Think I’ve got the flu

[Teddyblanket89]

And I feel horrific.
I’m got chills and agonising joint pain.
I couldn’t sleep last night because of the pain and I can’t rest today, I’m just writhing about in pain. My sinuses are all blocked and I’m coughing too.
My skin hurts. Everything hurts.
I can’t take another ibuprofen until 12pm and paracetamol until 1pm. They work to start with but wear off after about 3 hours!
My temperature is 38.5.
What can I do.?!

I'd consider paying for it in future - not that that helps you just now. Some good advice here. I hope you feel better soon. ETA I see you're going to be paying for it in future. I decided to do that when I had a bad dose of flu and struggled on my own. I was really frightened.

Night nurse. Just kip through the worst of it.

Medised was excellent for flu. I'm still gutted it was withdrawn.

Everybody is eligible to pay for it. Think it’s £15 in Boots. I paid £20 at my local pharmacy.
Money well spent. Think about it for next year. It’s well worth it.
A couple of friends have been very poorly with it this winter.
Hope you feel better soon x

They come home and need looking after even if they are. I'm not sure the OP will be finding your comments helpful.

From personal experience, if you had real flu, you would not have the energy to post on Mumsnet. I spent a week in bed, sleeping practically 24/7. A walk to the bathroom felt as if I had run a marathon. I actually thought I was dying, everything hurt including my eyeballs. Most people who say they have had flu, have not had flu. Hope you feel better soon.

Night nurse is amazing

Also difflam spray

I had flu in November and just took a few extra doses of ibuprofen and paracetamol for the worst three days. You heal and sleep better when not writhing around in agony. A couple of extra doses won't harm most people in the short term, but I wouldn't do it for more than two or three days.

You could try lots of natural remedies. Fresh sliced ginger, cloves, lemon and honey in hot water will ease sore throats and sinuses. Add turmeric and/or feverfew leaves to bring down fever. Drink lots of iced water or iced fizzy berocca. Use Tiger balm on your chest and soles of feet to ease chest pains and coughing. Have very hot baths and facial steams with a drop or two of olbas oil to relieve sinuses. If you can face eating, have chicken soup with barley. If you've had night sweats add salt to the soup or have salty crackers and water to rehydrate you.

It's such a mean strain of flu this year.

You don't need to be eligible to get a flu jab, you can get one privately at a number of pharmacies. Super easy £15-ish. I had flu once and it was horrific so I feel for you. But you better believe I've had a jab EVERY year since. I never want to feel like that again!

Rest up ,really hope you feel better soon. 🙏🏼

The people I know who had Covid this past month (including me and my family) have all had sinus infection symptoms with it.

That's the part that's still not fully shifted for me and my family.

This is a common trope. There are degrees of severity for flu, just as there are for most other viruses. Some people get it worse than others (depending on previous exposure, how well your immune system fights it off etc). Being able to post on the internet doesn’t mean she hasn’t got flu.

A friend just saw a GP who confirmed that lots of adults are presenting with RSV currently with a high temperature, coughing and sinus pain so it could be that.

As noted above you can get tests at the supermarket for flu and Covid. It might not matter however as the rest, fluids, painkillers approach is relevant for all.

If you have an oximeter (£15/20 from Amazon) you can keep an eye on your oxygen sats. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pneumonia/ Warning signs for pneumonia here. Flu and Covid can knock you down for days without it developing into secondary infections.

Hang in there, it’s horrid.

True. I was cooking a family Christmas Dinner and felt normalish, just tickly throat and like I was getting a headcold on what I now know was Day 1 of "the actual proper flu AND Covid", babysat 4 under 4s on Day 2 and took them to the park and it was in the middle of the night that I deteriorated fast. The next day I was being assessed for hospital admission and it took about 5 days for me to be able to even look at the TV/my phone/text people back etc.

A family member who is much older and frailer than me only had 1 day that they wouldn't have been well enough to be on MN. They were able to potter about with confirmed Covid and Influenza A.

It's awful this year! I had the flu jab and was still floored for a few weeks with it.
I ended up with antibiotics just incase, steroids and inhalers so if it doesn't ease up at all worth speaking to GP.
You have my sympathy though, it's hellish x

I didn't have sinus issues with the flu. I'd agree with not working too much if you go one does over in 24 hours with OC meds. It's just a few days of feeling the worse. I had lemsips as I felt I needed them. So I had my daily quota but woke in the night I'd take another.

Covid test for me came up on day five of feeling crap last time I had covid so if you do test and it's negative it still might be covid.

Good news is that is short lived normally for most people

People always say this, like there's no difference in severity. It's very odd.

I had the flu once. I felt like I'd I died I wouldn't be all that mad about it. For a while week.

My daughter had the flu a couple of years ago (confirmed by a test at the doctor). She was sick for one day, and was mostly just a little lethargic. She still played and did everything she normally would have done, she just had a fever.

I had real flu and ended up in hospital with pneumonia and empyema, almost died. I could absolutely post on the internet, read a book, etc. Not everyone is the same.

That's a very good point...it took me 7 days to test positive for Covid this time. 5 days the last twice I had it before this.

Feel for you OP.

I've had the same since Friday night. It's easing up a bit now but I'm off work today and maybe tomorrow if my temperature isn't back to normal. The aches have been particularly dreadful, like you say, it stops you from resting properly.

My COVID test was negative (I'm not wasting doing another) AND I paid for the flu jab. I know it's not 100% effect, but I still feel a bit short changed! Hopefully it will shorten the duration.

I’ve woken up in the night and not really shivery now but feel sweaty so thought my fever had broken as I also don’t feel particularly achy at the moment. But just taken my temperature using a forehead scanner and it’s 38.5! I’m usually shivery if I’ve got a temp so I don’t really understand this. I do feel hot but as I said I thought it was the fever breaking. I’ve taken 2 ibuprofen so hopefully it’ll bring it down.

I got it down to 37.5 using ibuprofen.
I don’t feel shivery this morning, but I do feel sweaty and the aches aren’t as bad. So don’t know if that’s a good sign.

I don't get the fixation with taking your own temperature, you're an adult you have a virus ( along with what seems the whole of the UK ) what does taking your temp actually tell you? Does it validate your feelings? Or was it low, would that make your symptoms disappear?

Eh? It's an excellent indicator of whether your medication is functioning for a start.

What a weird response. Maybe let the NHS know they only need to take a temperature once on entry to a hospital, you could save them a fortune in time and thermometers!

When I was in hospital with sepsis they took my temperature every hour, so they must find it useful.
A high temperature that isn’t reducing with paracetamol or ibuprofen can be an indication that further medical intervention is needed.

In my case it was the very sudden onset of painful, very shallow breathing. TBH it hit me like an express train - but that was after a nasty bug I’d already had for about 10 days and been unable to shake off.
A case of 111, ambulance, hospital, and 2 different ABs immediately.

This!

There was no bed for me at hospital...I was told to take my temperature (and pulse and bp) hourly at home and record it and phoned twice a day and asked for the measurements to assess whether the meds were working or whether I was at risk of sepsis or other complications.

If my temperature had got any higher I was told to go straight to A&E.

Awful comment @Lanzarotelady