Swine Flu Experiences

I would not wait any longer with a fever like that - I would take him in to see the doctor today - if you cannot get an apt to get him seen today - take him to the ER.

I only know two moms that had kids with the H1N1 and they both said it lasted about 1 week (longer than the typical 3-4 days of the seasonal flu). Here is a good website with a lot of info http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm.

When I heard about the swine flu coming around I bought Sovereign Silver. It is to help with the immune system and stimulating the body’s innate healing processes. I have decided not to get the shot and take Sovereign Silver if I would get the flu. This might help your child feel better sooner. Call a health food store and see what they say.

What you describe is exactly what it was like for my 5-year-old. He had a fever (high without tylenol for seven days, low grade without tylenol for a day and a half after that.) It was remarkably easy to quarantine him from the 15-month-old because he was perfectly happy to stay in bed (we moved the TV in there.) He slept and didn't eat much for the whole week. Even once he started to feel better (when the fever was gone) it was another week and a half before he was back to his old self (and that long until he was really hungry again! He lost three pounds!) Our circumstances were slightly different in that he started off with 24 hours of vomiting, was diagnosed with pneumonia (and since he wasn't coughing much they said it probably wasn't H1N1) started to do a little better and then got worse again with the cough. I took him back in when he got worse, and the pediatrician did both the influenza A test and a CBC to make sure there wasn't something scary and bacterial going on - and it was all viral (and "probable H1N1"). It totally sucks, they feel terrible for so long, and definitely do everything possible to make sure no one else (including you!) gets it, because it lasts so long.

(Let me add that the antivirals only work if given within 48 hours of first symptoms, AND they cause nausea and vomiting in 50% of the kids who take them. Antivirals have their place, but they are not a silver bullet.)

Also, don't worry too much about the height of the fever. How high a fever is does not actually have much of a relationship to how severe the disease is. It's not as if it's going to just keep going up without intervention, the body does limit how hot it will allow itself to get. The fever is his body's way of activating his immune system and forcing him to rest so all his energy can be used to fight off the bug.

If your son's fever goes away (without medication) for 24 hours and then comes back, or if his symptoms change, take him in. Otherwise just ride it out. If it's been seven days you're close to the end of it. Good luck!

I just recieved this email so haven't tried it but it's a natural product so thought you might be interested. S.

Subject: Interesting and hey, who knows?

All I got to say, is it's worth a try.

A friend of mine told me a story about how when he was a kid he was in the hospital & near dying. His Italian grandmother came to the hospital & told a family member to go buy her a large onion & a new pair of white cotton socks. She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet & put the white cotton socks on him. In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks. The slices of onion were black & his fever was gone. The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it & we are going to try it this winter.

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case..

Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Weldon,thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill...I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

I feel your pain. We also just went through this ourselves. My son had a fever for 5 days straight, and Motrin did little to bring the fever down. He also had a deep cough that just would not go away. I would say that everything lasted for about 1 week, with a few lingering effects for another few days. What I can tell you is that no one else in the family has had H1N1, just other things. I didn't necessarily keep my son isolated, but we did keep him comfortable. He also was not hungry, but did keep his fluids in. He is much better now, and you would never know he had anything. Once the fever broke, it was like the cough was gone as well. It was really crazy. Our pediatrician said that the fevers have been lasting 3-7 days and that symptoms could last up to 14 days. Luckily our little guy didn't seem too bad, but I was worried about everyone else. I guess I just Cloroxed all the bathrooms again, washed all of the sheets, towels, etc, and disinfected all of the handles, doorknobs, etc. I am a little crazy like that though. Good luck.

I do believe we've all had the swine flu here in our house, and we're still recovering. My 6-year old girl was the 4th to get it in our household. It spreads quickly and fast. It started with a general cough and a few aches and pains on the first day (but not too many aches for the younger children), then a fever which got higher at night (all the way up to 103.8 for my 6-year old, not so high for the older teenagers), then a progressively worse cough -- which is a weird cough because it sounds productive, but isn't THAT productive, just loose and phlegmy. My husband actually has it the worse and the longest ... but I'm taking him in today.

I called the flu hotline AND the doctor and here's what I was told: Generally, the high fever will last for three days. Then you'll get a low grade fever that lasts for 2-3 days after that. And higher at night. The cough can last usually up to 10-14 days, but CAn last up to 6 weeks. She said if the fever lasts for more than 5 days, go to the doctor. Or if they have pain in their chest or don't seem to improve after 5-7 days. Or if they suddenly seem worse.

We're waiting it out now. My little girl's fever broke last night (the third night). So, she still has a cough but she seems to be improving.

The teenagers seem to do pretty well with it so far. But, it's been three weeks and my 17-year old still has an occasional cough. It's a rough one. But, I'd call the flu hotline or take your son in, especially if his fever hasn't gone down. He might have bronchitis or some other infection. It's a bad flu. And as adults, you'll KNOW when you've got it. Every joint in your body aches, even your toes.

HI S.,

Do you have him on antibiotics and Tamiflu? You don't want it to turn to pneumonia. That is what is most harmful in swine flu.

The flu is lasting 7 - 10 days, typically, including the fever. Keep pushing fluids and watch for any worsening. If he takes a turn for the worse, bring him in immediately. Otherwise, just hang in there!

Antiviril medications are typically not recommended for young children, because of the side-effects. And after this many days, would not benefit your son. They can only reduce the length of sickness by one or two days if taken from the onset.

Did your doctor give him the anti-viral medication? If not, why? My infant was supsected of having it (thank god he didn't) and we got the Rx just in case. You should really ask to get it for him.

We just got over it. My 6 yo dd started with it on a Mon night with a cough. Tues morning had a fever, turned into a high fever Wed, then lower again Thurs. No fever Fri. She laid in bed, watched tv, colored a little, ate almost nothing, drank some Tues-Thurs. By Fri she seemed pretty good. She missed school Tues-Fri. She coughed really bad for about a week. This was almost 2 weeks ago and the cough is just now gone.

So 6 yo was well on a Fri. The next night, Sat, my 8 yo started with a high fever. She had a higher fever for more days, Sat - Mon night. She vomitted for 2 days. She had a little cough and little runny nose. She ate nothing, drank almost nothing for about 4-5 days. She had more energy than my 6 yo, didnt sleep as much. This was a week ago, the cough is gone, still has a little runny nose. She missed 3 days of school.

My 19 yo had it first, but he doesnt like at home. He was sick with cough, runny nose, tired, etc for about 2 weeks, but only had the high fever for about 3 days.

When my 6 yo was getting over it, I cleaned everything in the house I could with bleach and/or lysol, but my 8 yo still got it. As each child was sick, I kept them seperate from the rest of the family. My husband has been fine. I got a cold, which started before the flu, and it turned into the worst sinus infection I have ever had, during the midst of all the flu stuff. So I was sick while my kids were sick. It was not fun.

S.

Here's our time line we are currently going through this keep in mind my kids are on tamiflu. My kids were also vaccinated against the regular flu so were talking most likely h1n1. So far I donot have it, or bad. I have a little cough and tight chest but that's it. I've had kids coughing, hugging, loving, kissing, all over me. Dr. told me it's important to bring my kids back if they get better then all of a sudden get worse or for fever over 5 days.

Thur.8yr.old went to school just fine, by dinner time sick and running 102 fever.

Friday- went to dr. who said it's the flu, ran 104 fever that wouldn't break, had horrid cough. Fever broke and never came back

Saturday- Woke up with 99-100 and stayed like that all day was bouncing off the walls and acting fine.

Saturday- Baby 13mos. starts running fever 102

Sunday- 8yr.old fine running a 97 so really good.

Sunday- 13mo.old goes to dr., again flu- runs 103-104 fever all day.. rough coughing and seems worse than big sister

We'll see what tomorrow brings...My 8yr.old is going back to school. Hopefully the baby has a quick recovery like her sister did.

Although my grandson wasn't diagnosed with Swine Flu - he had influenza A. The flu before Swine Flu I was told. He is 5-years old, had a temperature that reached highest 103.8 and lowest was 102.7. He had all the symptoms of what your child had. Felt good at times, and mostly slept. I kept wetting his head down, giving him plenty of fluids and kept him comfortable as much as possible. The doctor prescibed Tamiflu. It cost approximately $70. It was a four day (twice a day) medication. He is well after 5-days. Hope your child is feeling better.

Our 2 year old just got over the swine flu. Her symptoms were similar to what it sounds like your son has. She had a fever from Sunday afternoon until Thursday afternoon. She also had the cough. Her fever didn't get as high as your sons, but we had a difficult time getting it down. We would alternate tylenol and motrin every three hours. Normally our doctor wouldn't have seen her but we had our 2 month old in for his well baby check and I had to take her with me since she couldn't be at daycare. Our doctor told us that it typically lasts for 3-7 days. Any longer than 7 days and he wanted us to bring her in again. He told us to really watch her for signs of struggles to breathe and to bring her in right away if we did. He said to really push fluids to avoid dehydration, but not to worry if she didn't have much of an appetite. Even after her fever was gone, it still took a couple of days before she was really her old self. At the worst, she was really miserable and slept most of the day. Luckily for us her fever was the worst part. I'd say if your son isn't better within a day or two to call the doctor. Good luck! By the way, both my husband and I got sick shortly after she did. I think mine was a sinus infection and my husband's either a cold or a slight case of flu. So far our 2 month old hasn't gotten anything!

Hello everyone

I may have had the flu, but only had the headache and vertigo (dizziness due to plugged inner ears) for about 2 weeks, and still have the dizziness at times. I found hot liquids like chicken soup helped, as I did not have much appetite.

My son was very sick 2 days. He was advised to take Tylenol and a strong decongestant. He is 22. He was better in about 2 days. The ibuprophen did not seem to help. And drank vitamin water, the fluid is needed to help the decongestant to break up the congestion.

I believe the garlic and onion to be a good idea. I took a nasal sprayer with colloidal silver which helped me. There is a good video on Utube on sinusitis. One friend took hot tea and honey, with the hot fluid to hydrate and break up the congestion, and the honey is soothing and natural germ killer so I read.

Russia has been treating their patients with.. YOGURT.. the natural bacteria in it has been killing the bug. So i feel a pro biotic yogurt or cereal, etc couldnt hurt any.

For the cough, yes, you can pull toxin from the bottom of the feet. Putting Vicks Vaporub on the soles of the feet does quiet a cough so you can rest most of the time.

A very high fever can get dangerous and cause brain damage. If you cannot get the fever down by a fever reducer or cool bath, I also agree its time to get medical help.

Hope this may help.

I have two children still at home (21 months and 16 years) and neither have had the swine flu yet. My husband is recovering right now and he was horribly ill for about 4 days, and continues to have a cough and feel generally out of sorts (going on day 7).

He isolated himself almost completely upon being diagnosed and didn't come withing 4-5 feet of anyone else until his fever was gone for 24 hours without the aid of Tylenol. The isolation seems to have worked to contain H1N1 as no one else in the house appears to show any symptoms.

Hope that's helpful and that your little one recovers soon!
L.

My sister's family had it. Her 6 year old boy got it first, then her 4 year old girl, my brother in law next, and last her 2 year old boy. My sister never got it. The 6 year old boy missed over a week of school, his fever went away and then returned (it had turned into pneumonia). They are all feeling better now. Fevers broke 104 with Tylenol. I thought she should have brought her daughter in when she got over 104, but she just waited it out. I say bring him in if the fever gets over 104 again. Better to be safe than sorry. They could also make sure he is properly hydrated.

My husband and both sons (10, 13) had it a few weeks ago. My 10 year old was sick for six days. For the first 3-4 days his fever routinely went up to 104 when the Tylenol or Advil wore off. It even hit 105 once. For a couple of days after that his fever was 101 and then for a couple of days he hovered around 100. He developed a very frequent tight cough and we have asthma in the family so I did take him in for that. He didn't have pneumonia or anything though so we just gave him albuterol nebulizer treatments every four hours for several days until it cleared up. For about a week or ten days after he recovered he was very tired. He is a very high energy kid, but he would get tired in the afternoons, and I would have trouble waking him up in the mornings for school. He watched an awful lot of videos while he was sick! I felt bad about it, but he needed to rest, he didn't feel up to doing much else (we did play a few games and do some puzzles), and I had to work from home.

My husband was also very ill for 6-7 days and was about the sickest I've ever seen him. He has asthma. My older son was started on Tamiflu right away because he has asthma and was only sick for about 2 days with a fever of 103. He did get a really bad cough and is still coughing three weeks later.

I never got it. I don't know why not, but I have been doing things for over a year to try to strengthen my immune system (chiropractor, massage, exercise, antioxidant berry juices, etc). While they were all sick I gargled with warm salt water, used a saline nasal spray, washed my hands until they were raw, used separate hand towels and drank a lot of green tea.

If his fever goes past the 7th day I think I would call the doctor back. What they told me to watch for was if they got better, the fever went down and then it came back suddenly. That is a sign of a secondary infection such as pneumonia. Good luck!

Hi S. - I have had it through my house - all 3 of my kids got it to a certain degree. It definitely sounds like you have H1N1 at your house. But hang in there - it's almost over!... my sister-in-law is a physician, my sister is a nurse in Infection Prevention at a local hospital - both of them say that if you're seeing these symptoms, then chances are slim to none that it's anything BUT H1N1. But if your children are healthy and have no underlying health conditions, then they'll get through it and build immunity and no problem. The only thing to watch for is secondary infection - that's when the flu can get scary. Watch for signs of secondary pneumonia. When my kids had it, they both lost the fever for 24 hours - leading me to believe it was over - but then the fever returned for another 24 hours. This is supposedly normal and expected. However, if the fever returns for more than a day or so and its accompanied by the consistent cough, watch and beware - pneumonia can be a very, very serious condition in anyone, especially small children... Good Luck - and hang in there. Biggest thing is to remember not to panic at the basics - if you have healthy kids, they should get through it just fine... God Bless! C.

My experience with my own children, the children that attend daycare with my son, and with my employees, there are so many different levels of it - but it can be all of these symptoms or only a few : high fever, cough, diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat, fatigue, body aches, and it lasts anywhere between 4 -10 days. After all the fever has gone I will also warn you that your child may have a cough that tends to hurt the chest for up to 2 wks. Good luck!

My 8-year-old son had the swine flu about 2 weeks ago. Sounds very similar to what you're describing. He was runningn fevers between 101-104, had a cough (though this wasn't prominent), very sore throat and vomited several times. All told, I think he was down with it about 10 days. And like you described, at one point he seemed to be getting much better and was even fever-free for 24 hours -- I think this was day 8 -- so I allowed him to get up and go down to his grandparents house (4 houses away) thinking he would be going to school the next day. That lasted about 90 minutes and he came home absolutely exhausted and miserable. Stayed home sick after that for 3 days, so I was really tricked by that -- he's my 3rd of 4 children and I've never "guessed wrong" like that before on an illness. It's strange stuff.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to spread much among my other children. My oldest daughter came down with mild respiratory symptoms -- not even sure if it was the same thing. My oldest son seemed to have all the same symptoms as my younger, but the fever was much shorter-lived and all his symptoms were considerably improved after maybe 48 hours.

Hang in there! Hopefully your little one is getting to the end of his ordeal if he's already had the nasty stuff for 7 days. Good luck!

K.

I am pregnant and I can't decide if i should get the swine flu shot or not because they don't know what effects the shot has on the fetus!!It just makes me crazy,I don't know what to do!!I feel sorry for your little one!!I hope he get's better soon...

I would be getting my son to the Dr. with a 104 plus temp.-this is getting danterously high-don't take no from the Dr.--I am an RN and raised 9 children-be proactive--your son could have pneumonia or the beginnings of it--if he has been sick for 7 days he definitely needs some intervention-S. from Iowa

Our family has had the H1N1 - my son & I got it back in September, and my husband got in late October. Unfortunaely what you are describing is similar with what we experienced. My son was out of daycare for 10 days becasue of it. The fever seemed never ending and also was over 104 like you described. (The only good thing to remember is the fever is fighting off the virus!) My husband & I were both so sick, nothing like we had ever experieced before and both missed a week of work.

One thing to watch is his breathing and the cough. Pneumonia is a common secondary infection from H1N1, which happened to my son. Since the symptoms are similar to the virus, it is hard to catch that it might have developed into this without seeing a doctor. The chest x-ray was the only way we knew for sure. I've had 2 other friend's who also developed pneumonia as a result of H1N1. If the cough and breathing are of any concern take him for an evaluation, just to be on the safe side.

Hope he feels better soon ....

My son was sick this week. Started with a headache Wednesday then fever and vomiting. He was pretty run down. The nurse on the phone right away said H1N1 but I don't believe it. He doesn't have a fever this morning and seems to be energetic like usual. We did start the Tamiflu right away though because he is a slight risk for severe complications. Not sure if that is why it's better faster or not. His sister had a cold for a week then fever for 2 days earlier this week also.