BIL has flu really badly, doc says not swine because his chest is clear, is that right?

[Wallace]

Also say it can't be swine flu because he hasn't been to Mexico, America, or Glasgow

That sounds like bollocks - we had it and yes we had a cough but I wouldn't say we had a bad chest infection. Headache, vomiting, high temperature.

I would assume that the DR knows what they are talking about.

Really FenellaFudge - well the DoH guidance changed two weeks ago about assessing swine flu and the criteria changed at the same time - under the old criteria geography mattered, now it's endemic in lots of areas.

I would seek a second opinion

WMMC- what I meant was, if the Dr has assessed him and says it's not swine flu then I would accept that.

I never assume that doctors know what they are talking about.

He does have a cough and it is harder to breathe out than in.

Awful headache, fever and very confused.

He lives and works in fife, but he works with over a hundred people. Some of them from Glasgow anyway

I agree. Never assume doctors know what they are talking about.

TBH I would be inclined to go with your gut instinct.

After some of the mistakes to doctors have made at my surgery, I would NEVER take what they say as gospel.

Hope he is ok and you and your dc don't get it.

Under those circumstances I would ask for a second opinion Wallace - he's got more chance of a definitive diagnosis if he's not in a target area because they have stopped testing apparently where it's endemic and are just accepting symptoms. But since he could be tested v easily.

Mind you he may not benefit from knowing one way or another, Tamiflu/Relenza are both pretty nasty and if he's had it more than 72 hours there may not be much point.

FF - and I meant that GPs are extremely busy and don't necessarily have chance to read the swathes of papers they receive each week from the DoH.

And they do make mistakes too - like all of us.

I tell them to get a second opinion. It just seems an odd time of year to get normal flu IYSWIM.

The benefit if he did get a swine flu diagnosis is that my sister would get a well deserved 5 days off work Also I think he only got ill last night, so Tamiflu would still work

We haven't seen them for a couple of weeks so we'll be fine

WMMC is relenza as bad as tamiflu? I was kind of counting on getting preggers so I could take relenza instead, I heard the side effects weren't so grim

Don't wish it on them Wallace, it's unpleasant.

However it is actually not that unusual to get flu at this time of year. It's a myth that people only get flu in January/February. It does fall in summer but not disappear.

There are a lot of bugs going around at the moment, as well as swine flu.

Only way to know it is is swine flu is to get swabbed, so you;d need a second opinion to get tht arraned.

But generally he doesn't actually need to know if he has swine flu or not as such, so long as he isgetting the right level of treatment and relief and able to et over it.

Flu fof any kind is horrid.

Jumente - if you are pregnant and you catch it you will be offered Relenza but there is very little evidence on what the side effects will be during pregnancy. Flu of any kind is particularly dangerous in pregnancy because your immune system is depressed to stop the baby being rejected by your body.

Practice good hand hygiene and keep stocks of paracetamol at home just in case though. Prevention is much better than any treatment.

Thanks a lot WMMC, I had a feeling there would be holes in my little plan

Sorry you have had this nasty thing already. It does sound horrid.

Wondering if you can have the vaccine when preggers...hmm.

You can have vaccines when pregnant but remember they won't have been tested so the effects will be unknown. The flu vaccines for previous outbreaks have killed people and I certainly won't be queuing up to get the first batch this time round either.

Won't have been tested on pregnant people I mean!

That's a very good point...thankyou.

Wallace - there are 7 confirmed cases of swine flu in Fife (as of June 18th) and plenty around Glasgow. A second opinion with a swab is a good idea.

There is plenty of swine flu in London, which afaik is neither in Mexico or Glasgow

THere is also some seasonal, non-swiney flu in London, which has been more unpleasant for some than a lot of the local confirmed swine flu cases. I do think the symptoms, and their severity, can vary quite a lot - both for swine and non-swine flu.

Thanks for the support. He is a bit better today but still pretty awful.

I really do hope my sister doesn't get it too.