I'm sitting here at the computer writing this with a head cold, drinking hot tea, blowing my nose, wondering how I would feel if this cold was the flu and not just a cold. My symptoms are a bit of fever, some chills, a cough, sore throat, runny nose, achiness, headache, tiredness, slight nausea(assume from the snot running down the back of my throat.
Below is what the CDC says are the symptoms of the flu.
Influenza Symptoms
Influenza (also known as the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The flu is different from a cold. The flu usually comes on suddenly. People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:
- Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
* It's important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.
I am not terribly pacified by this. But am also not terribly sick, just feel crappy, not like I'm dying.
This years Flu Vaccine (the trivalent one) contained the H1N1, H3N2 variants of influenza A and an unspecified influenza B. If you received the Quadrivalent, you also got a second unspecified influenza B. The Shots are supposed to be about 86% effective against the strains that they are against. This year we got lucky and it is the H1N1, so the shot could help.
In addition to the flu, there are many, many, many viruses that present with the same symptoms. The only way to know if you actually have the flu is to be tested for the flu. This is almost always done by nasal swab. If you have been told you had the flu, but were not swabbed for the flu, they were guessing. Also, many people, just like me will assume that they have a cold, or another virus and stay home treating the symptoms and never know if they had the flu.
As far as treating the flu, there is Tamiflu. If you start taking it when your first symptoms start, it can make you have a much lessened illness. I don't know if they test for the flu before doing that, but a lot of it is prescribed every flu season.
It is known that the vaccine is less effective on people with poor immune systems, children under 2, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses. That is the same group that gets the most sick when they get the flu so also the group targeted to get the vaccine. It is all very statistical.
What is not mentioned is the concerns by those studying rheumatological illnesses that think all the vaccines might be increasing autoimmune disorders. Or those that think that a year of testing (or less) might not guarantee that the new vaccine won't cause long-down-the-road side effects that we know nothing about, or that it is possibly a huge government conspiracy being used to create mutations, shorten life-spans, (choose your own horrible plan and place it here). I tend to stay away from the huge conspiracy things since we have a hard enough time maintaining secrets and carrying out complicated plans with things like military secrets/utility bill changes aimed at helping the wealthy on the heads of the poor.
I didn't get a flu shot. I may have to before I retire because I work in the healthcare industry. I don't want one, I'm not trusting, and have always thought that reality is, I can only die once. I wish we could find a way to cure flu if someone gets it. But until we come up with a way to improve healthcare, make it more consistently good, more consistently caring, more patient-centered, I'm going to just drink my hot tea and rub on some Vicks and read a good book.
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