I’ve had that throat tickle cough for months sometimes. What a PITA. @somemom I’ve found Mucinex and lots of hot tea are the few things that can provide some relief as for me it is usually a result of postnasal drip. Would love to hear any other suggestions as well.
I’m wondering if the illness that struck my son right before he went back to Beirut is the flu. 
He still feels horrible, six days later.
And if it is the flu, I’m praying hard that DH or I don’t catch it, since we leave on our cruise in a week!
My fevers almost always spike at night. I usually wake up with no fever and by around dinner time, it goes up.
I still have a sore throat and a crinkle noise in my ear every time I swallow. The last time I was sick, these things lasted for a few months. Hoping that doesn’t happen again 
I caved and bought a throat-numbing spray from CVS. It’s been a godsend for my sore throat.
No codeine for me, it does not agree with me.
@MaineLonghorn I think they say the incubation period for flu is 2-4 days so if your son left six days ago you might not have caught it from him. Hope you stay well and hope he feels better soon.
@janiemiranda, thanks for that info.
It would be amusing to have a private message board/group where we could whine about our symptoms and progression and comment on the stupidity of daytime TV without bugging our families or putting it on a public forum 
For our family OTC antihistamines help with any post nasal drip; some folks find rotating them us better than taking the same one all the time. There’s also a mucus clearance device called Aerobika made by Moneghan that helps a lot with coughs (it generally requires an Rx but can be bought online at some sites w/o one and for less). My lung doc calls it controlled coughing so you schedule your coughing sessions.
The only upside to being sick:
I had some fun watching youtube clips of the following:
Funniest scenes from Whose Line Is It Anyway? - I’d forgotten how funny that show was.
Great scenes from The Carol Burnett Show- wow, some classics
Best quips of Paul Lynde from The Hollywood Squares
Great moments from Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon.
And I discovered a new channel I can’t get enough of : Kron4 in the Bay Area, “People Behaving Badly.” Lol, DH says I am such a “rules” person, I must be in heaven watching all of these rules breakers get busted. Guilty! 
I had the flu last March and I had a lingering cough for months. I still have the effects. After a couple of months I saw the family doc, who was reluctant to Rx an inhaler because I have some heart rhythm issues. She suggested a pulmonologist. Saw him a few more months later who tested my breathing etc etc and said there are no serious issues. (I’d had a chest x ray and CT scan to read too).
I took some more mucinex in case there was junk down there that I could not feel. The doc just thinks the cough from the flu really did a number on my lungs. (And it did - I strained my rib cage from coughing) Yuck.
@somemom my go to dry cough tickle relief is Ricola sugar free throats drops , original flavor. The only cough/throat drop that works for me.
I had the flu last year and had a hard time getting back to my former level of asthma control. The doc sent me for pulmonary function testing where it was discovered that I have about 75% lung capacity due to a chest wall abnormality and that the reason I can’t run or walk uphill without feeling like I’m going to die is because I have no extra lung capacity. This information was actually kind of liberating since I always thought (and every gym teacher I ever had told me) that I just wasn’t trying hard enough.
Great. Heart attack risk climbs after flu infection. You can be six times more likely to have a heart attack after contracting the flu.
So I already had influenza B over break, and I came down with influenza A this week. Many local public schools have been closed, and my pediatrician (I’m 17) has asked that kids stay home unless their symptoms are severe (which mine aren’t)
My fever and chills responded immediately to regular strength Tylenol, which means I’ve now mainly got general fatigue and postnasal drip - OTC and prescription antihistamines, throat sprays, etc. never work well for me, although small amounts of raw garlic does (and I’m trying that, per my pediatrician’s tele-suggestion).
I suspect these symptoms may last, although I hope not… but would you all recommend missing college classes until I feel a bit better?
I have two classes where I can miss without penalty and have a friend emailing notes, but my language class only allows 2 absences (no differentiation between excused and unexcused) before grade penalties kick in, and I’ve already missed once, with a doctors note.
I would advise you to keep your viruses home and not infect other students by going to class. Some students might be at more risk for flu complications than you are. You should not spread the flu.
I would also advise you, once you feel better, to go up the chain to change the terrible policy of giving students a grade penalty if they miss class because of the flu. That should not happen and is probably illegal. Students who are at risk should not have to choose between going to class with students who could give them the flu, and staying away from class and getting grade penalties.
As an instructor: please stay home.
Options to consider:
- Contact your profs and see if there are virtual ways for you to attend class, like teleconferencing in.
- If you must go, wear a mask designed to stop the spread of germs.
We leave for our cruise on Wednesday. I’m going to try to leave our house as little as possible between now and then!
I had the flu in 2004, got the vaccine the following year, but not thereafter.
Both H and I got the flu shots this year because of travel plans to Asia. Hey, nothing like sitting in a metal cylinder for 15 hours breathing recycled air to ensure the spread of crud.
Got home late Sunday. Monday H felt a bit ‘off’. By Tuesday he was in bed sleeping, in between attempts to hack up a lung. No fever, no body aches. Just a horrible cough. Went to urgent care. Sent him home - with the advice - you’ve got irritated lungs from the airplane, next time drink more during the flight.
Tuesday afternoon - hacking and coughing like crazy. Slept most of the day - the humidified CPAP helped with the coughing. Still no temperature. By Weds evening he was hacking up colorful goop. Sent him back to urgent care. By then he had a temp of 102.5 and was diagnosed with pneumonia. (we’ve both had those vaccines). They prescribed an antibiotic and cough suppressant. By the time I got to the pharmacy doc had added Tamiflu - H had tested positive for influenza.
Much, much better by Thursday evening. H happened to have an appointment with his PCP on Friday. Interesting info…somehow H had bypassed any true flu symptoms and gone straight to pneumonia (lungs were clear by Friday morning). PCP also said the pneumonia vaccine does nothing to prevent the actual infection, it does however lower the death rate if one happens to come down with the illness. (yes, this is a well regarded, western trained MD who recommends the normal vaccine schedule and doesn’t have an voodoo in his practice).
Now S and I are dry coughing, but no fever. (S did not get flu shot).
I’ll get another doctor’s note and stay home if my symptoms persist. If they don’t… still stay home? I realize I can still be shedding viruses for 2 weeks, but it does not seem practical to stay home for that long.
I would be wearing a mask as much for my protection as theirs; normally the flu causes either my chronic headaches or IBS to flare up.
@“Cardinal Fang” it’s department policy and has been challenged before. My TA is already challenging it again, as she and many of my classmates also have the flu.