Sick Days
If you’re pretty sure you were exposed to the swine flu, and your kid has a temperature but no other symptoms, it’s time to PANIC, right?
Oh, fine. I won’t panic. You ruin all my fun. But you’ll excuse me if I do lay low for a few days and just watch movies with the little guy. Will is going to be out of town for just under 48 hours with his dad, so it is just me and sicko. I picked up some Tylenol for him in case his fever worsens, and we have plenty of food and drink. I am probably going to be bored out of my mind with no adult company, but I will manage somehow. (I don’t know how, since I am sending my computer with Will, but if I have to I will use the telephone.)
Let the fun times commence, I guess.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
If you get bored, feel free to call me. My number is listed in my FB profile. Today (Friday) might not be a good day but I should be available most of the weekend since we’re babysitting anyway and I keep late hours.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
If he shows any difficulty breathing – wheezing & coughing, etc. – he prolly has a flu. If he worsens over the next couple of days, you may want to consider sending yourself and/or Will to the ER or an Urgent Care center for tamiflu.
If I were you, I would totally panic. The swine flu is scary for the pregnant ladies – if you start to feel bad, don’t hesitate to take action!
November 6th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I wouldn’t panic. Just rest, fluids, etc like with any flu. I’m pretty sure pregnant women can’t take Tamiflu. One of my pregnant co-workers had H1N1 recently and besides general misery that accompanies flu, she and her baby are fine.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Word on the street is that people are finding elderberry syrup helpful, both as preventative and treatment. But NOT the kind that has echinacea in it, for some reason. Just plain elderberry syrup. It’s super expensive at Whole Foods, but if you can find dried elderberries (they don’t have them at WF) you can make it yourself.
We’re skipping the Tamiflu, much to the horror of my coworkers.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Katherine–it’s not the flu that’s dangerous. It’s pneumonia and dehydration, which can happen if you have any flu and for some reason are turning up more with h1n1 than with regular flu. (You probably already knew that, but I’ve been hearing SO MUCH misinformation and it’s driving me insane.) Regardless, it really does look like Sam’s fever is something else he’s fighting off. And apparently the kids we were around who now have flu would not have been contagious yet, so we probably weren’t exposed after all.
But we like rest and fluids so we are indulging in both.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
p.s. Tamiflu scares the bajezus out of me, so it’s very unlikely we’d be taking it (and I can’t anyway because it’s never been evaluated for pregos and infants). But I’ll look into the elderberries because if we don’t need the syrup I hear they make good wine.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Hope you both get well really fast.
Getting past the preggos/infants thing, why does Tamiflu scare you?
November 6th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Like most other medical-related things that freak me out, it’s the usage that worries me (though the possible side effects are pretty awful and not to be dismissed). Medication should not be the first thing people turn to. With flu, it should be fluids and rest. People at high risk of pneumonia, etc., should of course consider medicating faster than other folks, but I’m not convinced it’s necessary for most people.
I also don’t vaccinate for flu because I’m at low risk of exposure.
Basically, I’m the CDC’s worst nightmare. I don’t prevent or treat medically except in extremes.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I’m sorry but computer-free with a sick kid for 48 hours? I applaud your survival skills and send you virtual coffee. And hugs.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Thanks!
I completely agree that there’s not enough emphasis on community health/prevention and that as a society we are over-medicated.
I’d love to see a post from you sometime about why you mistrust science/medicine so much. Being in biomedical engineering research, I am very interested in attitudes towards science. My feeling is that there is widespread distrust of science because it is presented so paternalistically and little effort is made to educate so people can make informed decisions. It ends up coming across as big businesses saying “Trust me or else”. Similarly, I’d be really interested in hearing your thoughts on what the science community can do to improve the relationship with the public. Clearly the “pat on the head” approach isn’t doing anyone any good.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
B–technically I won’t be computer free, since we do have an iMac as well as my iBook. It’s just that I won’t have MY computer, nor will I be portable. I know, whine whine whine.
Kim–that post has totally been in the works for like four years. I just have a lot of trouble articulating my beliefs.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Uh-oh. It looks like I am all wrong here: http://doihaveswineflu.org/
November 6th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
My mother has been an elderberry pusher for years. Now I can’t find it anywhere, I guess because more people have been buying it, and I am angry.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Also, I fully anticipate that I will get the swine flu. I’ll be sure to let the internet know.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
According the science people I heard on NPR, the secondary infections are bigger problem with H1N1 for a few different reasons, but pregnant ladies are especially at risk because of their decreased immune response. This (combined with my own experiences with pneumonia and respiratory distress) is why I think if I was pregnant and had flu symptoms, I would be begging for tamiflu.
Of course, I have no plans to get any flu vaccines because of my bad experiences with them in the past, so no criticism here.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
The other problem with Tamiflu overuse is that it’s going to encourage the virus to mutate and get around it. And then the people who DO need treatment will be screwed.