Fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue are H1N1 symptoms. Unlike other flu, there's sometimes nausea and vomiting, too.
Dr. Ann Karty at St. Joseph Family Care said like other strains of flu, H1N1 comes on hard and fast in a matter of a few hours.
"Typically influenza is the, 'I feel like I just got hit by a truck. I can't get out of bed. I feel terrible.' And oftentimes, it keeps people from physically getting to a physician's office," Dr. Karty said.
That means many don't get the quick flu test. It can show whether you likely have flu, but not if it's specifically H1N1.
Dr. Karty said one interesting thing about H1N1 is that some patients haven't run a fever. It's almost always present with other flu strains.
Doctors and the CDC also said you can't skip getting the vaccination if you've already had it and think you have immunity. You can only skip it if you have a laboratory confirmed case and right now, hospitalized patients are the only ones having their H1N1 cases confirmed.
Results from a quick test aren't good enough and doctors said if there's any question, get vaccinated. The shot or mist in someone with some existing immunity isn't harmful.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
