Of the many emails that have been going around on H1N1, the following is worth the read and the information should be spread to everyone.  The biggest question on people's minds is "How do I know if I or a loved one has H1N1?"  Symptoms are always hard to interpret, particularly when you are trying to diagnose a child under the age of 3.  They often do not have the ability to communicate how they are feeling.

Symptoms as described from a nurse in Vancouver who currently has H1N1, and has seen it in dozens of others:

1-First you get a bad headache that lasts for one to two days, then (usually) goes away.

2-You feel better at first, but then in about a day or so, your lungs start to burn and you get tired.

3-Then a few hours later you start coughing and get other upper-respiratory symptoms. The headache starts coming back, but maybe not as bad.

4-In another hour or so the glands in your neck start to get tender and swell and your body starts getting achy.

5-Within 12 hours or so you begin alternating between chills and hot-flashes. That is when the fever starts.  My fever got up to almost 102, whereas  my daughter's was barely over 100.

Although my daughter has all of these symptoms they are not as severe as mine are. Mine has been easily controlled with a combo of Tylenol and Ibuprofen. The people that I have seen in the ER that are the sickest have fevers around 103 that are NOT easily controlled.

6-The second day into the illness is the worst. This is when the REAL body aches start. Without medication you feel as if a truck hit you and every part of your body aches. The cough gets worse.

7-By the third day the aches are backing off but the cough persists.

8-On the fourth day (where I am now) the cough starts improving, the fever is almost gone and the aches now feel more like you just haven't slept for awhile rather than being run over by a moving vehicle.

9-The fifth day usually marks the end of the fever and other nasty stuff for most people. I am not there yet, but I am certainly headed that way and I suspect that by tomorrow I will be ready for the world again.

Also, my teenage son had the headache the same day as myself and my daughter last week. He then got the sniffles, but otherwise he was okay.  It would seem that his immune system was strong enough to beat it.

My daughter on the other hand has asthma. I was the most concerned about her. We jumped on her asthma meds though and increased her doses right away and it seemed to do the trick.

Here is some additional advice on what to do if you come down with it:

Over-the-counter cold/flu meds PLUS Ibuprofen LARGE doses of Vitamin D (I'm taking 6,000 IU) and Vit C Lots of clear fluids (Water!) and lots of sleep.

WARNING SIGNS:

Remember, this can be deadly for some people, usually due to a secondary infection, namely pneumonia. If you have any shortness of breath, wheezing, or a high fever that isn't controlled get to the ER!