<p>I don’t feel well- I teach little kids (elementary) and there are SO many germs going around my school. Today, I woke up in a fog. I’ve been a little dizzy and my chest hurts. I’ve been sort of congested. I’m starting to feel like …not well. Does this sound like beginnings of h1n1 or just a cold?</p>
<p>We have college visit tomorrow and DD will be so disappointed if I can’t go.</p>
<p>A close friends family all just had H1N1…it started with a very high (like 103) fever.</p>
<p>Agree with above. I’ve heard and read that really high fever is the clue.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that fever can be absent. I am suspicious that the colds that my kids and H had was swine flu because it has lingered for a long time which is unusual for them. However, it has not hit their schools.</p>
<p>For my daughter, H1N1 started with a bit of breathing difficulty. She didn’t feel bad, but whenever she took too deep a breath, she started coughing. The next day, she woke up with dizziness, nausea, and fever.</p>
<p>For my son, H1N1 started with just a feeling that he was coming down with something. The next day, his major symptoms were nausea, cold symptoms, and a low-grade (99 point something) fever. The high temperature hit later.</p>
<p>Both my kids (college students) ended up visiting the ER: my daughter because the campus health center was concerned about the 103 temp; my son because, on the second or third day, he had some breathing difficulty and was concerned.</p>
<p>Anyway, neither of mine started with high fever. Unfortunately, your symptoms remind me of my daughter’s.</p>
<p>It can hit fast, but it can also start a little slower. In any case, if you feel like you have a cold tomorrow do not go to school to teach. Flu or cold - you do not want to expose the kids. Stay home and rest. Go back to work when you are healthy.
Can someone else do a college visit with your D?</p>
<p>Both DS & I had H1N1 and neither one of us had much in the way of cold symptoms. Mine came on suddenly with terrible chills and aches. Very high fevers (over 103 for me and 104 for him) for both of us the next few days. After 48 hours , we both developed terrible coughs. His went into pneumonia; mine stopped at bronchitis. Neither one of us had much in the way of of congestion.</p>
<p>I just had it a couple weeks ago. I felt alittle achey at noon and by the end of the afternoon had a temp of 103. Had a high temp for about 3 days then it started coming down. Fever gone on day 5. No drippy nose, no congestion, no upset stomach, but I’m left with a productive cough that is still hanging on for over a week. No one else in my family caught it from me. My physician’s office said the high fever is generally h1n1 and the lower fever is generally the seasonal flu both of which are going around our area. Also they said, often people with the seasonal flu have the intestinal upset.</p>
<p>A 50-year-old man in my town, who was overweight but with no health conditions, died from H1N1 last week. His started with difficulty breathing and chest pain. Within a week he had died of H1N1. Although having H1N1 start this way is not common, it is also not unusual.</p>
<p>High fever and a horrible cough. I am still sick after 12 days and Tamaflu.</p>
<p>I’ve had it twice. Yes, they say you can’t have it twice, but I’ve tested positive for it twice over 5 months apart. So whatever it was, I got really sick twice. </p>
<p>The first time felt just like a normal flu and then progressed within a day to where I couldn’t get out of bed (which SUCKED because I was on my first real vacation for spring break). Started with just the sniffles and a little cough. The next day, full blown (102? 103?) fever, aching chest, nonstop sneezing, no energy, and trouble breathing (although I have asthma which made this worse). However, it was basically gone within a week, except I still felt tired long after the symptoms were gone. </p>
<p>The second time I got it (or tested positive, or whatever) it came on very, very slowly. I had a fever on and off for four days, then started sneezing and coughing, but mildly. Then I was exhausted and slept for nearly 12 hours a day (between classes, at night, whenever I could) and had a very high fever on and off for about three weeks. Then came the nonstop sneezing and coughing for about a week. Had the trouble breathing again as well. However, this time I also had a very sore throat and even lost my voice at the end. This one started the beginning of October and while the fever and symptoms are gone (except for a few coughs here and there), the fatigue has remained with me. However, I think this is because I gave myself virtually no time to rest.</p>
<p>Sorry this won’t print out in a nice table, but I sent this email to friends and it was very helpful for me to know that I just had a cold & not the flu.</p>
<p>Know the Difference between a Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms </p>
<p>Symptom </p>
<p>Cold </p>
<p>H1N1 Flu </p>
<p>Fever </p>
<p>Fever is rare with a cold. </p>
<p>Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Coughing </p>
<p>A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold. </p>
<p>A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough). </p>
<p>Aches </p>
<p>Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold. </p>
<p>Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Stuffy Nose </p>
<p>Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week. </p>
<p>Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Chills </p>
<p>Chills are uncommon with a cold. </p>
<p>60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills. </p>
<p>Tiredness </p>
<p>Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold. </p>
<p>Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Sneezing </p>
<p>Sneezing is commonly present with a cold. </p>
<p>Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Sudden Symptoms </p>
<p>Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days… </p>
<p>The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains. </p>
<p>Headache </p>
<p>A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold. </p>
<p>A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases. </p>
<p>Sore Throat </p>
<p>Sore throat is commonly present with a cold. </p>
<p>Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>Chest Discomfort </p>
<p>Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold. </p>
<p>Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu. </p>
<p>The only way to stop the spread of the epidemic is to spread the awareness.</p>
<p>From the CDC website - seems to directly contradict some of the info in the email above - </p>
<p>[CDC</a> H1N1 Flu | H1N1 Flu and You](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa.htm]CDC”>CDC H1N1 Flu | H1N1 Flu and You)</p>
<p>What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?
The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and deaths have occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.</p>
<p>DD had chest pain, in tense fatigue and cough – no fever. DH had fever followed by intense GI pain and then a few days later son was incredibly sick with GI symptoms – I was certain it was food poisoning. I took him in because I thought he was dehydrating, and the pediatrician surprised me by saying he thought both DH and DS had H1N1. He said some people are presenting with primarily GI symptoms, especially pain and since DH had a high fever which is unusual in his age group, he felt pretty certain he had H1N1 (as did his physician) which my son picked up from him. I was very surprised but my pediatrician has always been very smart about these things and a very good diagnostician. He emphasized that a fever is not always there and it’s not always looking like a traditional flu. For what it’s worth. I’m still not certain that’s what he had, because he bounced back after a few days, but it is certainly possible.</p>
<p>I just got over with it last week. Very first day, I had no temperature in the AM and felt great. By 2 PM I had chest pain (my lungs HURT) and a 101 temperature but no cough or congestion. But I could hear a slight wheezing sound in my chest. The cough did not appear until after three days when my temperature broke. It was as if my chest was getting rid of the congestion. Everyone seems to have slight variations on the symptoms. Just my observation, but younger people seem to have more of a cough early on.</p>
<p>My cough didn’t start until the day the fever broke. But I didn’t have chest pain at the beginning, just the high fever. I also didn’t have any head congestion and still don’t, just the cough lingering on moreso when I’m horizontal at night and then I can hear abit of a wheeze and in the morning, not so much in the afternoons.</p>
<p>Is the chest pain like the pain an asthmatic person gets? From a tight chest?</p>
<p>^ That’s what mine was like. However, I AM asthmatic so that could be why it felt that way lol.</p>
<p>romanig- did you have congestion w/the asthma?
My daughter won’t get the vaccine, and had asthma whenever she got a cold as a child…has since pretty much outgrown that but not always…</p>
<p>It took exactly 7 days to feel normal again. First symptoms were exhaustion; I slept for 16 hours, then the chills started, then fever, no appetite whatsoever, sleeping on an off for days then coughing both productive and dry and now I still have a dry cough on day 9.</p>