Monday, October 19, 2009

H1N1.. a personal perspective

Last week we were on vacation to Williamsburg Va. The morning after we arrived Elizabeth woke with a fever of approx. 102. She was acting fine, so we opted to 'wait and watch'. We did all the usual things like offer plenty of fluids, alternate tylenol and motrin, etc.. As the afternoon progressed, she fell asleep on my lap and when she woke she felt VERY hot. After taking her temp. again, we realized it had escalated to an alarming almost 105. We immediately took her to a walk in clinic and there they did the nose swab test and it came back positive for the flu.

Tamiflu was given and by the next morning her fever was normal and you would have never known she had been ill. She continued on a 5 day course of Tamiflu but her actual symptoms only lasted about 24 to 36 hours. Perhaps the quick recovery was in part due to the anti viral drug being given so soon after the onset of symptoms, I don't know, but the severity (or I should say lack there of thankfully!!) of our bout was nothing like I would have expected based on all the media reports we have been hearing.

We opted not to vaccinate our children for the Swine Flu out of concerns for the vaccine safety and I was especially concerned when we first got the results last week - but no one else came down with it, and Elizabeth made a complete recovery within a very few days.

Just thought I would pass on our experience so all you Mom's out there won't freak when your children aren't as diligent about washing their hands as you might like for them to be during this "germ" season! I'm resting a bit easier now!! (Still diligent about the germs and washing hands but at least not *quite* as obsessed :)

6 comments:

Patricia said...

THanks for shring your experience, Susan!! So glad it wasn't as bad as all the media hype...I truly believe the media has done nothing but create widespread panic about this...not that we aren't taking it seriously, but I'm sure the seasonal flu is just as bad as H1N1...glad you are all OK!!

Desiree' said...

My kids have it now. (all five) Some are worse than others. Fevers were 102.1 and stayed constant even with tylenol. Our doctor wouldn't do the swab test. Said it wasn't necessary and our county was swamped with H1N1. So far it has lasted about a week.....

Susan Stevenson said...

I'm so glad to hear that Elizabeth is well. I can imagine how concerned you all were when her fever spiked. I'm glad that swift treatment and your diligence paid off in a quick recovery.

I'm not a 'flu shot' person. I've never had flu shots and don't plan to. Fortunately, my immune system seems to work very well. I've rarely been sick throughout my life. But I'm also a very diligent hand washer too. :) I think that's the real 'secret'.

Kim said...

We are not vaccinating either. Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like she had a much milder case that what it could've been. (Thankfully) We have not been sick yet and we are praying for God's protection. My husband will be getting the shot because he is *out there* in the medical field. There have been a few cases in our church, so we are just trying to be cautious and even miss a few activities here and there.

Shelley said...

Susan,
Get some Elderberry syrup (Sambucol- sugar free- at the health food store) When we all got the flu this summer (I'm about 99% positive it was piggie flu) the girls immediately started the Elderberry syrup and were completely fine within about 36 hours. They both ran very high fevers, but we didn't give any advil or tylenol, but just let the fever run it's course. We, however didn't take the syrup and...well, you remember how sick David and I were. I didn't have enough on hand for us and gave it to the kids instead. I will not make the misatake of not having it again!! We take it daily now and will through the spring , then I will just keep it handy if anyone gets sick for the summer. Anyway...I HIGHLY recommend the stuff!!
Glad Ebeth is better!!!!

Susan said...

We didn't vaccinate either... I'd rather have the swine flu then risk an barely tested vaccination. I am obsessing with the hand washing ;). I'm glad Elizabeth got over the flu quickly and is feeling better!