Should I get ds2 tested for swine flu? And how/where?

[Greensleeves]

he's been sent home from school today feeling sick and has since vomited twice

he has a temperature and says his legs "won't let him walk" and his throat hurts

there is swine flu in other local schools although I haven't heard of it at his school yet (he's 4)

should I try and get him tested, or is it pointless?

depends if your PCT is even offering testing for it anymore.

we only got tested because it was still being done here when we fell ill.

don't know if it still is because trusts are changing their policies all the time.

depends where you are if testing is even being offered any more. Will it make any difference - probably not!

And expat is right about changing policies - my dh is a GP and one day they had three different policies faxed through from the health board!

expat can you give me an outline of the symptoms?

sorry you have had it by the way, nasty for you

ugh ye gods, the vomiting is vile

poor little sausage

here.

Poor little thing - horrible, especially in this heat. But I don't think there's much point in getting him tested - he presumably won't be going out and infecting anyone, and the current advice seems to be to just treat it as flu whether or not it's the swine variety.

OK maybe I won't bother then. We don't have a car and I don't fancy bundling him into a taxi anyway

It's not that I thought it would make any clinical difference to HIM, just that I know schools are trying to keep track of incidence (our local secondary texted parents yesterday to inform them that there had been a case confirmed there - they're not closing the school, just informing)

there are one or two children I know of at the boys' school who have ongoing health problems (one has a brain tumour ) and I thought they might want the choice...

but as you say, it doesn't seem to be any different from normal flu, and he probably doesn't have it anyway, so I am probably flapping about nothing

just sent dh out to buy a thermometer

don't know what's wrong with me, I'm not usually hysterical when they are ill

it varied for all of us, the symptoms.

DD1 fell ill first and she had a sudden, 39 degree temp, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, cough and diarrhea.

Then DH but all he had was a bad cold, as did DD2 (but she had diarrhea as well).

I had a horrid cough, runny nose, sneezing, headache, D&V and fatigue with low-grade fever.

DS fell ill last and he had cough, D&V, runny nose and sneezing, with temp.

it took an entire fortnight for all of us to be rid of it as a family unit.

According to the Beeb, they're no longer doing tests

here

Sorry about your DS - sounds horrid

the doc on the phone said it sounds very like swine flu

she then said they would send someone out to see him

then 2 minutes later she phoned back and asked me to bring him to the walk-in at the hospital instead!

fucking dh started crawling and I said NO he is not going out in the pissing rain in a taxi in the state he is in

so dh says "Er, er, um, my wife says.....er no, I don't think she'll agree to that" like I am some dangerous wild animal or something

so I had to take the phone and insist that they come out

she said they have lots and lots of people with suspected swine flu and can't come out to everybody

to which I said "I would have thought a four year old who is too weak to walk, has a temp of 39 and is vomiting, whose family has no car and who is not the only sick person in the house would be near the top of any priority list you could contruct - either someone comes out or he will not be tested"

so she said "OK I'll put it down as a visit but it might be a long wait"

I am shaking

and furious with dh

hi greensleeves
best thing to do is fone your doctor and ask them.
had this last week with my DS

it was an upper respitory(sp.) chest infection but same symptoms as swine flu.

oh, my DH does stuff like that, too, Greeny. doesn't it make you just want to smack him?

see your doctors not much help so far

I am feeling pretty crappy myself tbh

have temp and horrific cough, and sneezing

We were going to have a really nice weekend [self-pity]

good thing we didn't take her stupid negligent advice and put him in a taxi, as he projectile vomited 5 minutes after I got off the phone!

sorry to hear this greeny
i know so little about it that i can't offer advice but i hope you both feel better soon

and sorry but lol @ "like I am some dangerous wild animal or something"

I have no advice but how is DS doing? Can you get an internet shop in or something and bunker down for the next few days?
Much sympathy.

sodding doc has been

she was here about 48 seconds

ds's temp was 39.3 and that's a climb from an hour ago

and the threw up calpol immediately

I asked her what I should do if it continues to climb and he can't keep medicine down

she said "Oh well, he probably won't have a convulsion, they can have them up to 5 but he's 4 so he'll probably be OK, I see kids with high temps all the time"

she said we do both have the same thing, they're not testing for swine flu but it's consistent with our symptoms

no advice, no antivirals, no antibiotics, nothing

and when I called my friend to warn her to warn a mutual friend who has just had a baby not to go near the school tomorrow, she said "Oh we know, there are two cases at school now"

fuckety bugger

and I feel lousy

am ditching the alli until I feel better and ordering a giant greasy curry

did she check him for infection?

some PCTs are now only issuing anti-virals if the afflicted has a condition like asthma or COPD.

it's all so haphazard.

when DD1 first fell ill, DH took her to an out-of-hours doc and she said DD1 had a UTI.

???

yeah, i always get horrid coughs and all-over body aches and sore throats with my UTIs, fool!

we offered to get him to do a wee and she said "no, don't think it's a urine infection"

she didn't check for infection in any other way, she wasn't here long enough!

ooh yes big curry a wise move
you poor beggars
will be checking this thread to see how you are - make sure you or dp update it if at all possible please

oh, this gal didn't test her wee, either. she came to this amazing conclusion based on DD1's telling her her tummy hurt. well, her entire body hurt, and her tummy probably hurt because she had D&V from friggin' swine flu.

she was finally tested 10 days after she first fell ill and she still came up positive.

greeny possibly this is mad idea but could you freeze calpol in an ice cube with some fruit juice, then he could suck it? i think it's easier to keep fluid down that way?