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Our Family of 7 Got the Swine Flu
Note: WebMD employees are sharing stories about their experiences with swine flu as part of an occasional series: "WebMD Has Swine Flu."
By Donna Seigfried
Senior Editor
We have a full house: my husband, Keith (44), me (43), our four kids ranging from 2 to 15, and my mom (67). All of us got the flu, and we think we know how.
Friday night, August 21, was a big night in our community. The brand new high school had just opened for the first day of school on August 10, and on the 21st, the new football stadium was being dedicated. Athletes from all sports were being introduced, dads were making predictions about the new football team, little kids were running around playing ball, and moms were socializing.
There was plenty of hugging, hand shaking, and high-fiving going on that night between neighbors, teammates, and friends. Within 48 hours, many people in our neighborhood were suddenly sick, my 15-year-old son, Steven, and I included. Everyone else in our house followed within a few days.
While home sick from school, Steven’s friends were trading text messages about their symptoms. We all had the same thing: vomiting and/or diarrhea, sore throat, headache, fever of 101 to 103 for several days, body aches, and overwhelming fatigue.
Then the confirmations from other moms in our neighborhood started: “Patrick tested positive for flu.” “Michael was confirmed with H1N1.” “Marria has joined the club.” “Braedon has the swine flu and an ear infection.” Two people we knew had pneumonia. My friend Gail, a nurse, said her pediatrician’s office became so overwhelmed with patients that they stopped testing for flu type. If you tested positive for flu, the doctor was 98% sure it was swine flu.
So there we had it. With many around us being confirmed as swine flu cases and having the same symptoms we had, why go for a test and risk exposing others? We felt too horrible to leave the house anyway. We just stayed home and dealt with the flu in the usual way: sleeping and drinking fluids.
When I woke up on the Friday before Labor Day, my temperature was finally down around 99 and stayed slightly above normal all weekend. I had lost 10 pounds from the severe diarrhea and sweating. The Tuesday after Labor Day, I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I think we caught it just before it fully blossomed into pneumonia.
The directive from work was to stay out of the office until the symptoms were gone for 24 hours. Even though it felt strange to be home for so many days in a row, considering how fast this flu spread in our community, that was wise advice. Everyone in our house got over the flu, but altogether, it disrupted our lives for a little over two weeks.
Dr. Louise Chang, WebMD medical editor, comments on Donna's experience:
Donna's experience highlights how easy it really is for flu to spread. Experts estimate that spread of H1N1 swine flu will be greatest among school kids and households. In a recent news story, researchers estimate that an infected student will infect an average of 2.4 other students from school and the probability of an infected household member will infect someone else at home is 27%. If you are ill, following the CDC's recommendation to stay at home and infection control practices like covering coughs and hand-washing can prevent more people from getting sick.
By Donna Seigfried
Senior Editor
We have a full house: my husband, Keith (44), me (43), our four kids ranging from 2 to 15, and my mom (67). All of us got the flu, and we think we know how.
Friday night, August 21, was a big night in our community. The brand new high school had just opened for the first day of school on August 10, and on the 21st, the new football stadium was being dedicated. Athletes from all sports were being introduced, dads were making predictions about the new football team, little kids were running around playing ball, and moms were socializing.
There was plenty of hugging, hand shaking, and high-fiving going on that night between neighbors, teammates, and friends. Within 48 hours, many people in our neighborhood were suddenly sick, my 15-year-old son, Steven, and I included. Everyone else in our house followed within a few days.
While home sick from school, Steven’s friends were trading text messages about their symptoms. We all had the same thing: vomiting and/or diarrhea, sore throat, headache, fever of 101 to 103 for several days, body aches, and overwhelming fatigue.
Then the confirmations from other moms in our neighborhood started: “Patrick tested positive for flu.” “Michael was confirmed with H1N1.” “Marria has joined the club.” “Braedon has the swine flu and an ear infection.” Two people we knew had pneumonia. My friend Gail, a nurse, said her pediatrician’s office became so overwhelmed with patients that they stopped testing for flu type. If you tested positive for flu, the doctor was 98% sure it was swine flu.
So there we had it. With many around us being confirmed as swine flu cases and having the same symptoms we had, why go for a test and risk exposing others? We felt too horrible to leave the house anyway. We just stayed home and dealt with the flu in the usual way: sleeping and drinking fluids.
When I woke up on the Friday before Labor Day, my temperature was finally down around 99 and stayed slightly above normal all weekend. I had lost 10 pounds from the severe diarrhea and sweating. The Tuesday after Labor Day, I was diagnosed with bronchitis. I think we caught it just before it fully blossomed into pneumonia.
The directive from work was to stay out of the office until the symptoms were gone for 24 hours. Even though it felt strange to be home for so many days in a row, considering how fast this flu spread in our community, that was wise advice. Everyone in our house got over the flu, but altogether, it disrupted our lives for a little over two weeks.
Dr. Louise Chang, WebMD medical editor, comments on Donna's experience:
Donna's experience highlights how easy it really is for flu to spread. Experts estimate that spread of H1N1 swine flu will be greatest among school kids and households. In a recent news story, researchers estimate that an infected student will infect an average of 2.4 other students from school and the probability of an infected household member will infect someone else at home is 27%. If you are ill, following the CDC's recommendation to stay at home and infection control practices like covering coughs and hand-washing can prevent more people from getting sick.
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