Nasty Flu ??

[n2ize]

I very rarely get sick with colds or flu. In fact during some of the worst cold & flu years I didn't get the flu even after being exposed to people with it. This year was an exception to the "no flu rule". The week before last I was out Friday morning and feeling strong and good. By the time I got home later in the day my eyes were burning and tearing, my throat was scratchy and I was starting to sneeze and cough. Within a few hours later I had a full blown flu complete with body aches, fever, chills, headache,Coughing was extremely painful as everything ached and hurt like hell. Now my fever is gone but I still have leftover congestion and a nasty cough and I am still feeling fatigued. This thing really knocked the wind out of me and for several days relegated me to sitting still, dozing off and watching old episodes of Rocky and Bullwinkle. For some strange reason I always gravitate to watching Rocky and Bullwinkle when I am in the midst of bad colds and flu's.

Has anyone else experienced bouts of the flu this year. Has anyone heard that there is a bad flu strain going around. I was under the impression that this wasn't a particularly bad year for the flu.

[K4PIH]

There is a strain going round that is not completely covered by the multi shot most of us got. It's pretty nasty and especially hard on older folks or those with compromised immune systems. I've dodged that one but I did have a bad bout of bronchitis this past week.

Glad you are pulling out of it, stay well.

[KD8TUT]

I don't know what I got was a very strange flu... spent the majority of the week with the sniffles... then Friday the 17th *bam* for hit like a frieght train. Had the fatigue of the flue, slight sore throat, fever, runny nose. But was not as symptomatic as other flues I've had. Was just as bad from the fatigue and fever standpoint. But the symptoms were mild.

Thankfully THAT is over. Yuck...

[n2ize]

Actually a few days before this came on I noticed one corner of one of my eyes was red, sort of like when you get a ruptured blood vessel. I also noticed I was sneezing now and then which is also very unusual...I hardly ever sneeze. Then it hit me hard with the fevers, chills, aches and pains. Now that's over but now comes the really annoying part, dealing with the residual congestion wheezing and coughing. From past experiences whenever I get these flu's the coughing fits last for many weeks afterward.

BTW Friday the 17th was about when it really hit me also.

[KD8TUT]

Actually a few days before this came on I noticed one corner of one of my eyes was red, sort of like when you get a ruptured blood vessel. I also noticed I was sneezing now and then which is also very unusual...I hardly ever sneeze. Then it hit me hard with the fevers, chills, aches and pains. Now that's over but now comes the really annoying part, dealing with the residual congestion wheezing and coughing. From past experiences whenever I get these flu's the coughing fits last for many weeks afterward.

BTW Friday the 17th was about when it really hit me also.

And this happened a few days after my eye surgery... eeek....

What a week.

Damned glad you feel better. I do too.

[n2ize]

Yeah, but I do miss watching Rocky and Bullwinkle. :)

[n6hcm]

I had it week before last. was home from work all week. :(

[WZ7U]

Weird how the flu gets people all across the country nearly simultaneously......

[KG4CGC]

Weird how the flu gets people all across the country nearly simultaneously......

Chemtrails. Just ask anyone in Asheville.

[PA5COR]

There's a flu epidemic here as well.
Since i get my free flu jabs ( age and heart) i never had the flu again, i know it's no guarantee though.
Just had a business fair and so in contact with a gazillion peeps, in a hot hall, then outside to do a few things where it was 3 degrees freezing and lots of wind.
Still feeling fine, the fair ended 8 days ago.

[W3WN]

I'm going through something like that right now. Took a few things to get through the hamfest yesterday (HAD to be there, I run the VE team) and I was pretty much useless once I got home.

The Boss tells me I don't have the flu. I just have bronchitis. Right.

Now: Watch me pull this rabbit out of my hat. ("Again?")

[NQ6U]

Chemtrails. Just ask anyone in Asheville.

Thanks, Obama.

[KG4CGC]

Thanks, Obama.

I overheard some talk and joined an Asheville page. Originally it was to keep up with events there since I like that area but WOW! Was I surprised!

[N8YX]

I had the shot in December.

I had the crud all of you are discussing (as did a lot of people I know) beginning the last week of January and I think I'm finally clear of it now.

[W3WN]

They put me on steroids for the next 6 days. Said i will make me feel better, but other than that, there's nothing to do but let the virus run it's course.

[K7SGJ]

I went to my back doctor last week. He asked if I had gotten s flu shot this year. I said yes. He then asked if I had gotten the flu yet, He said you probably will as the strain of flu, out here anyway, is not affected by the shot. I guess the dart hit the wrong spot on the flu strain target.

[WØTKX]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1NQxxKOwwU&t=112s

[KG4CGC]

Dang son! Pert near an arr long!

[n6hcm]

I get my flu shot every year. didn't help at all this time. flu shots can't protect against all variants... :(

[W3WN]

I get my flu shot every year. didn't help at all this time. flu shots can't protect against all variants... :(Yeah, they told me that yesterday as well.

[WZ7U]

They tell me that every time

[KG4NEL]

They tell me that I need one or my ass is fired.

[n2ize]

I'm going through something like that right now. Took a few things to get through the hamfest yesterday (HAD to be there, I run the VE team) and I was pretty much useless once I got home.

The Boss tells me I don't have the flu. I just have bronchitis. Right.

Now: Watch me pull this rabbit out of my hat. ("Again?")

If it came on suddenly and was accompanied by a fever for a few days then it was most likely influenza which can produce bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.

On the rare occasions that I do get the flu (like this time) it is almost always in late February or early March, as the weather starts getting milder. Flu never hits me in mid winter when the temperatures are at their lowest. I would say that I get the flu about once every 5-10 years and that is without a flu shot.

The real PITA is the leftover cough that won't stop nagging me. The residual coughing always lasts me for at least 3 weeks and is more annoying to me than the flu itself. One time I had the flu the cough was so intense and lasted so long I must have ruptured a blood vessel and I was spitting up phlegm and blood and I was scared that I might have Tuberculosis. I got tested for TB and it turned up negative.

[n6hcm]

They tell me that I need one or my ass is fired.

it wasn't ever hard required of me by a job, even at the VA ...

otoh, my current place has an unlimited PTO policy, so why the fuck don't these sick assholes take their laptop home and work from there until they're not germ-infested? they don't even have to work (i didn't--i mostly hid under the covers).

[K7SGJ]

it wasn't ever hard required of me by a job, even at the VA ...

otoh, my current place has an unlimited PTO policy, so why the fuck don't these sick assholes take their laptop home and work from there until they're not germ-infested? they don't even have to work (i didn't--i mostly hid under the covers).

When I was working for the government, I thought the same thing. People with 6 weeks of sick time accrued, and they come in sick and because of these bastids, every one else gets sick.

I finally came to the conclusion that they thought the place couldn't run without them, that they were too important. WRONG In reality, any one of a number of people could do their job without breaking a sweat In fact, even if nobody did their job for a few days, the place would be fine; in some cases, it would run much better.

[W3WN]

When I was working for the government, I thought the same thing. People with 6 weeks of sick time accrued, and they come in sick and because of these bastids, every one else gets sick.

I finally came to the conclusion that they thought the place couldn't run without them, that they were too important. WRONG In reality, any one of a number of people could do their job without breaking a sweat In fact, even if nobody did their job for a few days, the place would be fine; in some cases, it would run much better.Well, that's why I called off on Monday, and you should have seen the pile of report requests and related crapola waiting for me yesterday morning.

I had three different people today unhappy that I hadn't gotten to their (not exactly easy) reports yet.

They don't know when they're well off. The Boss is still mad at me for not staying home the last two days.

[n2ize]

On average you are contagious with influenza for around a week to 10 days. Now here's the tricky part. When you are infected with the influenza virus you generally don;t feel or notice and symptoms for the first few days. But... you are already contagious and fully capable of spreading it. So for the first few days you may very well be spreading the infection yet you don't even know that you have it and that you are already quite contagious. Once the symptoms show, i.e. fever, aches,pains, chills, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, etc.you are contagious for around 7days. So it's kinda tricky. In my case I am still coughing but I am probably no longer contagious.

In most cases the flu is probably spread via persons who are infected, contagious, but are not yet displaying or feeling any symptoms yet.

[KC9ECI]

I've been fighting it since shortly after my return from Italy. Just can't seem to shake it. Got news Sunday morning that my friend JD had not been feeling well and had gone to the hospital. Ended up in the ICU hooked up to a ventilator. It went downhill from there, he suffered a series of strokes and passed away. He was 57 and in reasonable shape.

[KG4CGC]

On average you are contagious with influenza for around a week to 10 days. Now here's the tricky part. When you are infected with the influenza virus you generally don;t feel or notice and symptoms for the first few days. But... you are already contagious and fully capable of spreading it. So for the first few days you may very well be spreading the infection yet you don't even know that you have it and that you are already quite contagious. Once the symptoms show, i.e. fever, aches,pains, chills, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, etc.you are contagious for around 7days. So it's kinda tricky. In my case I am still coughing but I am probably no longer contagious.

In most cases the flu is probably spread via persons who are infected, contagious, but are not yet displaying or feeling any symptoms yet.

If that is the case then clearly we should be looking to early flu detection that is as easy to have around as a bathroom mirror.

[KG4NEL]

it wasn't ever hard required of me by a job, even at the VA ...

otoh, my current place has an unlimited PTO policy, so why the fuck don't these sick assholes take their laptop home and work from there until they're not germ-infested? they don't even have to work (i didn't--i mostly hid under the covers).

Were you in a provider role at the VA? We're flagged as a clinic, so even though I'm not pt-facing (yet), it's the policy from Big Duke.

Could never work for a major hospital system...the red tape is staggering.

[KD8TUT]

As a note: Now my wife has it... :(

[n2ize]

I'm still bogged down with this nasal congestion and cough. No fevers or anything and I feel strong and I am breathing well again but this nagging cough just doesn't want to quite.In public it does keep people away from me, after all they don't know if I'm tuberculin or pneumatic or any such thing.