I may have (but probably haven't ) had swine flu. Help me decide if I go to work tomorrow

[sameagain]

Have been quite ill since Friday with a good number of the symptoms, but IMO not quite ill enough to have had flu. e.g could still get out of bed to get a drink, although quite keen to get back there.

Today I have felt exhausted, but not really ill IYSWIM. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone's so prone to panic over swine flu, I would go to work tomorrow, but I still have a cough and occasional sneezes.

Would it be really anti social of me to work tomorrow, or worse to stay at home when I'm not really ill anymore?

It would be antisocial to go to work if you're still coughing. If it is flu you should wait seven days or something like a day after the last symptom has gone. How well you feel isn't significant here, it's whether or not you're still infectious.

As for whether or not it's swine flu, there aren't any 'too ill to get out of bed' criteria for this flu - the criteria are the symptoms, not how badly they make you feel. If you've had a fever plus cough and another one then that would be enough to mean there's a good chance you've had it. And a cough means you're likely to still be coughing virus out.

FGS just stay off. You've got something so don't give it to everyone else!

It doesn't matter whether it's swine flu or some other sort of infection - if you're coughing and sneezing then stay home.

can I suggest you ring the doctor snd ask their advice?
if you do have swine flu you and your family might be prescribed tamiflu
a parent at the nursery where I work has suspected swine flu
her and her daughter (who is not ill but has been kept off as a precaution) have both been prescribed tamiflu
she has been told she can go back to work on Thursday

Well I have had swine flue and would not have been able to go into work at all. I had trouble getting out of bed so the question should I go to work was one I wouldn't have asked.

I think one of the key indicators of any tyoe of flu is it's sudden onset. I very quickly felt so bad I couldn't really stand up and stayed like that for about 2 days with another day feeling pretty bad and certainly not well enough for work.

Call your gp but I'd be quite surprised if it was swime flu.

I'm a bit surprised people think you should stay off work just if you are coughing. I am still coughing and know that I will be for weeks I always do even after a cold. I can't stay off work for weeks. I am staying off for a week though even though I could now (3 days later) probably go back to work though not feeling 100% IYSWIM as I am waiting to be no longer infectious.

The infectious period is apparently 7 ays after the symptoms have started or 24 hurs after the last symptom (whichever is longer0. If I had to wait 7 days after I'd finished coughing I'd be off work for months!

I don't think you'd be coughing flu virus out for weeks though, whereas only a few days after starting to be ill you definitely would be. I don't know when (or how you work out when) a cough stops being an infectious one though.

Lazycow, can I ask as you have had it. A few weeks ago I had a sudden onset of a horrid cough out of the blue, followed quickly by feeling really ill and very, very tired. I then had aching ankles, knees and neck, my feet hurt so much I was unable to walk. I then had runny bottom, followed but the feeling of needing to 'nurse both ends'. I rang NHS direct, and they said as I had no temperature it was probably a virus. I am asthmatic and the cough got so bad I coughed blood. I rang NHS again who told me to ring the doctors, which I did. They rang me back and told me to take painkillers and drink plenty of water. Painkillers would not shift the headache I had. On the monday, I had 3 nights no sleep, due to coughing, I went in to the doctors, who listened to my chest and prescribed me antibotics - not tamiflu, and new inhalers and told me it was probably the heat or hayfever. I am still coughing despite the drugs...does this ring any bells with you?

twinsnikki

tbh that doesn't sound completely like what I had. My symptoms were classic flu ones really.

Sudden onset of a temperature - between 38.5 and 38.9 - never quite reached 40oC,
Cough - wracking at times
Tight feeling in ribs and chest - especially when coughing
Extreme tiredness/exhaustion feeling
Muscle aches - aches is a bit too mild to describe it really - my muscles and joints really hurt ,
Constant headache
feeling dizzy
Nausea (but not sick or much of a gippy tummy really - thank goodness as I could hardly get out of bed).

I spent a lot of time asleep and not really always completely coherent (according to dh) for the 2 days I was really ill

6 days after my symptons started I am still coughing and feeling really tired if I do too much but am pretty much out of bed - though have been to bed for the night from 6pm for several nights running.(am typing this from my bed in fact)

I am not planning on going to work until Monday

You do sound poorly though, have the antibiotics not worked at all?

The weird thing is while I was ill with classic flu symptons I kept saying to dh in my befuddled state (what if it is chest infection (I was coughing so much and the tightness in my chest worried me? - I need antoobiotics not anti virals

I think we always imagine drugs are a miracle cure and sometimes they are but often they just help the body to heal itself

Have you improved at all or are you feeling worse?

sounds like me as well. I am getting tests run privately. Please post if you feel better.

why does it matter whether it's swine flu or any other type of flu?