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Swine flu dilemma
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My nearly 3 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with(but not tested for) swine flu. She's had a fever which comes and goes, runny nose and cough for about 4/5 days but really nothing to write home about.
My GP diagnosed swine flu "in the absence of confirming anything else" but in all honesty I can't see how it can be - it's pretty mild and nowhere near as bad as normal flu. I'm nearly 7 months pregnant and would normally catch anything under the sun but I'm fine so I think she's just got a bad cold. I live in a small town in the north east which has had perhaps one case in total and we haven't been anywhere or done anything to make me think we have come into contact with it. I'd be happy if it is to get it over with and I don't want to second guess my doctor but I'm pretty convinced it's not.
My dilemma is should we take the tamiflu and relenza we have been offered (my gut instinct says no) or wait it out even though I'm pregnant. Also my GP has said that my daughter won't now be offered the vaccine when it comes around but in the absence of a lab confirmation I'm worried that will put her at risk if it comes in a nastier second wave over the winter.
Any thoughts? I was tempted to put this in advice but I'm really just after provoking a bit of a discussion rather than anything specific. Anyone had it when it just seemed like a bad cold?
My GP diagnosed swine flu "in the absence of confirming anything else" but in all honesty I can't see how it can be - it's pretty mild and nowhere near as bad as normal flu. I'm nearly 7 months pregnant and would normally catch anything under the sun but I'm fine so I think she's just got a bad cold. I live in a small town in the north east which has had perhaps one case in total and we haven't been anywhere or done anything to make me think we have come into contact with it. I'd be happy if it is to get it over with and I don't want to second guess my doctor but I'm pretty convinced it's not.
My dilemma is should we take the tamiflu and relenza we have been offered (my gut instinct says no) or wait it out even though I'm pregnant. Also my GP has said that my daughter won't now be offered the vaccine when it comes around but in the absence of a lab confirmation I'm worried that will put her at risk if it comes in a nastier second wave over the winter.
Any thoughts? I was tempted to put this in advice but I'm really just after provoking a bit of a discussion rather than anything specific. Anyone had it when it just seemed like a bad cold?
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If your GP says it is SF then I'd go with that. What was the point in calling him out if you aren't going to listen to what he said anyway?
I only rang for some quick advice as she had a temp for 5 days which isn't normal for her but he insisted I came down to the surgery, in an isolation room and he was all gowned up in surgical masks/scrubs. It never crossed my mind in a million years it was actually swine flu as I thought it would be a lot worse.
I guess I really just wanted to hear other experiences of symptons/severity.
i did the nhs test and according to that i shouldve called 999
immediately and informed ambulance control i had swine flu
so pro help isnt fullproof i have hay fever and a head cold btw .
if i was pannicked easily or seeking attention i mightve jumped onboard with the advice ?
Ah I didn't know that about a cold, thanks.
lol. Yep, I'm prone to panic at the minute, it's my pregnancy hormones
OP - do a search on Swine Flu. I'm not being sarcastic but there has been quite a few threads about Swine Flu with people who 'had' it, people who have family members who 'had' it ( I fit this catergory!) and so on that the advice, opinion and experience is becoming repetitve but useful to what you are looking for.
Personally I would take the medication if it's free and no harm to the baby. All the best for the pregnancy, I hope your daughter gets over her symptoms soon.
get some checks done put your mind at rest
given the syptoms of swine flu are almost identical to any cold type infection it must be really hard to distinguish
I've given them the tamiflu, but we were told that they would get it again should they get swine flu later.
Will do, thanks
That's interesting, I didn't realise you could take it more than once. I hope they feel better soon.
Personally, I wouldn't take it if I was pregnant, not even on the say-so of my GP, if they didn't know what it might do to your baby.
As to symptoms, my son had a fever of over 40, aching limbs & back, uncontrollable shivers, severe headache, sore throat and complete lack of energy. I wouldn't have mistaken it for a cold, though the worst of the symptoms were gone within 3 or 4 days.
Thank you
Aren't the symptoms of swine flu identical to normal flu?
My GP surgery diagnose swine flu over the phone based on symptoms.
I think the virus has become so dominant and common that there is no point testing, just about everyone they were testing was coming back as swine flu. And it wont be possible to test everyone now (it's not just a few hundred cases it's going to be hundreds of 1000's and millions), clinical diagnosis is enough. Yes there is slim chance it might be normal flu or something else but what does that matter, the advice is still the same (by the sounds of it you'd rather catch swine flu than seasonal flu), monitor to see if you get get any worse, rest and painkillers till you get better in a few days.
Yeap but I wonder if because it's not flu season and a lot of people have tested positive for swine flu and not other strains it's more likely to be the swine variety.
Thanks, that was what I was a bit iffy about really. He offered me relenza but I don't have symptons so I wanted to be cautious and he said my daughter could have tamiflu but it was up to me seeing as she had already been unwell for 5 days. Your son sounds like he had it an awful lot worse.
Just because it's becoming so common I think. In my daughter's case swine flu doesn't appear anywhere near as bad as normal flu (keeping my fingers crossed).
But Tamiflu only relieves the symptoms by a day or so, so I wouldn't risk it if you're pregnant and don't even have any symptoms. There's 4 in our house and she's the only one that got it!
Don't worry yourself, whether your young-un has a cold, swine flu, or other flu, she'll be better in a few days. Maybe some Calpol might help?
If I were you and you started to feel a bit ill I'd take the relenza as offered, especially as your pregnant you never know how your body will react to the virus, and it's especially bad if your laid low with a little one on the way
I wasn't going to wade in to the debate OP but you are pregnant and pregnant women are one of the higher risk groups for developing complications with swine flu.
There are a number of things I'd have to disagree with in Severus' post - you can get fevers with the common cold although they are usually less severe. Below are the symptoms:
Secondly, tamiflu and relenza can be used for both prevention and treatment depending on the dose prescribed.
Relenza is recommended for pregnant women because it has a more direct action being inhaled into the lungs and therefore far less is absorbed into the bloodstream and the potential for serious side effects is minimised.
Finally, pregnant women are one of the high risk groups. OP even if you don't have symptoms your GP will be trying to ensure that giving you the relenza will prevent you developing swine flu and then possibly getting serious complications. The info below is from a DoH document:
Part of the reason you will be at increased risk is because as your baby grows it restricts the space available for your lungs anyway - this makes any infection in the lungs more serious.
Sorry to drone on, but I think it's important that you don't treat this too lightly. If you really are still concerned, I would suggest you talk to another healthcare professional rather than just deciding not to take the Relenza.
'Normal' flu doesn't circulate in the community at these rates in the middle of summer - it really doesn't. In addition, 'normal' flu is far less common in children and young people. The cases of swin flu have increased to the extent where it is deemed reasonable to compare patient symptoms against a check list (including things like age of potential sufferer) and make the diagnosis.
I know you can, but you wouldn't usually have a fever with the common cold.
I just checked the official Tamiflu site and you're right:
http://www.tamiflu.com/treat.aspx