Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Flu

Husband is down with the flu.  He says he has never felt so sick before.  For two days he was basically in bed.  Yesterday, he was moving around the house some... but tonight he was back in bed by 7pm.  

It is pretty miserable to experience the flu.  Symptoms come on rapidly and most commonly consists of fever, chills, malaise, and body aches.  I wrote a previous post comparing and contrasting the common cold to allergies.  Web MD has a nice chart comparing the common cold to the flu.  I've included it here:



Symptoms
Cold
Flu
FeverRareCharacteristic, high
(100-102 degrees F); lasts three to four days
HeadacheRareProminent
General Aches, PainsSlightUsual; often severe
Fatigue, WeaknessQuite mildCan last up to two to three weeks
Extreme ExhaustionNeverEarly and prominent
Stuffy NoseCommonSometimes
SneezingUsualSometimes
Sore ThroatCommonSometimes
Chest Discomfort,
Cough
Mild to moderate;
hacking cough
Common; can become severe
Complications
Sinus congestion
or earache
Bronchitis, pneumonia;
can be life-threatening
Prevention
Good hygieneAnnual flu shot or FluMist
Treatment
Only
temporary
relief of symptoms
Antiviral drugs (Tamiflu or
or Relenza) within 24-48 hours
of onset



Since the flu is contagious about 1 day before and 5-7 days after symptoms start, we are watching our kids carefully.  It may be tricky to determine whether or not a child has body aches.  Plus with kids, they can also have nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Now colds usually lasts 2-3 days... maybe 1 week at most.  The flu can last 1-2 weeks... sometimes longer.  Boy, I sure hope husband feels better soon.  The house is just not the same without a functioning daddy!