Down With the Flu
Written by Major Tom
Filed under: Personal and Family
February 20, 2007
The onset of the virus was swift and before I knew it, I was a bit trembling from extreme cold that I was feeling yesterday. It was such a sunny Monday morning that I woke up to, and in fact I was unusually in high spirits that I watched the entire King Kong movie the whole morning. But as noon slowly approached, I was already feeling some temperature just underneath my skin, and the way it felt was so familiar that I had no doubt that I’ll get full-blown flu before the day was over. The very worst thing about flu is that once the symptoms gradually become patent, there’s just nothing you can do about it. In fact, every time this sort of thing happens, I just prepare myself to sleep all day and drink a lot of fluids. Unlike when one has colds or coughs, taking common medications may actually relieve it in a day’s time. Cold medicines and cough syrups can be so good nowadays that a reasonable dose of them can actually make the runny nose or coughing disappear in a jiffy. But not in influenza’s case; it’s gonna get so worse before it goes away. Usually, I’ll struggle with it for at least three days and mostly for a full week.
I don’t know if its normal but I get the flu every once in a while, ever since I was a child. It had gotten to a point that my flu bouts already had became cyclical or periodical, like I get it once in every couple of years. I feel this way because of the many times I remember myself wrapping myself in thick linens to stave out extreme coldness.
Nowadays, flu vaccines are already available although I don’t know if it can be easily had in our place or if it’s affordable at all. In America, such vaccines are now widely available.
My brother in law had this afternoon advised me to drink certain medications—like the Bioflu—but in my mind, I still believe that there’s no better medication than taking a lot of rest and drinking a lot of fluids. My aunts back then used to tell me that there is really no ready-cure medication for influenza or no medicines had been invented yet to combat the virus. Acetaminophens and paracetamol could just deaden the muscle cramps and of course, alleviate the aching respiratory system (influenza virus mainly attacks the respiratory system) but the virus just won’t go away.
So for the meantime, I’ll be drinking glassfuls of water until the virus backs out and completely goes away.
By the way, there’s a lot of ‘Did you know’s?’ about Influenza on this Wikipedia page and its so interesting to note how it had wiped out huge portion of humanity in the early 1900’s and how its name actually came from the word ‘influence’ as in ‘influence of the cold’.
The last time I experienced the symptons you just describe more than ten years ago, I said to myself that was it. Every year, during the onset of the season, usually during November, our provincial health has an aggresive campaign for Flu Vaccinations and I’m always among the first ones on the line in my Doctor’s. The vaccines will prevent infections of old strain viruses, but not the new ones that may come up after the development of the new vaccines (new discovered strains are added to the vaccines every year). The vacines are covered under our health care and the government figured that universal vaccinations will save a lot on time lost due to flu and complications that could results for high risks patients.
So far after taking a regular annual immunization, I have not been bothered by the Virus since. I was quite skeptical at first and worry about the adverse effect, but after talking to my doctor, who explained that there are quite a large number of fatal flu victims every year, I was convinced…
Comment by vic — February 20, 2007 @ 6:25 am
I would get the flu on an annual basis during the winter in NYC. I usually would just drink lots of orange juice and sleep it off. There was no getting around it for me, one way or another I’d suffer from it, either at the start of the cold weather or in the midst of it.
Comment by eric — February 20, 2007 @ 7:36 am
It’s probably because of the sudden rise in the temperature. It was very hot the past couple of days compared to the chilly weather we were having days before. This puts a stress on our body’s immune system…
Comment by snglguy — February 20, 2007 @ 8:04 am
Last year I always get a flu every payday. Weird but true. My officemates were already teasing me that probably I just take a leave of absence because I go shopping or something. Anyway it’s funny but so far I haven’t catch anything this year.
Major Tom get well soon. Just drink lots of water…calamansi juice is much better of course
Comment by verns — February 20, 2007 @ 9:07 am
verns, maybe you already are immune to the strains that are coming up this year. It is said that once you had the strain before, your system will develope the immunity to that particular strain, because the virus that cause that flu will be the same that would be in the vaccines. the only advantage of the vaccines is, it has all the weakened viruses of all known strains, chances are you only have immunity on the certain % of them from past infections. Do I make sense? I’m not sure, but check with your doctor and the explanation will be somehow similar..and usually the virus natural lifespan is about a week.
Comment by vic — February 21, 2007 @ 4:18 am
Get well soon!
Stay in bed with a hot drink!
(Hot wine is allowed!
Comment by Sidney — February 21, 2007 @ 9:19 pm
it’s flu-season too here in germany. most of my colleagues at work are knocked down by it. fortunately, (knock on wood) i wasn’t hit till now.
get well soon…..
Comment by curacha — February 22, 2007 @ 3:58 am
To vic: The health care in your part of town is really enviable; to be honest, I’ve never even was certain if there was such a thing as vaccines for flu. I had heard a little about it some years ago but that was only that. Now, I think I’ve got to call my wife’s office—in this city’s Department of Health—and find out if our governmernment has a program or campaign against flu infections.
To eric: We had similar circumstances despite that there is no such thing as winter here; but not really annually in my case, maybe once in every two years according to my fair recollection…
To sngl: You’re probably right sngl, for the past three days before I got the infection, it was so hot driving all day with visiting relatives from States and then suddenly we stop over a mall or a fastfood joint, and then there was sudden change of temperature for me. That must be it, just as I suspected.
To verns: If it weren’t true, that would be really funny. Maybe, the stress of taking money gives you that fragility from flu….Thanks for the concern; yeah I remember now that once I drank a lot of calamansi juice and I recovered faster at that time. In fact yesterday, I was scouring some stores for packed calamansi juice but I couldn’t fine one. It’s ironic that there use to be a lot of them on the store racks but when just about I needed it, they’re nowhere to be found.
To vic (for 2nd comment): I’ve read that the vaccines are really made up of partrly dead influenza virus themselves; it makes sense. So if a new strain gets developed, then one needs to be vaccinated with partly dead particles of the new virus. I guess if scientists could develop such vaccine formula for the common flu, maybe they could battle bird flu this way also.
To sidney: Thanks for the tips…huhmmm, hot wine, never thought it could be therapeutice but might as well try it, either now or the next time around. I am a bit improving at this time.
To curacha: I hope you could stay away from it, it is just delibilitating at times and really frustrating.
Comment by Major Tom — February 22, 2007 @ 7:40 am
Like you, I just need rest and fluids. This is also the time I like hot soup. Keeps me warm.
Have a rest major tom. Take care.
Comment by ipanema — February 22, 2007 @ 9:46 am
Hope you get well soon.
Comment by ladybug — February 22, 2007 @ 6:41 pm
To ipanema: A friend from highschool also advised me to have hot chicken soup; he said the flu would go away after perspiring so hard from that steamy soup. Thanks for the concern, by the way.
To ladybug: I have improved a lot from yesterday and I think this time is one of the fastest in recovery if I remember well. Perhaps, all your advises and concerns have helped me a lot this time…
Comment by Major Tom — February 22, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
Hope you are feeling better now. Don’t worry if you get flu every now and then - that’s part of “growing up”.. Hehe.. just kidding.
When I catch a cold, I don’t take medicines. I just rest and take lots of liquids. I only take meds when I develop fever, but only upon my doctor’s prescription because we should be careful in taking antibiotics as we might develop resistance to certain drugs when we take them randomly.
Comment by rhodora — February 22, 2007 @ 9:32 pm
Hope you are feeling better now. Don’t worry if you get flu every now and then - that’s part of “growing up”.. Hehe.. just kidding.
When I catch a cold, I don’t take medicines. I just rest and take lots of liquids. I only take meds when I develop fever, but only upon my doctor’s prescription because we should be careful in taking antibiotics as we might develop resistance to certain drugs when we take them randomly.
Comment by rhodora — February 22, 2007 @ 9:33 pm
To Rhodora: Thanks so much for the concern Rhodora. Its really a good advise about not being too quick on taking medicines—especially anti-biotics—because of the resistance factor. In my case, I don’t even usually take common pain relievers except when the pain becomes too disturbing or the fever too uncomfortable. Usually, I’d try a good sleep first before resorting to meds.
Comment by Major Tom — February 22, 2007 @ 11:59 pm
I’ve been suffering from the dreaded flu since last week! So i know how it feels, Major Tom. Funny, I just ahd my flu vaccine here around three weeks ago.
Get well soon.
Comment by Jayred — February 25, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
Sorry for the typo errors. Couldn’t see what I was typing in your comments box (I could only see black).
Anyway, just to let you know, my sister had a flu vaccine in Manila last year for only 600 pesos. She was told it was good for one year. It seems to be working because she’s the only one who doesn’t have a flu here in Switzerland.
P.S. Nice WP theme.
Comment by Jayred — February 25, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
while blog hopping, you are the 4th person today that have reported abuot the flu. my daughter and i went to her daughter last week, we were told it is because of the change in climate. hope you get well soon!
Comment by sexy mom — February 25, 2007 @ 10:27 pm