H1N1

There is a confirmed case of H1N1 at my daughter's school.  We do not know about the severity.  I did not know this - so Lil A volunteered at her school all day today.  Should I be concerned?  I had both of the kids wash their hands when they came home - the entire school is being disinfected today and this is the most exciting week of their school year for them - should I continue to sent them to school?  What should I be cautious of other than having them wash their hands?

Thank you so much,

Sharmin

Most cases have been very mild. Much milder than the regular flu, in fact. Most people who have had it are not even aware that they did. Those who have succumbed to this flu already had compromised lung function. What I have read is that if your lung function is already greatly reduced, it can cause serious problems. As long as the kids are not already sick, they should be in no danger from this flu. According to my doctor, the real danger is that this flu will mutate into a more serious form and this is why there is so much concern about it in the long term. Meanwhile, far fewer people have died from this than what is normally seen during flu outbreaks.

Sharmin,

My doctor too agrees to what Andy said and  even said that birds flu is more serious than the H1N1. The doctor insists so much on washing the hands as much as possible and i find a lot of mothers suggesting  singing the childs favorite song while washing the hands to ensure a quiet suffient time for washing the hands.

Also a very important tip is the usage of Anise. Try to make the kids, even all the family drink a cup or two of warm Anise (prefered with some drops of lemon..) this drink is a strong anti-viral. By the way Anise extract are one of the components of the tami-flu

Aniseed is effective to help with
colds
influenza
cough
bronchitis
sinusitis
relieving flatulence
promoting digestion
colic
relieving tension and irritation
restoring mental equilibrium
stimulate lactation *see warning
brighten the eyes
sweeten and freshen the breath

But again Sharmin and in spite of what i mentioned, I would suggest not sending the children for a while to school until things are more clear because sometimes our kids just forget all the advices we tell them and forget about all the precautions. This is what i fear of.

Personally i tell my son million of times not to touch the bar of the stairs cause many people had their hands on and he just forget what i say and loves to put both his hands on the bar in spite of all my explaination.. he gets me crazy, actually i am the one who walks behind him all the time reminding him of washing his hands  

I know Little A is much older than my son, so i believe he would be more cautious, but still i would suggest waiting for a while, you never know

manal

Thank you Manal and Andy 

Our local school policy regarding this flu is that if your child is even mildly sick, they should not be sent to school. However, if your kids are healthy, they should go to school. They don't feel there is reason to disrupt the education of the whole student body if one child falls ill with the flu.

We spoke with our pediatrician this morning and he said basically what Andy suggested.  This is a fun week at school - my daughter went bowling and lil A went swimming - and the would have both been devastated if they missed these events.  Our pediatrician, although he felt that he was not in a position to tell us what to do felt that since lil A has missed so many of the fun days at school - could we be doing more damage by keeping him at home since the exposure would have happened in weeks past.  Although I was apprehensive, both of the kids are at school today and I am hoping for the best...

Sharmin

Shamin,
May God Bless your children with super fun week and they will b safe to this ... Good Luck Sis for you & Family  ... Tell your Children to stay safe at school ...

Best Regards
Take Care
Umair

Thank you my friend,

So far so good - thanks for your wishes.  I hope that the child who is sick is doing well.  We have not been given any updates on that student. 

Best wishes to you all - stay healthy,

Sharmin

I took lil A to emergency at the children's hospital during the night because he had a high fever and flu symptoms.  His white blood cell count is 17.  Although swine flu has not been confirmed we are starting him on Tamiflu immediately.  I hope that he will be okay.  We will find out soon if it is the swine flu.

Sharmin

Sharmin,

I hope it is not swine flu.  But even if it is, everything will be under control now that he started Tamiflu at once. I wish him the best and a speedy recovery.

Lena.


 

Sharmin,

How high was his fever? Did they test to see if it is H1N1?

Hi Andy,

At 2am he woke up in a panic, he was very warm to the touch and extremely uncomfortable.  His temperature was 39 degrees celcius 2am till 11am this morning.  He has nausea, dizziness, nasal congestion, and throat pain.  He received his first Tamiflu dose this morning.  A test for H1N1 and a test for strep were done - but the results will not be available for some time yet.  

His fever seems to have gone away, he is actually up and walking around.  There aren't too many signs of cold or congestion right now.  I am giving him Tylenol every four hours.  

I am concerned about the elevation in white blood cells.  Is it true that with H1N1 (if that is what he has) the patient gets better and then it hits them again really hard?  

I am hoping for the best, quite nervous,

Thanks everyone for your support,

Sharmin

Actually, it is turning out so far that most patients with H1N1 have a mild flu for about 5 days and then it's over. A few get it really bad and those with respiratory problems seem to be at higher risk for complications, but most people are getting a fairly mild flu.

That is good to hear Andy.  Would the treatment with rituximab make lil A more vulnerable to this flu?  Do you think that the Tamiflu is warranted?

Sharmin

Sharmin,

Unless little A's immune system was currently weak, he wouldn't be anymore susceptible to the flu than anyone else, but this flu is prevalent and with school back in session it will be spreading more. To be honest, some of the side effects of Tamiflu concern me more than the flu itself. I think any drug connected to hallucinations should cause concern. If he shows no side effects from Tamiflu, he should be OK though.