Influenza: How bad is it where you live?

[DemoTex]

Here in upstate South Carolina, the ERs are slammed treating flu sufferers. I just talked to my ailing, 85 year-old mom in Griffin, Georgia, and she said the local ER has eleven elderly flu patients waiting for beds .. and there are no beds.

Then I called my brother in Atlanta. He is a partner in a radiology group at a very prominent Atlanta hospital complex. He is sick in bed with the flu. He sounded like he has the whooping cough. He said that many of the radiologist in his group are out with flu, as are many other MDs on that hospital's staff.

He was with our parents a few days ago. If they get the flu .. well.

Howgozit where you are?

[Olney Blue]

1. I was in bed with it all last week (Maryland). Alot of it here.

I'm still coughing, and my colleague at work today told me that I sound like his cat coughing up a fur ball.

[better tomorrow]

19. so far Florida is okay....

and the weather isn't too bad here, either....

[NMDemDist2]

2. it's not too bad around here but those who get it can't seem to shake it

one friend of mine has been battling it since before Thanksgiving!

[gateley]

7. I don't personally know of anyone, but the stories I hear echo the "can't shake

it" thing. This one seems to hang around. I did see an article somewhere saying that the flu vaccinations aren't helping because this is a different strain.

Keep well everybody!

[Mojorabbit]

3. Hubby says he is seeing

a good amt of cases in the office here in central florida though the govt says it is not widespread here yet. They goofed on the vaccine this year so a lot of people he vaccinated for the flu earlier in the year are coming down with it. If you look at the map here http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm , it looks to be widespread over most of the country.

[DemoTex]

13. Thanks for the map. I was looking for that.

Good info.

[Horse with no Name]

4. 3 people in my house have tested positive for the flu

Two are on Tamiflu but I refused it because I had a bad reaction to amantadine. I'm not willing to go through that again.
The hospitals are all full--read an article last night that said the ICU beds are full in our region and the hospitals have been on divert.
I work in a newborn nursery and I have to say...even after I told them we all tested positive for the flu, they were kind of pissed I didn't come to work.:wtf:

[Uben]

5. All over in Texas

I know of nine people right now who have it! I am staying away from crowds for a few weeks until this thing passes. I had a flu shot, but I hear it may not work against the flu we have here.

[TomInTib]

6. I know one person who has it.

She is in NYC and it has punched her pretty hard. She's a dancer, strong as a mule and this is the first time she has been ill in years.

I did have that vicious cold that ran in front of the flu. First cold I have had in at least thirty years (I have an incredible immune system, but it got me anyway). Had it for a couple of days, even.

Dang, Mac, I sure hope your folks dodge this one for it is damned nasty.

Tom

[oregonjen]

8. My son has it, he first had the nasty cold, then the flu got him

It's going around our area like wildfire. My son's school is missing 7-8 kids at a time in each class. My son has had it since Saturday and still can't shake it. Poor guy. He's miserable.

[shaniqua6392]

9. My 15 year old daughter has her head on my lap right now.

She has a fever of 101.2 and is sleeping. She is just the most precious thing in the world and I hate when she is so sick. It is just scary. I just keep waking her up and making her drink fluids. Started out with a sore throat yesterday and is rapidly getting worse. Since I am a mother, I will remain healthy until she is better and then I will proceed to get deathly ill myself!! LOL! I hope your mom and brother are feeling better soon and take care of yourself too.

[uppityperson]

10. Map of where it is....(you can click back by wks to watch it spread)

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

[Horse with no Name]

14. The first week of January it was only widespread in Colorado

The next week it was Colorado, Texas and New York.
Then it was widespread everywhere! WOW!

[WillowTree]

11. I'm just recovering from my second bout now.

I haven't been down with the flu for seven years, but I was sick through the entire Christmas holidays this year and came down with it again last Friday and was down with it until yesterday. Had one coughing/sneezing attack yesterday that was so severe that I got dizzy and was afraid I might pass out. Very nasty, this one.

Even the cat had a sneezing spell the other day. For real.

[MzShellG]

12. Please don't say that....

I live in Columbia and work in a hospital around elderly patients..... :scared:

[DemoTex]

15. Well, how is it down there (midland SC)?

You are not that far from Greenville.

[MzShellG]

17. It's pretty fair.

Nice and sunny today.

[MzShellG]

18. BTW...

I havent seen any cases of the flu thus far, personally. At work, they wanted us to get flu shots mandatorily but I've never one before. I don't like what I've heard about the side affects of the vaccine. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and get one along with my daughter, now. I only had the flu once but it was misrable. Felt like I was dying...Ughhhh.

[DemoTex]

23. I did not mean the weather.

I'm talking flu numbers in your ERs!

Sorry. I'm not really Billy-Goat-Gruff.

[FirstLight]

16. Here on the CA/NV border, we are all slammed

My kids were sick early last week, and I then got it and was down for 4 days with a fever, still coughing up my guts, worse at night and the morning. I swear I haven't ben this sick in years either, though my immune system is probably pretty thrashed - stress, exhausted single mom, etc...
my daughter's just morphed into a ear infection this weekend, I have been treating it with herbal ear drops and we are all taking mass vitamins. Really there's not much else to do but ride it out.
I hate being sick!

as far as i know, the whole town's got it too...even the dr was out sick last week!

[trumad]

20. All 3 of my kids are down with the flu...

horrible day here in Orlando... the schools are slammed with it.

[Iris]

21. I'm in Atlanta

My husband and I have been out for over a week and a half. It's the first time in 12 years of marriage that we were sick at the same time because it's taking so long to get over. His turned into an inner-ear infection.

Bad stuff.

One problem, I think, is that many people think a gastric virus is the flu, when flu is really upper respiratory. So, people think they have a simple cold and try to go about their business, which spreads germs to everyone around them.

[Suich]

22. Seattle , here.

I've had it since Feb. 2...I'm self-employed and work by myself so I have no idea where I got it. I start Medicare on 3/1 and this is the sickest I've ever been in my life. I get a tiny little bit better each day but it's taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

Thanks for listening!

:hi: