bad for her because I can’t do much to help her.
The only good new was that power went off on the campus today so she didn’t miss any classes as they were cancelled, and she only has one class on Fridays.