When you're coming down with a cold or flu, how do you feel in the beginning?

[Bertha Venation]

How can you tell you're going to get sick?

[TK421]

1. With me, my arms and legs feel really weak ( almost rubbery )

then, sore throat and a nose that won't stop running

[NJmaverick]

2. Usually I feel runned down and tired for no reason

and I start getting periods of congestion and passing throat soreness

[distantearlywarning]

3. Tired, and usually my throat starts hurting before anything else happens

[NMDemDist2]

4. +1 n/t

[MissMillie]

5. scratchy throat is almost always my first symptom (n/t)

.

[Bertha Venation]

6. Then I'm okay! No scratchy throat!

Now if only the shakes and the chills would quit.

[raccoon]

7. Feeling fatigued, and/or scratchy throat. nt

[susanr516]

8. Tired

My eyes also water and I get an itchy little tickle in the back of my throat.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

9. With a cold

I get this funny feeling up in the back of my nose/throat. With a flu, my hips start hurting and the chills aren't far behind.

[haele]

10. Achey and tired.

My eyelids feel heavy. So does my brain. My lower back and hips ache and my long bones feel "cold" inside.
My body yells "Get that heavy-duty quilt and go to bed NOW!" at me.
Within 12 hours, I'll have the real "flu" symptoms - be it a north-bound(respiratory) or south-bound (gastro-intestinal) virus.

With a cold, I just feel sleepy, not achey - sick brings on the sleep, but it's the virus that makes the ache.

Haele

[Skittles]

11. oh I have an all-knowing sign

my throat feels dry when I swallow; it always starts with that :(

[unsavedtrash]

12. sneezing and constantly crave orange juice

Both of which I am doing now...

[Blue State Blues]

13. Pretty much the way I feel now.

Tired. Grumpy.

Or maybe it's just the blues from the news in GD.

[tigereye]

24. or was it the Bomb the Mood thread...

:rofl:

[Mojambo]

14. I heard that the early indicator for swine fu is seriously achy knees

Then fever, then the worst sore throat in the history of the world.

So I'm on the lookout for knee pain.

[hedgehog]

17. My left knee cap hurts. Is that I sign I'm getting a mild case, or is that

left over from tripping over the dog's leash last week?



That may have come out harsher than I intended. Just whistlin' past the grave yard here, making stupid jokes.

[elocs]

15. It's been decades since I have had any flu and even my colds are mild,

but with a cold it usually starts in my throat then moves to my nose. I have taken vitamin C at the first symptom and cut the cold pretty short.

[old mark]

16. Once you start feeling any symptoms, you already are sick - probably

will include a very elevated temp, general body aches, cough and severe headache, with sinus involvement.
Last time I had the flu seriously, I was actually hallucinating, spent several days flat in bed.

BV, if you think you may have flu, please see a doctor - a lot of women have been dieing from this flu.

Hope it's just a cold.

mark

[hedgehog]

18. No need to panic. Check out the CDC recommendations for when to worry:

If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

* Fast breathing or trouble breathing
* Bluish or gray skin color
* Not drinking enough fluids
* Severe or persistent vomiting
* Not waking up or not interacting
* Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

* Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
* Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
* Sudden dizziness
* Confusion
* Severe or persistent vomiting
* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough


Lots more info:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm


On edit: people with pre-existing conditions such as pregnancy, asthma, diabetes, HIV ,etc should probably check with their doctors.

[old mark]

19. HH: I heard yesterday that 28 of every 100 US women with the swine flu

die of it.

I'd recommend a doctor visit even if it proves not to be flu.

mark

[hedgehog]

20. I think I found what you heard:

We've updated our numbers, and through late august, we can report that about 100 pregnant women in the United States have required intensive care unit hospitalization for H1N1 flu. Sadly, 28 pregnant women in the U.S. have died so far from the H1N1 influenza. These are really upsetting numbers, I know. And I just want to remind women and doctors and nurse midwives that antiviral medicine can be a very important treatment for pregnant women who have respiratory illness.

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t091001.htm


Note that while 100 pregnant women have been in the ICU, it doesn't give the total who've had H1N1.


Here's more CDC advice for pregnant women:

What if I am pregnant and I get 2009 H1N1?

Call your doctor right away if you have flu symptoms or if you have close contact with someone who has the flu. Pregnant women who get sick with 2009 H1N1 can have serious health problems. They can get sicker than other people who get 2009 H1N1 flu. Some pregnant women sick with 2009 H1N1 have had early labor and severe pneumonia. Some have died. If you are pregnant and have symptoms of the flu, take it very seriously. Call your doctor right away for advice.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/pregnant.htm

[old mark]

30. HH: Thanks for finding that - I wanted to make the point that this flu

in dangerous, it's not just ths sniffles.
I have had bypass surgery, have a pacemaker and diabetes. My wife also has several chronic illnesses, including HepC.
We are both getting the shots next week.


mark

[stray cat]

21. If the woman is pregnant her risk is pretty extreme

[hedgehog]

22. I was kind of shocked to read the specific recommendations myself.

Someone somewhere has decided that pregnancy + H1N1 is a serious combo.

[tigereye]

25. for the record there were 28 pregnant women who died

out of a certain number (don't remember) who were hospitalized.

My doctor said that younger people are at more risk from the swine flu than older ones, and there are other doctors who are questioning the need for so many folks to be vaccinated, since most folks will have mild symptoms.

[pitohui]

26. hell the country would be depopulated by now

i believe a grand total of 28 pg women have died of swine flu, if 28 out of 100 usa women had died of swine flu you DO realize that a large percentage of the female population on DU would already be dead!

crap, swine flu has been in new orleans since april

the city would be devoid of females under menopause age by now! i don't even know anyone who got sick, just teachers who have had students who got (mildly) sick

it's no big deal, it's a scam to sell a vaccine in a tough economy

[tigereye]

23. really tired, scratchy throat and my feet ache in a weird way...

[femmocrat]

27. Mine always starts with a sore throat and tiredness.

I get a couple of colds a year, but have never had the flu (that I can recall). I do get a flu shot.

[texanwitch]

28. When I start to come down with a cold or flu I take Oscillococcinum.

It is over the counter at drug stores.

I had a cold starting the other day, this stuff knocked it right out.

This stuff has been around for years.

[Roon]

29. The chills!!

The last few times I have been sick, it started off with the chills! That's when I know it's time to lay down and ride it out.

[yellowdogintexas]

31. normal cold: sore throat is the key signal. Often I have achiness in my

old injuries.

FLU: one minute you are feeling fine then you feel like a train hit you. Usually fever is the big indicator with flu.

[quiet.american]

32. Chills and a sore throat.... hello misery! nt