Has Dd2 got swine flu or a cold, how do you tell?

[Marne]

Dd2 was a bit snuffly last night and has woken with a temp of 39.0, she's led on the sofa (a bit floppy) with a slight cough, off her food, wont drink and looks pale.

I have a slight cold, very slight temp and very slight cough (just a cold).

Dd2 has Autism and non-verbal so she can't tell me where she hurts or how she's feeling, i've only really got her temp to go by. She does tend to suffer from a high temp when she's slightly unwell and we often end up at the GP's or A&E because her temp rockets to 40+ and she refuses any medicines.

I am trying to get medicine into her in her drink but she is now refusing to drink .

Does this sound like SF or just a cold? Should i phone anyone? I wouldn't want her to take Tamiflu as she reacts to most medicines.

Any advice please?

My DS (who is 3) had a raging temperature with SF that didn't go away for 2 - 2.5 days even being mediated with calpol and nurofen. I think that is the main characteristic. The SF cough that my DS had is a dry cough, so only slight. My DS was relatively floppy as well (he has slight ASD). Anyway, the other main characteristic is severe tiredness - DS usually never sleeps and with SF, he was in and out of consciousness all of the 1st day.

Yours sounds like just a cold (i didn't have SF myself, so can't say how adults feel)

How old is your DD2? I'm just asking because I would say the younger she is, the more likely I would be to seek help and also, is there any chance of forcing a syringe of liquid calpol/nurofen into her (I know that sounds nasty, but it is a nasty temperature and these medications do help a bit).

Crokky- she's 3, she usually spends the day bouncing of the walls and climbing the furniture so this is very unlike her , her cough is dry and very slight (hardly coughing at all), she's had a little bit of her drink (with nurofen in it) but her temp is still high, she's led on the sofa with just a t-shirt on, she's not sleepy as such just very floppy and still (watching c-beebies).

(I am no doctor)...but I was told the risk with the temperature (causing convulsion) is greatest when the temperature is going up. If the temperature is high and constant, it is not so likely to cause a convulsion. I think if it was me, I'd call the GP if open on Sat and ask advice. I imagine all the flu line would do would be to give you authorisation for tamiflu. SF is actually not as easily spread as people think - only DS got it - me, 1yo DD and DH didn't. The GP can come and see her wearing a disposable face mask and wash hands afterwards - my DS did see a GP as I thought he had a chest infection because his temp was so high and I was not aware that we had come into contact with SF.

FWIW my DS took all 10 doses of tamiflu over 5 days. He vomited up dose 3 and dose 4 quite violently, but the rest were fine. I can't say if it helped his recovery, but he did get better quite quickly - ie the fever was gone after 2.5 days.

She also has what looks like a black spot on her lip (i have spent the past 10 minutes trying to rub it off because it looks like a pen mark), it almost looks like dirt but i'm not sure. I don't want to panic about the spot only to find out its pen but i am slightly worried as it wont rub off. What could it be?

I have managed to get half her drink into her (so half the medicine too), she seems happy enough led down watching tv.

No idea about the black spot unless she bashed her mouth on something and it is a blood blister or similar?

Could she have actually got hold of a pen if she has just been sat on the sofa?

There's no pens in the room so unless she did it yesterday i don't think it could be plus it wont rub off.

It looks a bit too dark to be a blood blister but i suppose its possible.

I think i'm just worrying about nothing.