A lot of the discussion at the Silly Chili cook-off yesterday was on the current topic of H1N1. I thought I would post this as a blog entry, better to pass information than the bug itself. The main thing is if symptoms are tending towards the H1N1 side, get to the doc for the Tamiflu shot right away!
I was nailed hard by this bug on or shortly before Oct 16. I was feeling lousy Friday morning when I went to work but figured it was just a cold coming on. By shortly after lunch I knew there something seriously wrong going on.
Purely by coincidence, my sister emailed me the chart below that Friday. I was 9/10 on the H1N1 side. The one item I had to check on the other side was the sore throat, I still had that a week after shaking the flu and Deb had it all along, so I think I had a cough AND the flu.
When I got home from work that Friday, I went straight to bed and didn't get up until the next week. Saw doc during week, he told me there is a 48hr window to give a shot (not vaccine) once you contract this flu. Had I gone in for that shot in time, symptoms would have been gone in a couple of days. As it was, I missed a week of work and two weekends of running, longest sick period for me in life.
Worst part was headache - didn't sleep more than 1 hour for first 5 days due to explosions constantly triggering in head. To simply run my hand across the tips of my hair set off the same "explosions". I tried to work from home via computer, but could only handle one or two emails before I had to go lie down again.
The chest discomfort mentioned at the bottom of the chart felt like bruised or broken ribs, except the point of pain kept moving below my rib cage.
Ironically, they started giving out vaccine to select groups of the public the same day I returned to work.
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Symptom
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Cold
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H1N1 Flu
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Fever
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Fever is rare with a cold.
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Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu.
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Coughing
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A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.
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A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
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Aches
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Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.
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Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu.
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Stuffy Nose
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Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.
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Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.
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Chills
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Chills are uncommon with a cold.
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60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills.
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Tiredness
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Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.
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Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu.
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Sneezing
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Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.
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Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu.
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Sudden Symptoms
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Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.
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The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
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Headache
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A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.
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A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
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Sore Throat
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Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.
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Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.
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Chest Discomfort
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Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.
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Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu.
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