<p>anyone else suffering this year? i have been fighting this bug for almost a month. i suppose i don’t rest long enough or i keep getting exposed through all the students. i have been up and down with a cough, runny nose, upset stomach and then cycle through it all again…</p>
<p>anyone else else?</p>
<p>you’re definitely in a long line…heard today that one of the local schools had 25% absent one day last week…and I know many, many adults not in a school environment who are suffering</p>
<p>H had it over Christmas break…3-4 weeks</p>
<p>It’s all over the place in the northeast. There was a piece on Hulu.com on the flu.</p>
<p>I found that it was pretty mild starting out - no major headaches and muscle aches. Then the respiratory symptoms hit and it’s just a pain. It doesn’t stop me from work in making me tired but it’s just a pain. Son had it for two days and it was over. I’d say that I’ve had it for about two weeks. I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately and that’s part of the problem. Spring is here in a month…</p>
<p>Ah, sorry to hear you’re not feeling well 
I think it’s just the annual flu bug; it seems like everyone at my school has it.</p>
<p>I got a flu shot back in November, Nevertheless, whatever germ is making the rounds this year (and my contacts suggest it’s coast to coast) is an ugly, persistent little bugger. I’ve had mine for 2+ weeks now. It started out as a mild cold, so I figured I’d just work through it. </p>
<p>Then, it turned into a chest cold and a deep, hacking cough, which disrupted sleep. Now, it’s in the sinuses. A rarity, I took two days off work last week so I could have five days to just drop off the map and try to recup. Energy level still hasn’t recovered but at least I don’t look and sound like a mess anymore.</p>
<p>Findaplace - that’s what my D has. She coughed until her ribcage and back hurt and now has that awful residual gunk. Hers was a bad cold though - not the flu - unless the flu has changed recently. Once you have had the “real flu” there is no mixing it up with a really bad cold. It truly is the thing that makes you feel like you have been hit by a truck.</p>
<p>Try mucinex to break up the cough.</p>
<p>She takes Mucinex as soon as she feels a cold coming on because it always goes into her chest - she’s a singer and that’s about the worst thing that can happen. The health center recommended Claritin too to keep the post nasal drip from causing a cough, but decongestants dry out the vocal cords so she hates taking them. She is prone to bronchitis and that takes forever to run its course. It’s curious to me how colds settle in different parts of the body for different people. She and I can start with the same symptoms and hers will go right to her chest and mine never does.</p>
<p>Alcohol helped a lot, but I caught it at the beginning. Killed all of them bugs before I started suffering big time. No joke, make sure do not mix with drugs and do not drive.</p>
<p>I think the college kids prove as often as they can that alcohol won’t kill all the bugs.</p>
<p>^ well that would be interesting study to see correlation between GPA and number of severe colds. I bet you, the higher GPA, the higher cold frequency and severity.</p>
<p>Interestingly, my S who is a Jr this year has suffered more and longer lasting colds in HS than he did during all of elementary and MS. I’m not sure he missed a day of school from K-4, amazingly enough. In 5th grade, more than 1/3 of the school caught some kind of creepy crud. </p>
<p>He’s on the aquatics team, so it isn’t a matter of not being in shape (although he’s caught a couple of bugs from teammates.) I chalk it up to the additional pressures of being a teenagers, taking a rigorous schedule, variable hours of sleep.</p>
<p>My kids have been MUCH healthier in college than they were in HS, for which I’m extremely grateful (they each missed 1/2 of their last year in HS due to illnes). Having more control over their schedules has been a HUGE bonus for them. Being able to pace ourselves and rest as much as we need to can really mean the difference between recovering well or having things linger forever!
I always check with the doc when things persist and would encourage a check back when it continues to persist. I have some pre-existing chronic conditions and can’t afford to lose any of my limited remaining lung function.</p>
<p>I think the flu season has actually been quite mild here. the bug you describe made the rounds about 1 month to 6 weeks ago, and was a bed cold virus. We are now enjoying a “stomach flu” circulating - fun times.</p>