Is there a flu epidemic at the moment ?

seamus · 04-01-2013 11:18am

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

wat
if you have the cold or flu you dont need to go to a doctor, well maybe if you're like.. 80 or something.
just get into bed, have some lemsip or whatever OTC medicine is best for whatever ails you and tough it out

Most people will need a doctor's cert to clear them out of work for a 'flu, which is probably why so many people will have seen their doctor for it.
Tbh, unless I was going into the doctor for a sick cert at the moment, I would stay the hell away from any GP's waiting room. You'd come out sicker than you went in.

A cold, not so much, take a day in bed and you'll be grand.

prettygurrly · 05-01-2013 2:44pm

er those complaining about people leaving their house when sick should blame SME's who now, in the main, do not pay sick days. Either have to take a day's annual leave (if they'll let you) or just not get paid...some people just can't afford that.

When I had the flu proper I was hallucinating and there was nothing that could be done until I rode it out. People who are like 80 don't get the flu cos they get the flu jab but those who are compromised indeed should be careful that they don't get dehydrated and rest...still don't know what a doctor can do for flu even in compromised cases....unless you get a bacterial infection - maybe anti-viral drugs they gave for swine flu, do they work?

bluecode · 05-01-2013 2:56pm

I've had the flu a few times. Believe me once you've had the flu you'll never confuse it with a cold again. Fever, aches pains, hallucinations. Last time I got it off my kids who seemed to shrug it off in a couple of days. But it floored me and then my wife. Funnily enough, she seemed to get the 'manflu' version and took to her bed leaving me to wait on her in her own private clinic.:mad:

A lot of more progressive companies give flu jabs to their employees. Very sensible.

smeedyova · 05-01-2013 6:36pm

prettygurrly wrote: »

er those complaining about people leaving their house when sick should blame SME's who now, in the main, do not pay sick days. Either have to take a day's annual leave (if they'll let you) or just not get paid...some people just can't afford that.

That doesn't account for the people who are out in the sales, etc. Height of selfishness and/or ignorance. I have no problem to tell people that they should go home and not be out infecting the general population.

Solair · 06-01-2013 1:49pm

Yeah, I got the 'flu just before Christmas when a disgusting woman sneezed and coughed directly into my face. I actually had to wipe snot off my cheek!

People really need to learn how to use tissues and generally just get a bit of cop on!

I was really sick over Xmas and I'm still feeling a bit run-down.

.jacksparrow. · 06-01-2013 1:51pm

Solair wrote: »

Yeah, I got the 'flu just before Christmas when a disgusting woman sneezed and coughed directly into my face. I actually had to wipe snot off my cheek!

People really need to learn how to use tissues and generally just get a bit of cop on!

I was really sick over Xmas and I'm still feeling a bit run-down.

Lovely!

Ghost Buster · 06-01-2013 1:59pm

Solair wrote: »

Yeah, I got the 'flu just before Christmas when a disgusting woman sneezed and coughed directly into my face. I actually had to wipe snot off my cheek!

People really need to learn how to use tissues and generally just get a bit of cop on!

I was really sick over Xmas and I'm still feeling a bit run-down.

3 out of 4 of my family were/are still sick and all through Christmas. i had flu, a chest infection and infected sinuses. my 7 year old had a chest infection and my 1 year old ditto with a bad head cold. My poor auld Missus had to mind us all through her holidays. not nice.:(

smeedyova · 06-01-2013 2:41pm

So, how long is this thing lasting? I haven't been out of the house for a week, only got out of bed yesterday, but am still not much better than when it first hit me, in fact, my cough is worse now, ears still full, etc.

Solair · 06-01-2013 2:58pm

Flu recovery time is typically between 1 and 2 weeks and you can feel quite run down for anything up to a month or more!

A lot of people still confuse colds and flu. A bad cold is nasty but the flu will literally leave you bed-ridden.

I think people are too complacent about the flu. For most people it's a nasty bug that leaves you feeling terrible for a couple of weeks or so. However, for some people it can be a really serious or even fatal illness.

It's totally unfair to go around spreading the flu. Someone with an underlying respiratory problem, old people, or someone with any kind of issues that make them more vulnerable to it can really be put at risk. Even fit, healthy people can get hit with serious complications like chest infections and even pneumonia. While they're not caused by the flu virus itself, it's just that it gives some other bug an opportunity to get past your defenses when you're already sick.

I got the vaccine once, and I think if I can avail of it again I'll take it as I was really knocked out by this thing. It's not worth the hassle.

Miss Lockhart · 06-01-2013 7:59pm

I remember when I got swine flu around early December a couple of years ago. At the time there were constant reports of young people (not the usual flu casualties) seriously ill in hospital with it and the media coverage was extensive.

There was also a thread here in AH about it and posts similar to ones here about how you don't have swine flu if you are posting in AH - it's just a cold, you would know if you ever really had flu etc. My thinking was pretty much in line with these thoughts at the time and I remember that thread definitely consolidated my thoughts on the matter.

That was until my consultant insisted on swabbing to check on my "cold" as I have pre-existing heart issues. Turns out I did have swine flue even though I was still in work.

Honestly, different people are affected differently - not everybody is flat out with the flu.

Calibos · 06-01-2013 8:52pm

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

I remember when I got swine flu around early December a couple of years ago. At the time there were constant reports of young people (not the usual flu casualties) seriously ill in hospital with it and the media coverage was extensive.

There was also a thread here in AH about it and posts similar to ones here about how you don't have swine flu if you are posting in AH - it's just a cold, you would know if you ever really had flu etc. My thinking was pretty much in line with these thoughts at the time and I remember that thread definitely consolidated my thoughts on the matter.

That was until my consultant insisted on swabbing to check on my "cold" as I have pre-existing heart issues. Turns out I did have swine flue even though I was still in work.

Honestly, different people are affected differently - not everybody is flat out with the flu.

Interesting......and I probably posted in the threads you referred to saying the things you talk about. Maybe like you, I wasn't giving myself or my body enough credit so to speak.

ie. I didn't think I had ever had the flu because surely I couldn't have had it and still functioned, even that time where the whole family were knocked out at the same time for a week and because I was able to work through the aches pains fever headaches nausea weakness, I not only still managed to work my own shifts in the family business but everyone elses too for over a week. We were all dying sick but I was dying slightly less. Turns out I might have actually had the flu that time and that I am just more superhuman than I already thought.

Go Me!!

TBH I'd heard stories like yours before where someone insisted they had the flu but powered through it (No medical confirmation of diagnosis though) but I always wrote them off as still simply not 'getting it', not getting the fact that if you were not confined to a bed for a week wishing for the release of death, then no matter what you thought you simply did not have the flu but a bad cold instead.

I think your the first that confirmed a flu diagnosis with a doc and swab.

Cool, We should get together sometime and start breeding more super humans

bb1234567 · 06-01-2013 9:57pm

Ye could be, my brother, sister and cousin were all on antibiotics just last week. Chest infections, felt exhausted and weak all day and all that

thiarfearr · 07-01-2013 8:26am

Struck down with this norovirus over the weekend and 4 others so far in the family. Its an awful dose, vomiting, diarrhea and aches and pains. Can't even keep down water and haven't eaten in 36 hours. Wasn't helped by the fact I was out drinking the night before, thought it was just a bad hangover but then it got worse instead of better

stateofflux · 07-01-2013 9:24am

ive never had the flu before but i think i have it now

. could feel a wave of weakness hit me last night, shivering, massive headache, overheating ,dry cough, inability to sleep...

PlainP · 07-01-2013 11:01am

From America

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/widespread-flu-outbreak-rises-41-states-18138130

Lollipops23 · 07-01-2013 11:05am

I'm sick of people confusing the flu and a nasty head cold- they're not the same thing, and antibiotics won't do anything for either.

There has been a nasty strain of the common cold going around though- my mam and my OH had it, I thought I'd gotten away with it but came down with it over New Years. Really bad dose, proper feverish temp, sore throat and zero energy. However, I was back up and running after 3 days, so it certainly wasn't the flu.

Conrach · 07-01-2013 12:27pm

Lollipops23 wrote: »

I'm sick of people confusing the flu and a nasty head cold- they're not the same thing, and antibiotics won't do anything for either.

There has been a nasty strain of the common cold going around though- my mam and my OH had it, I thought I'd gotten away with it but came down with it over New Years. Really bad dose, proper feverish temp, sore throat and zero energy. However, I was back up and running after 3 days, so it certainly wasn't the flu.

It probably was the flu'! I work with GP's and there is a flu' going now that is effecting people with the same symptoms but the severity is different, even within the same house.
Blood tests are showing the same strain in people who feel grim but can function and those who are bedridden with it. This is why this thing is spreading and reaching epidemic proportions because those that can function are going out and about, to work, supermarket etc., spreading it.
They are expecting it to peak in the next 2-3 weeks because schools are back and people have returned to work after the holiday period.
Also the Norovirus peaked only a few weeks ago and it was a worse than normal season so a lot of people are going to have a weakened immunity so more susceptible to the flu'.
This flu' is also causing secondary infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis in the young and normally healthy.
Also this strain is not in the flu' vaccine. Not in the North and UK anyway.

Lollipops23 · 07-01-2013 12:28pm

Conrach wrote: »

It probably was the flu'!

It's unlikely, as I had the flu jab. Honestly I think it was a bad cold- high temps and sore throats are par for the course.

degrassinoel · 07-01-2013 12:46pm

had a flue since 21st december, it's only starting to clear up now. I had a very lemsip christmas

El Guapo! · 07-01-2013 12:57pm

My gf has it for the past two weeks. She just can't seem to shake it.
For some reason though, I haven't caught it yet. The most I've had so far is a slightly sore throat and a stuffy nose.
I've probably jinxed myself now though.

Solair · 07-01-2013 1:03pm

I think people are confusing a complex interaction between a highly sophisticated biological system (humans) and a highly sophisticated virus (influenza) with something simple like a broken washing machine.

Different people will react differently to a virus like flu. It depends on how it hits them and how their body reacts.

One person may experience a bad head cold type thing. Another person may be unable to move and hallucinations might kick in!

We're not machines and biological systems are incredibly complex and constantly adapting to deal with new pathogens. So, it's only possible to say it could cause a range of symptoms and may last for a range of time.

You could be lucky and your immune system may figure out how to contain the infection quite quickly, or it may not figure it out for a while or may try a few totally useless attempts to attack it first!

You're dealing with adaptive, evolving bugs and a defense system that is basically intelligent! It actually has to analyse the bug, attempt to kill it various ways and come up with a workable solution to deal with it!

That's why I get a bit annoyed with people (and employers) who seem to think illness follows an exact time line! It absolutely doesn't.

All you can do is rest and let your immune system do its thing. It's possible that if it's seen a similar virus before, it might kill it quite rapidly. If it hasn't or it has some slightly ineffective strategy you can be stuck with it for longer.

It's not all about tonics etc

Bed rest and try to keep your energy up!

14murphy · 07-01-2013 1:45pm

I had it for just under a week and dragged myself to the doctor turns out I have tonsillitis and Bronchitis on top of it. Lord help me.

Bruthal · 07-01-2013 1:49pm

Lollipops23 wrote: »

It's unlikely, as I had the flu jab. Honestly I think it was a bad cold- high temps and sore throats are par for the course.

The jab is probably not certain to prevent you getting flu.

mar1us · 08-01-2013 1:22am

still goin on ?

Got rid of it a while a go,that why i'm surprise ...

Dr Nic · 18-01-2013 1:24pm

Anyone have mainly just an awful sore throat? Like swallowing razors awful??

What the hell is it?

TPD · 18-01-2013 1:31pm

I had a cold which culminated in sore limbs and a loss of taste and smell for a day or two, and the runny nose is still on its way out a week later. Haven't seen any flu victims about though.

Lollipops23 · 18-01-2013 1:41pm

Lollipops23 wrote: »

It's unlikely, as I had the flu jab. Honestly I think it was a bad cold- high temps and sore throats are par for the course.

Thought the tail end of my cold was taking ages to shift, but turns out it'd just morphed into bronchitis

I also have chronic asthma, so am in a freaking heap. Steroids and antibiotics ftw.

StormWarrior · 18-01-2013 2:12pm

I never catch colds or flu. Right now everyone in my household has a bad cold except me. It's because I eat several kiwi fruits a day. I'm not joking, that totally stops you catching things. Also if you have a cut or bruise or have had an operation, eating lots of kiwis every day makes you heal up much faster. I had an operation on my legs and the doctor said it would take a month to heal. I ate about 8 kiwis a day and was almost back to normal after 4 days.

Dr Nic · 18-01-2013 7:19pm

StormWarrior wrote: »

I never catch colds or flu. Right now everyone in my household has a bad cold except me. It's because I eat several kiwi fruits a day. I'm not joking, that totally stops you catching things. Also if you have a cut or bruise or have had an operation, eating lots of kiwis every day makes you heal up much faster. I had an operation on my legs and the doctor said it would take a month to heal. I ate about 8 kiwis a day and was almost back to normal after 4 days.

Thats good advice...
But... try skiing/drinking for 7 days followed by a week of nights at work in a hospital.... thatll get you nice and sick in case youve missed the feeling too much!!

Lawr · 19-01-2013 1:01pm

Have to say, mine started as a slight headache and a slight sore throat. The next day, I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it. The virus went into my lymph nodes. My throat closed up. I could breath, but swallowing was excruciating. In the days that followed, my temperature spiked. I couldn't get warm, no matter how many clothes I put on. I slept nearly 24 hours after the third day of it. The virus had only moved into my sinuses yesterday and I have this horrible feeling that as soon as it gets what it wants there, it will attack my chest. The one (or two) constant(s) has been that mild, low-grade niggling headache and that soreness in my throat. I suppose I'll be over it when those have disappeared. What is this stuff? It's been years since I've been sidelined like that by a virus. I lost a week of work so far. Thank doG for the weekend. I have work to catch up on, but at least, if I feel like crap, I can go lie down.

Is there a flu epidemic at the moment ?

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