Swine Flu - Chesterfield,VA

More studies are suggesting that H1N1 can cause severe damage to lungs and doctors need to fully examine lungs with radiographs (x-rays) and CT. Keep in touch with your pediatrician and your physician. If something feels wrong, get it checked out.

Just a prayer and condolences... My eight yr old came down with it last nite. I have never seen him so sick. I have three other kids of my own and two stepsons all under 10 yrs of age including a 9 month old. I am praying and hoping with every fiber of my being that it doesn't run rampant through the whole house or at least misses the baby. My ped told me push fluids and keep a cool mist vaporizor going, and that moist night air seems to relieve symptoms, so take a walk before bed. (IN WI)

I am a 38 year old mom. I had the flu (h1n1, I'm not sure, no test), then coughed for two weeks. My chest got tight and when I coughed, I was breathless. My doctor confirmed pneumonia with a chest x-ray. Go to the doctor.

You have received some good advice here. Please make sure that evryone is taking a good vitamin and getting alot of clear liquids, jello and icepops count too! I'm not sure if you like to cook, but homemade chicken soup is really very good for sick people. The liquid, the protein from the chicken, and the vitamins and minerals from the local grown produce all combine to make a warm healthy meal, and you can freeze and reheat it as long as you don't add noodles to it (they don't do well in the freezer, from personal experience).
My kids and I use vitamins that have been proven to be more absorbed than the ones at the stores, e-mail me if you would like to information.

My daughter and I both had swine flu. The reason the nasal swab test can be falsely negative is because the swine flu virus typically attacks the soft tissue cells lining the lungs, not the soft tissue cells in the sinuses like the seasonal flu.

Both my daughter and I came down with pneumonia as a secondary infection to swine flu. Our fevers went away, then came back about 24 hours later accompanied by the symptoms that you are describing (except mine was very clearly only in one lung). The only way to positively diagnose pneumonia is to go to the doctor and get a chest x-ray. If you have a history of lung/ breathing problems as you describe, it is worth going to the Dr again and requesting that he check.

I wouldn't worry unnecessarily. It's great they have bounced back, but if you think they may still have something, you can always take them to the doctor (as well as yourself) to get checked out again to make sure there aren't worse problems. I wouldn't stress about it till you know for sure because other than taking the meds and vitamins, there's not much more you can do to prevent anything that may have already happened. Get plenty of rest and drink water and pray. Hope everyone recovers fully and glad you got through the worst of it. Try to stop reading all the negatives as well - it will only cause more worry! Keep us posted!

Make sure you all are resting, still making sure fluids are there to keep congestion thin. When this happened with my son, also asthmatic (as am I and my daughter), the pediatrician told us that the antibiotic we used Zithromax stays in the system working for 7 days although he was taking it for 5. We kept up asthma treatments and the cough eventually cleared up. We also gave hot fresh squeezed lemonade (my son hates tea), steam treatments, and kept a humidifier on in his room. Elevate pillows and keep monitoring. If the cough persists, then you might want to be a little aggressive with the doctor's office and request x-ray to rule out pneumonia. Signs to look for: no improvement in appetite, energy or activity levels, and urine output. In my house, low appetite, lethargy and continued cough after we've had prednisone, asthma meds, and antibiotics mean that we need to make another trip to dr. Sometimes, they've added a decongestant that helps asthmatics. Sometimes, we have to wait a few more days. Only twice have we gotten to pneumonia level in 6 years. The over-the-counter stuff doesn't help my children, and the only thing that helps me is Claritin-D 12 (not the 24-hr. one for some reason). My son is on Singulair during spring and fall seasons to help control the allergies/asthma cycle. P.S. It can take 10-14 days to really recover from the flu. I know it's hard to keep children out so long from school, but given the severity of this flu strain, I'd talk to principal now and see if they have a learn at home emergency plan so that children can keep up with their studies until they are strong enough to go back into the classroom. If you send her back and her immune system is still weakened, there's a chance she can catch something else that makes it harder to recover quickly.

I had a horrible cough last year that went on for over 2 months. My chest muscles were sore from the coughing fits and I'd wake up coughing in the middle of the night. I thought it had turned to walking pneumonia, but I was just shy of it says my doctor. An old fashioned mustard plaster helped, but I'd think it's too dangerous to use on kids or anyone with delicate skin. The mustard can burn the skin unless you are very very VERY careful. A heating pad on the chest and Vicks Vapor rub made me feel better for short periods. I also put one of those air activated heat patches (you find them for backs or shoulders in the pharmacy) on my throat with a wide loose headband over it to hold it there. Warm chicken broth was comforting to drink. I used my warm mist humidifier every night and kept my fluids up. You just have to treat the symptoms as best you can and slowly it gets better.

The ONLY way to be sure you had H1N1 is with a blood test. Don't know if it's too late for that. The swab only says if you had influenza, not what strain, and isn't very accurate. However, doctors seem to be saying tha tH1N1 is the only flu strain tha thas appeared this season so far.

If you are concerned about complications, take everyone to the doctor just to make sure your chests sound okay. there is nothing wrong with askign the doctor to follow-up. ANY cough can turn bad quickly in ANY kid, let alone an asthmatic with the flu. Satisfy your concerns and ask the doctor to listen to your lungs to make sure they are clear, adn amke sure you don't need further treatment.

Sorry this happened to you, but since you had to go through it, hoepfully you are all immmune now?!

You and your family should be taking ###-###-####mg of vitamin D, and probably more when you are sick. Also you need to take a Probiotic, especially the ones on Antibiotics b/c it will help replace the good bacteria in the body that helps fight illness. Continue on Vitamin D & Probiotics, especially through the flu season! Also Zinc really helps the Immune System as well.

S., call the doc for advise if you are worried and ask about the antibiotics.

I am with Ann and Meg - if your instincts tell you something is still wrong you need to fight for your health and get someone to take a secondary look at you and your daughter. Additionally, due to your respiratory issues (asthma) you are compromised and can be inclined toward respiratory damage.
Shoot- better safe than sorry- go get an x-ray and make sure there is no pnemonia or secondary damage.