‘Swine Flu’ is the most dreaded word these days. It’s all over the news and the reports paint a grim picture. No wonder so many people are panicked and most of them are clueless about the disease. These days any flu is feared to be swine flu and misinformation compounds the problem.
I had a similar scare last week. I had been to the St. Louis Zoo over the weekend. It was a hot day and we were out walking almost the entire afternoon. Expectedly we were fatigued at the end of the day. A warm water bath and a good night of sleep helped alleviate the aches and pains the next day. It was a usual day at office but things started to get bad as evening approached. I started feeling uneasy and felt like my body temperature going up. I went home from work and relaxed but things didn’t seem to improve.
My body temperature went up steadily through the night and I couldn't sleep a bit. By the morning I was sleepy and had a temperature around 100°F. I was worried. Different type of thoughts started occupying my mind. I had been to the zoo and now I have a fever. Can this be swine flu? I decided to go to the doctor’s office. I did some research over the Internet and here is what I found for swine flu:
The typical symptoms are:
- a sudden fever (a high body temperature of 38°C/100.4°F or above), and
- a sudden cough.
Other symptoms may include:
- headache,
- tiredness,
- chills,
- aching muscles,
- limb or joint pain,
- diarrhea or stomach upset,
- sore throat,
- runny nose,
- sneezing, or
- loss of appetite.
I had the above checklist in front of me and started analyzing it. I had a sudden fever but no cough. I had tiredness but no headache or chills. I had aching muscles but no sore throat or sneezing. Now I was royally confused and was getting more worried. Finally I decided to let the medical professionals decide what my flu meant.
A visit to the doctor’s office revealed that I didn’t have swine flu and this came as a much needed relief to me. The doctor prescribed some fever reducing medicines (Tylenol OTC) and that worked great for me. By the next morning my fever was gone and I was feeling much better. I was happy that I didn’t delay seeking medical advice and that my flu was gone soon.
Here are some of the precautions that you can take to combat swine flu:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- If you are sick with flu-like illness, it is recommended that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.
As always, when in doubt don’t hesitate to take medical help as early as possible.
How are you keeping off swine flu? Participate in this weeks poll on the left side of this page.
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Just an update regarding my last blog http://abloggernamedjohn.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-are-in-wrong-lane-stupid-lady.html. I got another comment from Justin S. as follows:
Hello!
Below is my email address. If you could please send me your membership number. Thank you!
Justin S.
I wrote to Justin and a AAA customer service person responded seeking apology for the discomfort I had to face. I was also sent a copy of 2009 AAA North American Atlas by AAA. I am also promised of a better service next time. Hopefully this incident helps AAA improve upon their quality of road service. By the way I am impressed by their customer service off-road ;)
