Exposure to Influenza-can I take anything to not get it lol

[eddy]

Ugh

4 Faculty and a couple residents are out with Influenza A. I just ate community food like an idiot at work yesterday.

Is there some magic pill that you have even had marginal success with fighting off exposure to illness.

I will buy into anything. Should I got buy some essential oils lol.

I just had the stomach bug earlier this week so my immune system, and digestive system are already vulnerable.

Am I fucked?

[Deleted]

Me too. My assistant called off today and she has the straight up flu.


I am already coughing and have a stuffy nose.


I am literally minutes away from getting sick.

[circa1978]

My 3-year-old, who sticks to me like the paparazzi on Princess Kate, and my husband both tested positive for it two weeks ago. I never got it.

ETA: I am totally run down, too. I have no idea how I escaped, but it can happen. 

[5thofjuly]

There actually is a prescription, this year, which helps prevent the flu. My mom was given it when both her parents got the flu (she;s their primary caregiver.) It's called Tamiflu.

[eddy]

Is tamiflu still crazy expensive? I remember last year it was like $100 with our really good insurance.

I might try the emergenC route.

[winecat]

L-lysine? It's supposed to be good for treating viruses. People take it for cold sores.

[sangria]

I'd say zinc (zicam) is worth a shot too. I've literally been surrounded by dozens of people inlcuding my kids and husband with some horrible hacking gross chest cold and I started zicam lozneges and I got slighty stuffy but it never took hold.

[Kristinmo]

I've heard there's a Tamiflu shortage this year because the flu is so widespread so they are saving it for those with underlying medical conditions (friend with severe asthma got it, 8 year old did not- they both tested positive).

[eddy]

Dec 19, 2014 11:18:45 GMT -5 @booby said:

well? did you get your flu shot???

Obvs!

I am hearing it isn't very effective this year. Which explains why a ton of healthcare workers who also got the shot are going down like flies.

[stellas]

I'm wondering if the kids and dh have the flu, since they've all had a wicked "cold" for over a week and half of ds's class has it. We've all had flu shots. Can the flu vaccine lessen the symptoms even if it doesn't totally stop it?

[MWOS]

Dec 19, 2014 11:23:03 GMT -5 stellas said:

I'm wondering if the kids and dh have the flu, since they've all had a wicked "cold" for over a week and half of ds's class has it. We've all had flu shots. Can the flu vaccine lessen the symptoms even if it doesn't totally stop it?

absolutely!

[Deleted]

Ok, I swear I'm not a crazy essential oil person, but try oil of oregano. It tastes nasty but I swear it works.

[ProfessorArtNerd]

Dec 19, 2014 11:23:03 GMT -5 stellas said:

I'm wondering if the kids and dh have the flu, since they've all had a wicked "cold" for over a week and half of ds's class has it. We've all had flu shots. Can the flu vaccine lessen the symptoms even if it doesn't totally stop it?

Yes, this is the reason I still get the shot, even in less effective years, and have Lucy and DH get it too.  I mean, my asthma doctor wouldn't let me NOT get it anyway, but I had the flu in college and was sick for two weeks.  No thanks!

[whitemerlot]

I hope you stay healthy.

We all had the flumist and I'm wondering if the kids and I have the flu. I don't think there's any reason to go to the doctor, right?

My dd was first and had a sudden 103 fever and a little coughing and runny nose and was super crabby. Now I feel like I've been hit by a truck and have a cough and congestion.


We're not leaving the house for a couple days.

[moolarkey]

I'm home sick - cold, coughing up lung, pressure headache from sinuses, 102 fever. This came on so quickly. Wednesday about 2 I started with this slight chest cough and knew I was going to get a full cold. I ended up coming home yesterday about 1. I don't know when I've slept so much but I am starting to feel better. This coughing and headache have been really awful. I haven't been this sick in years.

[MWOS]

Dec 19, 2014 12:28:48 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Dec 19, 2014 11:27:49 GMT -5 MWOS said:

absolutely!

So if someone has cold-like symptoms but not feeling full-blown flu-ish, but it is actually the flu, and they're coughing into their hand and touching door knobs, they could still be passing around the flu virus right?  Or I guess my question should be, is contagiousness lessened along with symptoms if you contract the flu while vaccinated?

I got the flu shot, and am not ill at all.  But I'm super worried about my parents this year (particularly my asthmatic Dad) because they are dummies who rely on oregano oil.  Don't get me started.  And they're both around my niece and nephew a lot who seem to always have some kind of cold symptoms.

yes, if they have influenza, no matter how shitty or not shitty they feel, they are shedding the virus and spreading it around.

Influenza virus shedding (the time during which a person might be infectious to another person) begins the day before illness onset and can persist for 5 to 7 days, although some persons may shed virus for longer periods, particularly young children and severely immunocompromised persons. The amount of virus shed is greatest in the first 2-3 days of illness and appears to correlate with fever, with higher amounts of virus shed when temperatures are highest.

I'm not sure if there is a correlation between how ill you feel and the amount of virus you shed (like, sick enough to be hospitalized is 3 million particles per hour and just feeling kinda sick is 1 million particles or something along those lines) but I am contacting my sources and will look into it.

[mushmouse]

Elderberry syrup maybe - I think most places have Sambucol. Tamiflu would be my first choice!

[MWOS]

Dec 19, 2014 12:43:13 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Thanks, MWOS! 

so my immunologist Dr. friend (sparkythelawyer's sister) says that how sick you feel doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the amount of virus you shed.  How sick you feel has a lot to do with your overall health status and whether or not the virus is one that immune systems like to freak out about.

But that was a really interesting question and I'm glad you asked so I could ask!

[dirtyred]

Tamiflu, but it's prescription.

[dirtyred]

Dec 19, 2014 11:23:03 GMT -5 stellas said:

I'm wondering if the kids and dh have the flu, since they've all had a wicked "cold" for over a week and half of ds's class has it. We've all had flu shots. Can the flu vaccine lessen the symptoms even if it doesn't totally stop it?

Yes.  THis is another benefit of the flu shot--it decreases the severity and duration of the flu if you do contract it.

[miniroller]

Dec 19, 2014 13:05:17 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

Tamiflu, but it's prescription.

But Worth It!!!!! (@ least in my experience)
Also, if you have a regular physician, lots of times, they'll just call it in if you've been exposed. However, saying that- I know there was somewhat of a shortage last year, & practitioners weren't being as generous w/ the script, so I don't know if this is a realistic possibility. Worth a shot?

[4speedy]

My kids tested positive for the H1N1 flu a few years ago (not sure if that's one of the type a flus). DH was able to get a prescription for Tamiflu the same day that my kids were diagnosed because he is on immunosuppressant drugs so he normally catches everything that goes around. We were concerned because he was catchIng a flight for Germany the next day and we were worried he would get sick on the plane. He never came down with it. The sooner you get on Tamiflu after exposure, the better it works.

[jenny1223]

Dec 19, 2014 11:23:03 GMT -5 stellas said:

I'm wondering if the kids and dh have the flu, since they've all had a wicked "cold" for over a week and half of ds's class has it. We've all had flu shots. Can the flu vaccine lessen the symptoms even if it doesn't totally stop it?

Yes! DS and I got the flu last weekend (I'm assuming based on our symptoms, we didn't go to the doctor) and it was only really bad for a couple days. I'm assuming it was the vaccine that helped.