Possible H1N1 or something else?

Supafly · Guru

Possible H1N1 or something else?

happylib · Guru

I am by far not an expert, but I would check on her through the night and go from there. Elizabeth now has H1N1. We were at a wedding last night and she was fine and had a good time with one of her friends and danced the night away. We were home a little before nine and she was sleeping. She woke up after midnight with a fever and it just became worse. We ended up taking her to the clinic today because she has had a temp of 104. They told us she has the swine flu. Oh, and she has thrown up a bit, but I think it's more because of the fever. I don't know if this helps any, but it's been our experience.

CoffeeQueen · Guru

They say the H1N1 comes on fast. That if you get usually goes to a high temp and symptoms within 2 hours.

I would start her on the children Claritin anyway. It sounds like she is congested and that drainage will make her sick to her stomach. Plus, if she does pick something else up you want to keep her chest clear.

I would keep an eye on her though.

apies · Guru

ugh, you guys are making me so paranoid.

jake had that "sick" look on his face thursday when i picked him up from school. friday he had a running nose. yesterday more runny nose and a hint of a cough. tonight, his cough is keeping him up and making him cry. so far no fever or productive cough. i'm so freakin paranoid though, i just warned matt not to get mad at me if i end up bringing jake into our bed tonight.

supa, long story short - ihni what to even look for outside of "flu symptoms" but in little kids, wtf knows if it's a cold or flu?!?!?!

i really hope that it was a fluke from the food and that tomorrow she seems much better.

apies · Guru

re: claritin - who can take that? i thought that pretty much all of the over-the-counter meds were taken off the shelf?

is there anything i can give jake for the cough?

CoffeeQueen · Guru

apies wrote:

re: claritin - who can take that? i thought that pretty much all of the over-the-counter meds were taken off the shelf?

is there anything i can give jake for the cough?

no, you can get childrens claritin. if it is not on the shelf, just ask at the pharmacy..

if he just has a cough due to cold it will not help. however, I think you can give it to dry up the chest. maybe call and confirm that with the ped. I went and bought some and also motrin and tylenol to stock up in case it hits here.

happylib · Guru

apies wrote:

re: claritin - who can take that? i thought that pretty much all of the over-the-counter meds were taken off the shelf?

is there anything i can give jake for the cough?

I don't know if he has congestion or not, but sometimes that is what causes it. You can give him Claritin

http://www.claritin.com/claritin/products/ChildrensClaritinGrapeFlavoredSyrup.jspa

and he can also have zyrtec

http://www.zyrtec.com/econsumer/zyrtec/product.view?body=/zyrtec/pages/prod_children.jsp&s=prod_children&p=&t=

They last 12 hours, I think so you could give it a whirl and see if it helps. I hope he is doing better soon too.

Juni · Guru

Well I have heard that flu symptoms usually start really quickly so I would (in my completely non-medical opinion of course) lean more towards a bug than H1N1. Especially with Jake if he has been sort of sick since Thursday - everyone that I've heard of spikes a high fever and gets really sick really fast. There is a small percentage that do not get a fever with it but that is rare.

I would just keep an eye on her. Keep up with the motrin/tylenol combo and use some kind of decongestant to dry her up. TBH I would guess that all the activities, late night and candy play a big role too in making her throw up and feel crappy. That's not to say she might not be getting sick but I would bet it is not H1N1.

FWIW - I was very sick for over a week. Flu symptoms - fever, chills, nausea, worst body aches, headaches, extremely exhausted - no flu. Gavin got really sick too - and really quickly with a pretty high fever - no flu. You can bring her in and they can do a flu shot but at the same time if it is something you would normally keep her home for I would keep her home and take care of her instead of exposing her to the germs in the doctor's office, kwim?

Ugh, it's so hard. Either way I hope all the kiddos feel better ASAP!

Libby - did they do the nose swab and a blood test or did it test for influenza A and they are treating is assuming it is H1N1? (sorry, I'm just curious how it is done in other parts of the U.S.)

happylib · Guru

Juni wrote:

Well I have heard that flu symptoms usually start really quickly so I would (in my completely non-medical opinion of course) lean more towards a bug than H1N1. Especially with Jake if he has been sort of sick since Thursday - everyone that I've heard of spikes a high fever and gets really sick really fast. There is a small percentage that do not get a fever with it but that is rare.

I would just keep an eye on her. Keep up with the motrin/tylenol combo and use some kind of decongestant to dry her up. TBH I would guess that all the activities, late night and candy play a big role too in making her throw up and feel crappy. That's not to say she might not be getting sick but I would bet it is not H1N1.

FWIW - I was very sick for over a week. Flu symptoms - fever, chills, nausea, worst body aches, headaches, extremely exhausted - no flu. Gavin got really sick too - and really quickly with a pretty high fever - no flu. You can bring her in and they can do a flu shot but at the same time if it is something you would normally keep her home for I would keep her home and take care of her instead of exposing her to the germs in the doctor's office, kwim?

Ugh, it's so hard. Either way I hope all the kiddos feel better ASAP!

Libby - did they do the nose swab and a blood test or did it test for influenza A and they are treating is assuming it is H1N1? (sorry, I'm just curious how it is done in other parts of the U.S.)

They told us it was based on her symptoms. They didn't test her, but said that with her symptoms and the time of year it was pretty clear that it was H1N1. I also think since we live here in a college town (University of Illinois), that it is almost a given since it's all over the university. There are masks, sanitizing gels, and signs up all over the place in the clinics. The doctors are even wearing masks.

Sara · Guru

I would tend to think it is just a bug.

With Bryce and Keegan it came on QUICK! Fever above 101 and aches and the constant cough. Keegan did vomit some, but like Libby I think his was more due to his high fever which got to 103 at one point. Bryce never did puke.

We did all have the stomach bug, diarrhea and vomiting go through all 5 of us about 3 weeks before Bryce and Keegan got the flu. It was a 24 hr type bug.

daisy · Guru

i hope she's feeling better soon.
all this stuff is so confusing.
my pedi isnt even prescribing tamiflu unless the kid is hospitalized. this SUCKS.
i hope anna is feeling better - keep us posted.
and lib, i'm sorry elizabeth has it!! hope she's feeling better soon too!!

muffy · Guru

dont know if this helps, but this was posted on my EC:

Know the Difference between Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms

Fever is rare with a cold.

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 flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.

A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.

Severe aches and pains are common with the flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.

Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chills are uncommon with a cold.

60% of people who have the flu experience chills.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.

Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.

Sneezing is not common with the flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.

The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.

A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.

Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.

Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.

kris · Guru

happylib wrote:

apies wrote:

re: claritin - who can take that? i thought that pretty much all of the over-the-counter meds were taken off the shelf?

is there anything i can give jake for the cough?

I don't know if he has congestion or not, but sometimes that is what causes it. You can give him Claritin
http://www.claritin.com/claritin/products/ChildrensClaritinGrapeFlavoredSyrup.jspa
and he can also have zyrtec
http://www.zyrtec.com/econsumer/zyrtec/product.view?body=/zyrtec/pages/prod_children.jsp&s=prod_children&p=&t=
They last 12 hours, I think so you could give it a whirl and see if it helps. I hope he is doing better soon too.

at my peds advice Jake has been on Children's Claritan for about 2 weeks. he has had a cough that kept him (well, me) up all night and a runny nose. He has allergy issues.

I'm almost certain Claritan is once every 24 hours. That is how I'm giving it to Jake.

I'm needing to find out if I can give it to Kate. She now has the cough (keeping her Daddy up all night) and the runny nose.

Like April, I'm freaking paranoid!!!!!!!

Sara · Guru

daisy wrote:

i hope she's feeling better soon.
all this stuff is so confusing.
my pedi isnt even prescribing tamiflu unless the kid is hospitalized. this SUCKS.
i hope anna is feeling better - keep us posted.
and lib, i'm sorry elizabeth has it!! hope she's feeling better soon too!!

tamiflu only works within the first 24 hrs of the onset of symptoms so i am surprised he is even prescribing it to hospital patients. when i took bryce in his doctor said had you waited another day we would not of even put him on the tamiflu because it would've been to late for it to even be effective at that point.

Sara · Guru

for those dealing with allergy type coughs. you could do a zyrtec or claritin and a cool mist humidifier. you will find a humidifier helps a ton keeping the moisture in the room not allowing them to not get to dried out and start the coughing. hth!

kris · Guru

Sara wrote:

for those dealing with allergy type coughs. you could do a zyrtec or claritin and a cool mist humidifier. you will find a humidifier helps a ton keeping the moisture in the room not allowing them to not get to dried out and start the coughing. hth!

you know what really worries me is that my kiddos do have these allergy things going on . . . I know they don't have anything but allergies at this point. But what I'm scared to death of is that they pick up H1N1 WHILE battling these allergy type of things. With all the snot and fluid bugging their respiratory systems right now I'm thinking this is a prime scenario for pneumonia if H1N1 were to get ahold of them right now.

I need to find out if Kate can take Claritan. I need some freaking vaccinations (seasonal AND H1N1) to become available in my area!!!

Juanita · Guru

Laura, it doesn't sound like the flu to me. Is she any better?

April, I've heard from several different peds that Delsym is a good otc cough medicine. I can't remember if it's Delsyn or Delsym..

Juanita · Guru

happylib wrote:

I am by far not an expert, but I would check on her through the night and go from there. Elizabeth now has H1N1. We were at a wedding last night and she was fine and had a good time with one of her friends and danced the night away. We were home a little before nine and she was sleeping. She woke up after midnight with a fever and it just became worse. We ended up taking her to the clinic today because she has had a temp of 104. They told us she has the swine flu. Oh, and she has thrown up a bit, but I think it's more because of the fever. I don't know if this helps any, but it's been our experience.

How is she now? Poor E cry

muffy · Guru

Sara wrote:

daisy wrote:

i hope she's feeling better soon.
all this stuff is so confusing.
my pedi isnt even prescribing tamiflu unless the kid is hospitalized. this SUCKS.
i hope anna is feeling better - keep us posted.
and lib, i'm sorry elizabeth has it!! hope she's feeling better soon too!!

tamiflu only works within the first 24 hrs of the onset of symptoms so i am surprised he is even prescribing it to hospital patients. when i took bryce in his doctor said had you waited another day we would not of even put him on the tamiflu because it would've been to late for it to even be effective at that point.

actually, its the first 48 hours. http://coldflu.about.com/od/medications/p/Tamiflu.htm

Juanita · Guru

kris wrote:

Sara wrote:

for those dealing with allergy type coughs. you could do a zyrtec or claritin and a cool mist humidifier. you will find a humidifier helps a ton keeping the moisture in the room not allowing them to not get to dried out and start the coughing. hth!

you know what really worries me is that my kiddos do have these allergy things going on . . . I know they don't have anything but allergies at this point. But what I'm scared to death of is that they pick up H1N1 WHILE battling these allergy type of things. With all the snot and fluid bugging their respiratory systems right now I'm thinking this is a prime scenario for pneumonia if H1N1 were to get ahold of them right now.

I need to find out if Kate can take Claritan. I need some freaking vaccinations (seasonal AND H1N1) to become available in my area!!!

Children's Clariten is for kids 2 years and older so she probably can