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Original poster

I know this sounds silly but I think DS may have swine flu <help>

23 replies

Comewhinewithme · 14/06/2009 08:17

DS went to a&e last Monday after a fall off his bike .
On Friday he was sent home with a headache he had also said in the morning he had stomach ache and had a slight cough but he seemed ok and well TBH.

Yesterday he was ok apart from mentioning a slight headache.

Last night he woke for a drink and was a bit hot this morning he has a temp ,shivers stomach ache and headache along with occasional cough he also has a very itchy throat and is sneezing a lot .
(I also have an itchy throat and sneezing since last night)
He is also weeing a lot so it probably is a UTI it is just the cough and sore throat that is making me think maybe swine flu .
We have not been exposed afaik to anyone with swine flu but he was in a&e so maybe someone there?

What do I do am probably overthinking this more and worrying because I have a newborn in the house too .

Come slap me and tell me I am been silly.

OP posts:

misdee · 14/06/2009 08:18

he might do. he might not.

habve there been confirmed cases in your area?

call OOH for advice, or the specialist helpline?

MadameCheese · 14/06/2009 08:21

Phone GP surgery, don't go there. Someone will come to you to test him. TBH it's probably not swine flu but if it is the antivirals are vey affective. Hope you're all ok.

Original poster

Comewhinewithme · 14/06/2009 08:22

A school was closed down this week but it is on the other side of town . I know I am overthinking this going to ring helpline thanks .

OP posts:

lljkk · 14/06/2009 08:23

Plenty of ordinary colds are still circulating, vast numbers of people in the UK today will wake up with cold/flu symptoms because they have ordinary cold/flu. Why should OP's child be one of the tiny minority who have swine flu?

I've been ill with a bad cold for weeks. It's not swine flu. It's just a nasty cold. And because I can't put my life on hold I've probably spread it everywhere while shopping, hanging out in toddler groups, etc.

Original poster

Comewhinewithme · 14/06/2009 08:26

I wouldn't even consider it to be swine flu usually it is just because of the trip to A&E and d his the fact that when I googled his symptons (because I think it may be a UTI) it directed me to NHS direct website for swine flu advice.

Also as I said before feeling a bit more worried about it because of the new baby .

OP posts:

bigstripeytiger · 14/06/2009 08:30

If you are worried that he might have been exposed while he was in A+E you could phone the A+E dept and ask them if they had anyone in last monday with swine flu.

As far as I know they wouldnt put anyone with suspected swine flu in the waiting room, they would usually have somewhere more isolated for them to wait.

Original poster

Comewhinewithme · 14/06/2009 08:34

I know you are right feel silly now and going to blame it on sleepless nights .

OP posts:

OhYouBadBadKitten · 14/06/2009 12:27

Half of church was coughing this morning. (and according to dd someone was sick!) Woke up with sore throat this morning and am now coughing too. As others have said there are plenty of colds and coughs around.

As I understand it though, there is practically no seasonal flu circulating now. So pretty unlikely if someone does actually have flu for it to be seasonal flu.

I do wish though that people would use hankies to cough in church and not cough into their right hand and then use it to shake hands for sign of peace a few minutes later. Then of course we all get Communion using our right hand ensuring a good dose of whatever is going round. dds coughs invariably turn into an asthma flare. (sorry minor rant)

mum2RandR · 14/06/2009 12:39

Dont think you sound silly, have been wondering the same thing about my DS!
He has the same symptoms you mentioned apart from the increase in going for a wee.
He didnt go to school on Tuesday because he had a sore throat and a croup-like cough. Wednesday he was fine, then yesterday he has a bad cold, bit of a cough and sore eyes. Very tired and quiet (which is SO unlike him) and also had a bit of a temperature. Gave him piriton because I thought it might be hayfever causing the cold but didnt seem to do anything.
This morning he has woken up and seems fine. Very strange! Hope your DS feels better soon.

Elibean · 14/06/2009 15:24

We've had a school closed with SF up the road, not dd's but still close - and lots of siblings in common - so every time someone gets 'flu' now, I do wonder! TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if the ones who've had high temps, headaches, D&/orV, sore throat and a bit of a cough could be - they do say there are probably twice as many cases as reported.

But it does have to be caught somewhere, so if none in your area, I doubt it

expatinscotland · 14/06/2009 15:41

My children all had confirmed cases of swine flu.

But their symptoms were variable.

DD1 fell ill first and we can't for the life of us figure out where she picked up that swine flu except in her nursery.

She was hit the hardest and had a headache, 39 degree temp, cough, sore muscles, chills, d&v.

DD2 had a cough, temp, runny nose, diarrhea and sneezing.

DS, a baby, had a horrid cough, runny nose, d&v and spiky temp.

The only way you'll know for sure is to have him tested.

With the kids, it's their nose and throat they swab. Babies, just their wee nose.

PerfectPrefect · 14/06/2009 15:52

As aan attemtp to reassure you - although it doesn't rule out swine flu - the average incubation period is 36hrs. Maximum 4 days. So if you were in A&E on Monday you would expect him to be symptomatic before Friday.

Also I thought the onset was bit quicker than you describe - maybe Expat can confirm?

expatinscotland · 14/06/2009 17:22

Pretty sudden onset for us, yes.

Elibean · 14/06/2009 18:43

Just picked up dd from a party, and saw mum of friend who had some sort of flu last week: her ds now has it too - high temps, aches, chills, diarrhoea (but not awful), off food but not vomiting, headache, cough (but again, just slight). NHS direct said it could be swine flu (it is in the area, for sure) but they no longer test, so to treat as any other kind of flu.

She did say they were helpful in giving tips for looking after him, but she also said he hadn't moved all weekend and had a fan on him 24/7 to keep temp down: he's 11.

TBH, I can't figure out what flu he and his sister could have if its not swine - is there any other kind around?

mimsum · 14/06/2009 19:07

ds1 had flu before half term, no idea whether it was swine flu or not but he's y7 and socialises a lot with y7 kids who go to one of the first schools to be closed because of infection (y7 kids at that school affected), so he was probably at higher risk than most of the population - three other kids at his swimming club went down with the same thing - they're all fine now so we'll never know

the number of actual cases must surely dwarf the number of confirmed cases

OhYouBadBadKitten · 14/06/2009 22:13

Elibean - it could be some other virus - but if its flu, it is almost certainly swine flu as there is very little seasonal flu about now.

Elibean · 14/06/2009 22:28

Yup, thats what I thought. Definitely flu, according to parents and doctors, and local school was closed just before half term with swine flu, so guess that was it.

dd's friend was back at school, white as a sheet, still not very well (but temp down, afaik) last Tuesday, having been ill for 3-4 days at home on sofa. Does anyone know how long it stays contagious? I'm not that worried about me and dd1, but keeping an eye out because dh gets bad asthma when he gets any kind of coldy virus these days, and has to take steroids.

Sorry, OP, didnt' mean to hijack hope your ds is better now?

OhYouBadBadKitten · 15/06/2009 09:14

I think they are supposed to stay at home until they are asymptomatic and have finished their antivirals. Other advice I've seen is that people are contagious for 7 days after symptoms start, young children maybe longer.
(hoping someone medical jumps in)

littleducks · 15/06/2009 09:24

we all had a type of viral 'flu' thing
i had a similr 'is it swie flu thread' but tbh i dont know

dd had croup like cough, slight runny nose, high temps, fever, chilll aches and pains, also weeing more she was the worst

i had a awful night with a very high temp and chills and aches and pains, headfache and weeing more

ds (1) had it obv hard to tell all his symptoms but he def had high temp, cough and runny nose

but we saw two drs and werent tested so i really hope it wasnt as otherwise we would have spread it like crazy

like expat my smoker dh didnt get it

Elibean · 15/06/2009 10:54

Neither of my friend's LOs were tested either, nor offered antivirals - doctor (think it was NHS direct) said they weren't testing anymore, unless you'd just got back from Mexico or knew for a fact you'd been with someone who had SF. Since all kids in our area go to the same pizza restaurants, playgrounds, etc I would imagine its easy to catch regardless of which primary school they attend - and there have been half a dozen confirmed cases in the immediate vicinity, at least.

Methinks theres just a lot of it about

nappyaddict · 17/06/2009 02:23

Mum2RandR

For croup like symptoms you need nurofen. Croup is an inflamation so nurofen is the best painkiller for it. Also those sudafed/vicks vaporiser or plug in things are fabulous as is olbas oil and karvol capsules.

It's a difficult one to help because in some people cold, damp conditions make it worse, whereas with others it's cold, dry conditions.

Try turning the bath/shower on really hot and making the bathroom really steamy. Add some olbas oil to the water aswell. If they are in a cot and it is safe to do so put bowls of boiling water on the radiator. If this wouldn't be safe then just use warm water or damp towels. You could also try a humidifier or boiling a kettle in their room. If you keep the lid off it keeps boiling constantly.

The idea is to sit them in steam for 20 minutes followed by cold air for 20 minutes. NHS direct recommend sitting in front of an open freezer for 20 minutes or go out in the cold night out for a walk in the pushchair and then coming back in and opening the bedroom window and hanging damp towels about (over the sides of the cot is good if they are still in one)

Flightattendant348 · 17/06/2009 05:54

Have just had paramedic out for ds2, with similar sort of thing.

He had a slight cough yesterday but ds1 was off school with a cough last week, so assumed same thing...then at 1am he woke up and screamed for 2 hours, wouldn't feed (he's just 2 and still bf) then by 3am had rising temp and shivering, vomiting etc.

The OOH doctor was miles away so I called 999 as he seemed so poorly. She was great, said it might be croup, helped me get some calpol down him - it took another dose and till 5.30 to get temp down from 39.7 to 39.3, and get him back to sleep.

Just had letter from school saying a pupil has SF but hasn't been in during contagious period so it shouldn't be that really. He's so poorly though.

Elibean · 17/06/2009 11:39

Sorry to hear that, FA, sounds upsetting and scary - I'm glad you got help.

FWIW, dd never had high temp with croup - barely had one at all; but do know others who have.

dd's friend's brother (who has been quite ill for 5 days now with high temp, cough, diarrhoea) had child with SF at his school a few weeks back - obviously couldn't have caught it directly from him, but both the mums involved think its SF. I do still think there's a fair bit around that goes undiagnosed.

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