What to do if you think you have swine flu
EUGENE, Ore. -- Swine flu has taken hold in Lane County and may be peaking in the community. Be on the lookout for the tell-tale symptoms.
"Fever, cough, headache, sore throat: if you have those symptoms right now," said Dr. Bruce Strimling with Oregon Medical Group, "you probably have swine flu."
With so many Oregonians sick and seemingly healthy people dying from flu complications, there is a twinge of panic in the air.
Do all children who get swine flu get deathly ill?
No, that's fiction. The CDC reports that the vast majority of children who get H1N1 suffer mild symptoms and recover in a couple days.
People who are sick should get lots of rest, drink clear fluids and take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for the fever.
But what about the more than 100 children in the U.S. who have died of complications of the flu? When should a parent worry or rush to the doctor?
You may have heard doctors and hospitals don't want see patients with flu symptoms unless it is an emergency. That's fiction.
Dr. Strimling said his practice is erring on the side of caution and especially wants to see your child with flu symptoms if they are under 2, have asthma or another chronic condition, have trouble breathing, won't take any fluids, look blue or if their fever comes back.
The CDC reports that a third of all people hospitalized with H1N1 have asthma. If you have asthma with a fever and cough, seek treatment right away.
Bottom line: trust your instincts.
"If your child looks sick to you and you're concerned and that parental anxiety is rising in you," Dr. Strimling said, "then you're probably going to want your child seen."
So just how long will this epidemic last? Will your child get sick again and again?
No, that's fiction. Dr. Strimling said once you have immunity either by getting a vaccine or by catching swine flu, you are protected from this strain of the virus for years.
"By Thanksgiving, fingers crossed, this is not going to be an issue for us," he said. "But right now, boy, it's an issue."
