Don't be so sure that it's a virus. I know of two people who have "community contracted pneumonia" right now. Hopefully, they ordered a chest x-ray - anyone who has ever had pneumonia is at a higher risk of contracting it again.

I hope you both feel better soon, chisue.

A few years ago I caught the flu and felt like I had been hit by a truck. It was a good four months before I started to feel like myself again and I was just exhausted no matter how much I slept.

Since I retired and am no longer around all those germy little children, I haven't had a single cold (knock on wood). I attribute it to that, constant hand washing and that I rarely go to town, preferring to stay home the majority of the time to putter around the house and work in my studio.

Chisue, Hoping you feel better soon, and don't get pneumonia, how awful for this to happen.

I so hope you and your husband can soon be over this! One never knows what is going to come around and put you down! Take care and get a lot of rest.

Sue

We had whatever is going around here it wasn't the flu but it was a bad bug and just hung on. The cough is still hanging on. I'm having trouble sleeping because I will have coughing attacks. My neighbor and her husband had it at the same time we did. And they still have the cough. I thought my husband was going to turn into pneumonia but with antibiotics he got past it. It starts with a virus but quickly the bacterial aspects take over so antibiotics are needed for that. It is not something to play around with!

I have had the flu every year for years...until a few years ago when I REALLY did have the flu. Nothing and I mean nothing hit me so hard, lasted so long and made me feel so bad as the flu. I was in bed literally for 15 days, but it took several months before my energy came back fully. I hope never to get it again. LOL.

Chisue, lots of fluids, tylenol and rest. Another thing the boys doctor told me that some studies, I don't know where..show a teaspoon of honey works as well for coughing as OTC cough meds...So grab the honey pot.

Hope you and your hubs feel better soon.

Sounds ghastly! I hope your DH is on the mend soon.

I get flu shots every year and fortunately, haven't suffered from a bad case of the flu in decades. I've had some rather nasty viruses, tho.

Not fun!

Hope you feel better soon. I have to fly this week and that's when I tend to get sick. I try so hard to keep my hands clean and away from my face, but airports and airplanes have to be two of the germiest places on earth.

I'm just getting over a cold. Fortunately, it didn't result in a bad cough, so I think I'm going to skate by without antibiotics.

DH had a really bad cold about a month ago-and I somehow managed to avoid getting it.

I swear I got this virus at church. I really hate shaking peoples' hands!

Fun2BHere

Hope you feel better soon. I have to fly this week and that's when I tend to get sick. I try so hard to keep my hands clean and away from my face, but airports and airplanes have to be two of the germiest places on earth.

*******

Last winter when my in-laws visited, MIL brought with her a nasty, nasty, nasty stomach virus-like the ones they bleach down entire cruise ships for!

I really think she picked it up on the plane, because I know she will use her hands to eat, which is a big no-no for me when I can't thoroughly wash right before.

My husband has something, it started out with just feeling really tired and now he has a sore throat and a slight cough. Luckily he's off work for a few days so hopefully he can recuperate.

I participate in Flu Near You, which collects flu symptom data.

My son and I have exactly what you described. I am taking him to the Dr. today. We both have been completely wiped out from it.

Chisue...I hope you and your husband feel better!

I was remembering back when I worked around people, man! I either had a cold, the flu or strep...or was just getting over something. Haven't been sick in years since I started working for myself.

Chisue, I am just getting over the same thing. All I did for 4 days was sleep. Cough, nose congestion but no sore throat. It seems to be going around here, whatever it is. I coughed so hard I think I pulled a muscle in my chest. That scared me at first, a big chest pain but that's gone now too.

The last time either of us had flu, my FIL was alive. He passed in 1986. DH missed his dad's birthday dinner that winter, and it was I think the only time he missed a couple of days work sick. The day he was up and moving again, I couldn't lift my head from the pillow - it was my turn. We haven't skipped a flu shot since that year.

DH would get a severe cold every year all the 30 years he reffed high school basketball. He's quit running around in those gyms full of kids, and the colds have stopped too the last several years (knocking on wood here). We are both frequent hand washers, with maybe some luck thrown in too.

This thread is a reminder to me to lay in a supply of soup and popsicles - my go-to food for these kinds of illnesses.

No thanks, I'll pass. Hope everyone gets well soon.

even with all the water dh drinks its taken about 2 weeks for this crud to go away...but he's only doing otc stuff, and was outside 2 hours snow blowing...we both had flu shot, and I had the next to last pnu shots...at 70 you just can't take chances...

Not flu, but DH is recovering from the same thing arkansas girl described. It came on as a sore throat, then a full week of head cruds, no energy, lots of sleeping but no fever. He still has the head cruds, and a little cough, but went to work today for a bit (home repair, so didn't expose anyone.) He's tired of the tickle cough, not getting enough sleep.

Of course he's a man, so he won't go to the doc unless a bone is sticking out. It was a full 7 days for him to begin feeling human.

So far, I'm good. I tried really hard to keep my distance.

I had something nasty for the last few weeks. The worst cough i've ever had, felt kind of like lung spasms and I was coughing up a little blood. Luckily it seems to have passed. I'm working in a school this year so I'm getting hit non-stop with nasty bugs, which other teachers say is standard for a first year teacher.

Oh no! I really hope it's not the flu. Too many people don't really know how devastating the real flu can be. I had it once, when I was young 30 something. I was in the hospital for a week, PICC line, double pneumonia as a result. Off work for 6 weeks! And I was young and healthy. Please take care of yourselves, and I would get a chest xray. Too often pneumonia is hard to detect without an xray.

We're improving! Last night I took two Tylenol #3's. Off and on with an ice pack on my forehead helped with the headache. I ate two spoons of soup before my stomach rebelled, so I just had ginger ale all night -- more melting ice than soda. Plain water was nauseating. We are still hacking away, but no fevers, and we managed oatmeal this morning without problems.

We get flu shots every year, including this one. We have each had both pneumonia vaccines. MD called this 'flu', but who knows? This isn't the kind of high-fever flu we both had at the same time in the early 1970's. We were both delirious. (I remember falling out of bed and getting 'lost' going to the bathroom!) My dear mother came to stay for two nights.

At least we have food -- and heat. I'd 'provisioned' in advance of our big snows, and we've had no electrical outages (yet). I was able to play nurse while DH was at his worst. Now he's been able to help me.

It looks like we will be able to fly in three weeks. (Probably find some NEW bugs!)

Glad you're on the mend. What a whopper you got!

Last year, I was sick with some strange virus...twice. I had it for about a week, recovered for a whole day, then boom! Down again.

It was one of those weird illnesses that wasn't quite a cold and wasn't the flu. I had swollen glands (let me tell you how painful swollen adenoids are!), fatigue and aches. But, what to do?

Nothing, really.

I got a bad head cold and cough about 2 months later (antibiotics and steroids). Whatever attacked my system had my immune response challenged for quite some time.

Be careful flying. Don't touch your face or eat with your hands!

Was just about to ask "Did y'all get your flu and pneumonia shots?" when I came to your recent post above. I got the flu shot and the 1st pneumonia shot 3 or 4 years ago, and was sick afterwards for several weeks. The last time I'd had flu was in the mid 60's! So, I refused the flu shots after that. Until this year, I asked about the 2nd pneumonia shot, and my doctor talked me into getting the flu shot, too. He said they are much improved, also that there are new strains of flu every year, so the shots keep changing, too. So far, so good!

Anyhow, I'm sorry to read you've been so sick, but very glad y'all are recuperating! Hope all are completely well soon! !

And if anyone hasn't had the shots yet, please get them ASAP!

Rusty

I used to feel "under the weather" after the flu shot, and stopped taking them. But, with improvements, I hopped back on the immunization train several years ago and never have more than a bit of muscle soreness after.

I hope you're both on the mend very soon, Chisue! Did you build up your hemoglobin numbers yet, if you don't mind my asking?

Chi, it's nice to see you posting again--I've missed your posts. Do you mind my asking which grade you teach? When I started subbing 6 years ago I caught anything and everything, for about 2 years. I used to worry my supervisor might think I'm lying, since I had to say I was sick so often. :)

Hi Sjerin! I'm actually doing an internship in a Preschool while I'm doing my Montessori training, and I hope to work with kindergarten or first grade next year. Preschool aged children are especially rough when it comes to spreading germs. I had an adorable 2 year old cough in my face the other day before proclaiming that she is sick! I've already called in sick 3 times this year which is very unusual for me.

I had the Asian flu once when I was in college. It wipe me out for 3 days and cost me one course that i had to repeat.

Its too bad that antibiotics do not work against viruses.

Chisue- Are you feeling better? My son is on a Z pack and starting to feel better. His eyes got so red with discharge, and he kept gagging on green mucus he was coughing up. I am starting to feel better, I didn't need antibiotics.

Oh my. I return to his thread this afternoon because as of around noon my nose feels as tho it is on fire and is drippy, eyes itchy, plus my throat feels a bit thick. uh-oh.

schoolhouse- hammer the fluids and try to stay ahead of it! I hope you get only a glancing blow!

Thanks. I should have picked up some orange juice today when I was out.

Hope everyone who is sick, is feeling better. My husband had the pneumonia shot when he was in the hospital a year ago with Vibriosis. He has had pneumonia about 3 times, I think. I have never had the flu....or a flu shot. I don't usually get sick over the winter. I don't know if that is because I am immune to a lot of stuff, or just lucky. I stay by myself most of the time, so I guess that is a factor too, but I do go to town almost every day. I handle a lot of dirty stuff in my day to day routine, so I guess it keeps my immune system tweaked. My mother never got sick either. Her doctor said she was the strongest old lady he had ever seen.