We have had 5 or so die from the flu here in the Houston area. This stuff is bad and it's all over the place.

Stay healthy! I just had my Oj and emergenC. Can't hurt.

From several news articles it seems to be hitting younger people the hardest. I do not know if it has not been reported in previous outbreaks but some of the young adults that have died have died of sepsis associated with the flu. Sepsis, common term: Blood Poisoning, is not something I have ever associated with flu.

I read tonight that’s it’s widespread throughout the entire country except for Hawaii and Washington DC. It is the first time it has happened all over at the same widespread declaration. And the shot was somewhat of a mismatch.

Thanks so much for asking for us in Alabama.

I'm fine, so far.

An avid water aerobics participant but have not attended in 3 weeks. I'm one of the oldest to attend. Many have had the flu,

Amazing I had my window ac on night before last. Now this COLD. BRRRR!

I am not in touch with young children, but from the news the flu is rampant here.

Do take supplements and thankfully I'm fine.

Again, thanks for asking.

Stay well.

It’s pretty bad with about a third of the state affected here or so they estimate. And so many people are heading to the ERs rather than taking medications at home. Of course some may actually need to be there. So the hospitals are at over capacity to handle it. Everyone is being advised to stay at home if you feel sick...no school, shopping, church, whatever. Of course many won’t. One private upper school closed the other day because of flu absences.

The hope is that it’s reached its peak and will begin to slow down, especially with a government holiday on Monday and not as many opportunities to pass along the germs.

Thanks for asking about us. And yes it’s widespread over many parts of the country.

My husband, who is semi-retired, went up to his work place today. Many people were out with the flu. One of them, who has been out sick for a couple of days, is getting on a cruise ship tomorrow. I wonder how many people he is going to be spreading his germs to. Why won't people just stay home?

And wash your hands frequently, especially as soon as you arrive home from being out.

The hell with that. Have some sense and wash before you get in that car. That car is a disease vector and you missed it. People you care for will get in that car with you. Do not bring that stuff all the way home.

Lisa, I read the same. Entire country, early and it's hitting hard. It makes me worry about my 91 yr old Mom, is she remembering to wash her hands. My nephew is checking groceries instead of going to college this winter - he hasn't gotten around to his flu shot yet and I keep harassing him to get it.

We were at a memorial service with about 400 people last weekend, buffet served, I was a little uneasy about going but DH wanted us to. Week before last, a friend was here who had been very sick, and his wife, the day and evening before. Something gastrointestinal. I chided him, thanked him for coming by ;0( Two days later, he came to a friends down the street where we were all having lunch and watching football on television. Again, we scolded him for being out, among us, and not at home getting some rest and chicken soup. I think he got the message that day because he called a few days later and asked if anyone else had become sick. I didn't tell him when he left the party a little ahead of the rest of us, about 10 lined up to wash their hands - we were all a little uneasy in his company LOL

Central Ont.Canada....I have a flu plus some sort of cold going on-have been sick,really sick for the first time in 24 years.

I cannot get any sort of flu/cold/pneumonia shot due to egg allergies.

As far as I know,my little GD brought this at Christmas time.....

I seen my regular doc on Wed.past,and am on some 6 day anti biotic.

Still not feeling well at all,and worried if I am going to make it.....

Ont_gal, I hope you rest well tonight and feel a little better in the morning. Let us know....

I hope you feel better, ont_gal!

It's worrisome for sure. I'm a hand washer year round. I wash my hands like a surgeon after coming from stores, gym. I have to nag my husband like he's a five-year-old. I cringe when I see him put his hands up to his face. I never ever touch my face unless I'm in my own home.

Good portions of California are affected. We're seeing huge outbreaks. I came down with it Christmas night. Was feeling fine and then around 11:30 that night hit me like a ton of bricks. Felt like death the first 4 days. I am recovered but still tire easily and the cough is hanging on forever.

They were expecting it to be worse this year due to seeing the pattern in Australia which precedes our flu season. Seems they misjudged the strain they would be dealing with when deciding on what vaccine to use.

I've become a little bit of a recluse, avoiding many public places and sadly, my fitness center.

My husband is extremely conscientious about his hygiene at work. He has to be.....others are so ignorant and careless with their contagious illnesses. He's also unapologetic about it, barking at an obviously under the weather person to "get out" of his office, lol.

He's armed with Lysol for door knobs and faucets, as well as wipes. He washes his hands before leaving work and as soon as he gets home. The grocery store is the worst!!

When he gets sick, it can become very acutely serious in a short time. And if I get ill, it can take me several months to recover. So, we've become pretty militant about protecting ourselves against others who are thoughtless or just plain ignorant.

Our strategy has worked for the last three or four years.

My husband has the flu right now, coughing his head off but no fever anymore. It seems to be rampant here in Ohio.

I am on vacation out of the country, so not totally up on what is going on.

Dh saw the info on Alabama.

Stay healthy!

Those of you with the flu..have you actually been tested?

Yesterday I had to go out in public. When I got home I found my sons gf and her very sick 7yo almost about to enter my front door...WAIT....I know I raised my voice a bit to loud...I told them you can not enter my home. Well Katie needs a drink and some tylenol before going home...I went into the house and returned with a bottle of sprite and a dose of tylenol and sent them on their way. I understand the child is sick but i dont want my kids catching it and NO WAY do I want Amiee exposed to a known illness.

I don't know what's wrong with people. If your sick or your child's sick..don't come to my house.

I felt sort of bad about being so harsh as its rare for me to be anything other than kind to others expecially a child in need but this flu going around this year has me nervous. a 21 year old healthy boy in Latrobe Pa died from this flu a few days ago....Latrobe is a 15 minute drive from me.

Only 40% of US citizens get a flu shot.

The young man in PA ignored the severity of his illness, went to work with it, and didn't get medical care until he was too sick to walk.

I have been working on getting my hernia surgery. Well the cardiologist has decided for no reason that he wants me to go to the hospital and have some additional tests done. I asked him if he had found anything wrong with the ekg or echo and all of the rest of the tests. No no everything is perfect. I said so for no reason you want me to go to the hospital in full blown flu season and get exposed in the most likely way possible and just before I am going to have surgery? My surgery is at a surgical hospital only so not a big risk there. I think that is absolutely stupid and I refused to do it. The test were not required or requested by the surgeon or the hospital. Just a let's order as many tests as possible and make as much money as possible attitude.

I have rarely been out of the rv lately. I worry about hubby going to work but luckily his office is on a separate floor and it's just him and a conference room. We have hand sanitizer every where right now. I am bad about touching my face and I am trying to be more conscious about it. We had gotten into a special sanitizing routine when I had the staph infections, we are in that mode again. We are using the special sterilizing body wash in the shower too. My cleaning ladies yesterday had added a lot of new sanitizing products to their basket of supplies.

My friend called me and said she was thinking about coming to visit with me. Then said she had a cold! I said well then sorry but no thanks.

I made a big pressure cooker pot of chicken soup last night!

i just heard on TV news (I'm in long Island NY) that flu is epidemic in every state escept Hawaii.

My friend's daughter has been a nurse for over 30 years. She said for the first time in her career she's frightened. All the beds in the hospital she works at are full, the nursing staff is starting to come down with the flu, they've been out of Tamiflu for several weeks and are now out of saline drips, and are using Gatorade. I've been staying in as much as possible. It's been five weeks with my cold, been to the doc. 3 times (I never go to doc. and my friends keep pushing me) Just now starting to feel a little better but don't want to go out because my resistance is low.

I'm just recovering from it, it was a nightmare. Two weeks of coughing, chills, fever, lack of energy, constant nose blowing, aching from head to toe. So sick that I never watched tv. My dr. put me on an antibiotic to avoid any further problems. It's been a month now. The horrible cough is gone but I still cough a bit, I get tired easily so I'm pampering myself and avoiding seeing or being with people until this has all passed. Yes, I had the flu shot.

I also had the flu shot which apparently this year is only 32% effective.

I have been coughing for 5 weeks now and that isn't unusual. I thought I was better until yesterday when I coughed all day. I feel better today so we'll see.

My mom is in an assisted living residence so the only time I have seen her is when she came to my house on Christmas Day. I saw her briefly last week thinking I was better. But there is a big note on their front door saying that anyone with a chest cold or anything respiratory to stay away.

We were on a cruise beginning in mid-October (19 days) and there were several people who were coughing a lot. We did not mingle with them, yet when we got home, it started. About 24 hours after we got into the house, we both went down. Ultimately we each lost about 10 pounds and I don't recall ever being that sick in my adult life. The missus cannot do the flu shot due to allergies, but I had mine several week prior to that cruise.

After 10 days or so we were better and have not had any relapse.

I had the flu twice in my life and wouldn't have cared if I died, I was that sick so I will not be in any crowds, avoiding people like crazy. Over the holiday people are crowded together and germs fly and they travel back to their states. My grandson brought a bad cold back from college in VA and made his parents sick the whole time he was here. Thankfully it wasn't the flu. So many kids around his age have died of it including the kid in western PA.

DH and I are hoping that this is the strain of flu that we had in November 2016. One or the other of us was practically comatose for two weeks -- the 'run over by a truck' feeling. DH had it for almost a week before I did, so there was only one week in the middle when both of us were useless.

Only once before didwe both had flu at the same time. We were in our early thirties. My mother came to help us, and she didn't catch it. That was over pretty quickly. I remember being delirious with a high fever. In 2016 each of us was at 102F briefly, but the thing hung on *forever*. (Fever can be a good thing if it doesn't last too long!)

If the current flu IS the same thing we had, take heart. It will seem endless, but you'll come through. Keep drinking liquids. I did best with ginger ale diluted with a lot of ice.

Friend dropped her daughter off at the airport on Thursday. Said there was a large group traveling together and all had face masks on.

I went to the medical supply store today and bought masks and gloves and the strong sanitizers. I have spray bottles of alcohol in several rooms.

The NY Times has an excellent article about what is going on in your body when you have the flu and advice on what to do and not to do if you get the flu:

The achiness and fever also signal that you need to start drinking a lot of
fluids. The battle royal being waged inside you will dehydrate you more
than you think. You may notice that your urine will get darker and
you’ll have to go less often. Experts say to make sure you drink a cup
or so of water or other liquid every hour, avoiding alcoholic and
caffeinated beverages.

Drinking fluids will diminish your headache and also bolster your immune
response because your protein soldiers are conveyed via bodily fluids.
Dehydration hampers their movement. It’s one reason people tend to want soup when they’re sick and may crave watery fruits like citrus and melon.

While you may feel rotten all over, the real battle is going on in your
respiratory tract where the virus is localized. When the war is winding
down, you stop feeling achy and feverish but you have residual
inflammation in your throat, sinuses and bronchial tubes. All those
cells lining your mucous membranes have been damaged and are like
weeping sores, Dr. Schaffner said. That’s why your nose is runny and you
start to sneeze and cough to clear out the detritus.

Given this, over-the-counter medications that suppress your cough and dry your sinuses may not be the best idea.

Although you want to rest, lying flat all the time can be problematic because it
collapses your lungs so you can’t cough as efficiently, trapping
bacteria in your respiratory tract. If the virus destroys enough cells
in your bronchial tubes it creates openings for bacteria to get into
your lungs, which can lead to pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening
complication of the flu.

When your lungs are vertical rather than horizontal, “you’re able to breathe
deeply and freely and you’re able to cough out any inadvertent
material, even microscopic bacteria, that get down into bronchial
tubes,” Dr. Schaffner said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/well/live/flu-h3n2-virus-care-remedy.html

Morz & Chi-thank you for the kind thoughts.

Still alive today,but barely....this is one God awful dose, this flu.

Antibiotics for the next 3 days only left ...not sure if Doc can dble dose me or not..

DH & I had to get out today and get my water(jug only-cannot drink tap/well water)..came home,exhausted and jumped right into a very hot bath-so afraid of bringing anything else with me.....

Sorry to read of those suffering. Prayers and hugs Ont-gal.

Half of DH's crew is out with colds that turned worse and a few have the flu. my sisters, and their children have all had the flu. One sister had it for 3 grueling weeks. Thank goodness she's better now.

Allergies prevent me and DH from getting the shots but everyone else
gets them. We keep away from work and one another when any of us are
sick. We also have hand sanitizers which we use liberally. It still
gets around despite our best efforts though. :(

I lived on iced and later hot ginger tea when I had the flu. I also used bryonia which
gave instant short term relief. It allowed me to tolerate meds the Dr
gave me.

We both got colds this Christmas which were short lived but intense.

The following is for colds but it might help with flu symptoms if you can keep things down.

For our natural remedy DH and I suck and or chew on raw garlic for a sore throat. Plus we drink the native cure of sage tea and also rinse our noses with it for a runny nose. Our colds never last for long. Usually 3 days with a couple days more to recover our energy.

Ont_gal, that sounds a little better but try not to do too much, and rest. Any energy you expend elsewhere could be energy directed towards healing....let's hope for another morning a little brighter tomorrow.

Listen to Daniel Tiger.

When you're sick, rest is best, rest is best.

Ont_gal, I’m sorry you’ve had flu. There’s not much worse. Check with your doctor next year about the flu shot. I’ve read there are new vaccines that people with egg allergies can tolerate.

We have also been avoiding most any group activities and going out as little as possible. I always keep hand sanitizer in the car and use it after pumping gas. We always use the wipes in the grocery store and religiously wash our hands after handling groceries. I don’t even shake hands with anyone, begging off due to flu season.

Feeling any better Ont_gal? I sure hope so.

My doctor recommends fist bumps instead of shaking hands.

I hope everyone is on the mend soon and the rest of us don't get it.