Recently learned the hard way that H1N1 can be as devastating as COVID

[Anon-E-Mouze]

It has been a tough Christmas season for our family. We learned on December 23rd that one of our brothers-in-law landed in the ICU on a ventilator with flu-like symptoms and pneumonia. Initially, it was thought that he had COVID. Turns it it was H1N1. He was (until he got ill) a very physically fit and active middle-aged man without any underlying health conditions. His family (wife and three kids) spent Christmas alone because he was transported a couple of hundred miles away to a better hospital.

He's still in the ICU, not out of the woods yet, but receiving less oxygen support. Assuming that he starts to get better, he'll be in the ICU for at least another 7-10 days, then a stepdown unit and then possibly a rehab facility and then at least a couple of months of recovery at home.

We are very grateful to the doctors and nurses, and extremely grateful that we live in Canada - so this hospital stay and care won't bankrupt the family.

Most people I know are diligent about getting their COVID boosters - and some people (including me in some years) have been less than diligent about getting our annual flu shot. We've learned our lesson.

[mistymoney]

thanks for the warning. i need to get mine.

[cannotWAIT]

Wow. Maybe I should have known this was possible, but I didn't. I got my Covid booster and then just kind of forgot about the flu. I'll go get it now, thanks.

[RWTL]

Good reminder for everyone.  Three respiratory viruses are circulating right now - COVID, Flu, and RSV.  Everyone who is interested should go out and get their COVID and Flu. 

RSV is indicated for those 60+, and most people have not been vaccinated yet.

[curious_george]

Good reminder. Glad I got my covid and flu vaccines this season.

[Metalcat]

I had H1N1 twice and the first time I felt like I was going to die. For an entire week I had to army crawl to the bathroom because I was too weak to stand. I understand now that I should have been hospitalized.

It can be a truly horrific infection.

[RetiredAt63]

The Spanish Flu was H1N1.

DD had it when she was at University 2009? 2010?  In there somewhere.  We spent the night in ER getting her hydrated and checked up, then she came home with me to be nursed back to health.  This was a healthy late teen.

[Omy]

I had it a few years ago - probably the sickest I've ever been. I was so weak at one point, that death would have been a relief. It took several weeks to recover. DH had it at the exact same time and was as sick as I was, but he recovered much faster than I did. It was awful.

[G-dog]

The Spanish Flu was H1N1.

DD had it when she was at University 2009? 2010?  In there somewhere.  We spent the night in ER getting her hydrated and checked up, then she came home with me to be nursed back to health.  This was a healthy late teen.

^This.  Also, over 55 yo (60 yo) should get the shingles vaccine - same virus cause chicken pox, but can remain dormant in your system, and then flare into shingles. No bueno.

[NV Teacher]

Influenza A is making its way through the school.  Multiple teachers are out everyday.  Last week the principal had to take one to the emergency room in the middle of the school day.  Kids are rotating in and out everyday.  It’s a mess.

[G-dog]

Influenza 1 is making its way through the school.  Multiple teachers are out everyday.  Last week the principal had to take one to the emergency room in the middle of the school day.  Kids are rotating in and out everyday.  It’s a mess.

Ugh. Sounds like a nightmare of cyclical reinfections could happen.

[Taran Wanderer]

Yeah, I had the flu long ago and it was the sickest I’ve every been except for Covid.  Haven’t missed a flu shot since… and haven’t had the flu!  Several years ago at work, we had 3 major cases associated with the work place.  One fellow’s wife died at home - said she was tired and didn’t wake up the next morning.  Another guy was hospitalzed.  The third case was hospitalized and on a heart-lung machine for several weeks.  While he eventually came off it and went home, he never came back to work.  He was on oxygen the rest of his lift and died within 5 years of lingering complications while in his early 50’s.  H1N1 is no joke.

[RWTL]

The Spanish Flu was H1N1.

DD had it when she was at University 2009? 2010?  In there somewhere.  We spent the night in ER getting her hydrated and checked up, then she came home with me to be nursed back to health.  This was a healthy late teen.

^This.  Also, over 55 yo (60 yo) should get the shingles vaccine - same virus cause chicken pox, but can remain dormant in your system, and then flare into shingles. No bueno.

Shingles is indicated for anyone over 50 y/o in the U.S.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html

I was essentially a pin cushion a few years ago when I had all the COVID boosters, 2 Shingles, 1 Flu, and an TDaP

[Miss Piggy]

Trying to connect the dots here, and I had to Google H1N1 to see how it differed from Influenza A or B. Looks like H1N1 is a subtype within Influenza A, for those who have the same question. Seems that H3N2 is also a subtype of Influenza A.

Scary stories, for sure.

Info from Mayo Clinic:

What's the difference between H1N1 flu and influenza A?
Answer From Pritish K. Tosh, M.D.
H1N1 flu is a subtype of influenza A.

Flu, also called influenza, is a viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs, which are part of the respiratory system. The viruses that cause influenza are divided into four categories named with letters. Influenza A is the most common type. The others are influenza B, C and D.

Influenza A viruses are further divided into subtypes. These subtypes are grouped based on two proteins on the surface of the viruses. One protein is called hemagglutinin (H) and the other is neuraminidase (N). There are many H and N subtypes and each one is numbered. H1N1 flu is a subtype of influenza A.

Each influenza subtype includes many different strains of influenza virus. Not all strains infect people. Subtypes of influenza A viruses currently found in people are strains of H1N1 and H3N2. Each year's flu vaccine includes varieties of these strains and influenza B.



ETA: Anon - I hope your BIL makes a full recovery.

[lifeandlimb]

I hope he recovers soon. I had that in late 2009 during the H1N1 spike. It was horrific. The experience was so scary that it finally caused me to quit smoking for good.

[slappy]

The Spanish Flu was H1N1.

DD had it when she was at University 2009? 2010?  In there somewhere.  We spent the night in ER getting her hydrated and checked up, then she came home with me to be nursed back to health.  This was a healthy late teen.

^This.  Also, over 55 yo (60 yo) should get the shingles vaccine - same virus cause chicken pox, but can remain dormant in your system, and then flare into shingles. No bueno.

Shingles is indicated for anyone over 50 y/o in the U.S.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html

I was essentially a pin cushion a few years ago when I had all the COVID boosters, 2 Shingles, 1 Flu, and an TDaP

I'm 39 and I had shingles twice this year. It was awful!

I do tend to worry more about the flu than other people seem to, mainly because of stories like this.

[Turtle]

I hope he recovers soon. I had that in late 2009 during the H1N1 spike. It was horrific. The experience was so scary that it finally caused me to quit smoking for good.

Better for your wallet and FIRE savings as well as your health.  Good for you!

I seem to recall when that 2009 spike hit reading a news story that elderly folks OLDER than a certain age were actually dealing with it better than the upper middle aged and barely elderly due to having been exposed to it before in the early 1910-1930s.

My grandmother's mother died of flu at a young age, leaving my grandmother to help raise her younger siblings, so my family has always taken flu very seriously.

[wenchsenior]

We know several people who have had this happen. One (otherwise fit and healthy) was put in an induced coma for close to 3 weeks to help him get through it and it took him several years to fully recover.

Flu is dangerous. People really underestimate the risk associated with it a lot of the time.

[ChpBstrd]

DW is knocked out with what might be the flu right now. Minor respiratory symptoms and a negative COVID test, so that's the assumption.

So far the kid and I show no signs. All 3 of us were vaxxed against flu and COVID.

[getsorted]

I had H1N1 twice and the first time I felt like I was going to die. For an entire week I had to army crawl to the bathroom because I was too weak to stand. I understand now that I should have been hospitalized.

It can be a truly horrific infection.

Very similar experience for me in 2009 with H1N1. I had to hang upside down over the edge of the bed several times a night to be able to cough up enough to breathe, and couldn't sleep lying down for two weeks. Too weak to do anything at all. My ex coughed so hard, for so long, that he actually cracked a rib. Haven't missed a flu shot since.

[jrhampt]

This is what drove me nuts when people were saying about Covid that "it's just the flu".  First of all, it's not.  Secondly, the flu can be quite serious.  If you don't take it seriously for yourself, at least take it seriously for the older people in your lives.  I was more lax about getting my flu shots in my 20s when I had spotty insurance coverage, but from my 30s on I make sure my spouse and I get our shots.

[wenchsenior]

I had H1N1 twice and the first time I felt like I was going to die. For an entire week I had to army crawl to the bathroom because I was too weak to stand. I understand now that I should have been hospitalized.

It can be a truly horrific infection.

Very similar experience for me in 2009 with H1N1. I had to hang upside down over the edge of the bed several times a night to be able to cough up enough to breathe, and couldn't sleep lying down for two weeks. Too weak to do anything at all. My ex coughed so hard, for so long, that he actually cracked a rib. Haven't missed a flu shot since.

I haven't had the flu in about 20 years, not since I started getting vaccinated against it, but in my 20s and as a kid I would regularly get it and cough so hard I'd throw up/be unable to sleep without being heavily sedated and upright, etc. And that was when I was much more physically resilient than now.

[RetiredAt63]

My grandparents died of the Spanish Flu in their late 20s.  I have never thought the flu was "just the flu". And when people were saying about Covid that it was "just like the flu" my reaction was "yes, they can both kill you and not in an easy way."

Flu shots for the win.  And Covid and shingles and pneumonia and TDAP.  And all the vaccinations for children's diseases for the kids.

[SunnyDays]

I remember when H1N1 hit because we had a half day of training at work (social services job, not even health care per se) on how to properly put on and remove gloves and masks.  I don’t think anyone at work caught it, but the hype around it was an eye opener.  Apparently that sub variant has been a part of every subsequent year’s virus, so it’s a bit surprising that people are getting so sick from it.  3 kids under 10 recently died in BC.

Haven’t gotten my shot due to recent chaos around here, but will have to do so.

[Metalcat]

I had H1N1 twice and the first time I felt like I was going to die. For an entire week I had to army crawl to the bathroom because I was too weak to stand. I understand now that I should have been hospitalized.

It can be a truly horrific infection.

Very similar experience for me in 2009 with H1N1. I had to hang upside down over the edge of the bed several times a night to be able to cough up enough to breathe, and couldn't sleep lying down for two weeks. Too weak to do anything at all. My ex coughed so hard, for so long, that he actually cracked a rib. Haven't missed a flu shot since.

Oh yeah, I used to get a flu and then opportunistic pneumonia literally every year. I've cracked so many ribs from coughing, it's just brutal.

H1N1 made me crack a rib too, but also left me feeling like I just couldn't breathe. I had never had that before except as a kid when I would get croup regularly. It felt like crushing pressure and suffocating.

ETA: I also suspect that I got covid early in 2020 before the shut downs. I was working in an extremely high exposure health profession with a largely Chinese population, many of whom had just come back from China after Christmas, right beside the nexus of our city outbreak.

I didn't so much get sick as just lose my ability to breathe properly, just like with H1N1 the first time, only without the vicious cough. For 6 straight weeks, I just couldn't breathe properly. I was so weak that I was falling asleep all the time. I sustained narcolepsy-ish symptoms for months after my lungs started working again.

It was the strangest infection I've ever had.

I got covid again this past summer after a flight, but this was after 5 vaccines. It was more like a traditional flu, except again no serious cough, more trouble breathing, but with exquisite body pain. It hurt to have the sheets touch me. That lasted about 12 days.

[Dancin'Dog]

After reading this thread I'm really glad that I've had my Flu vaccination.  I didn't realize H1N1 is the Spanish Flu.  Your stories have been an eye-opener for me.  I wish more people understood why vaccinations are so important. 

[LaineyAZ]

I saw an interview many years ago with author Laurie Garrett who wrote the prescient book "The Coming Plague" in 1994.

One thing I remember she said was after researching her book she faithfully got her flu shot every year.  I decided to do the same, and since then so far I've been fortunate that although I've caught colds, I've never had the flu. 
And I got every Covid vaccine and booster too, and so far I haven't Covid either.

I realize there's a great amount of luck in that, but it also reinforces that there's no substitute in building your immunities.

[Metalcat]

After reading this thread I'm really glad that I've had my Flu vaccination.  I didn't realize H1N1 is the Spanish Flu.  Your stories have been an eye-opener for me.  I wish more people understood why vaccinations are so important.

They're not the same virus, they're just from a common virus ancestor I believe.

But yeah, bird flu was brutal, swine flu was brutal, covid is brutal, flu in general can be pretty brutal.

[Taran Wanderer]

I had H1N1 twice and the first time I felt like I was going to die. For an entire week I had to army crawl to the bathroom because I was too weak to stand. I understand now that I should have been hospitalized.

It can be a truly horrific infection.

Very similar experience for me in 2009 with H1N1. I had to hang upside down over the edge of the bed several times a night to be able to cough up enough to breathe, and couldn't sleep lying down for two weeks. Too weak to do anything at all. My ex coughed so hard, for so long, that he actually cracked a rib. Haven't missed a flu shot since.

Oh yeah, I used to get a flu and then opportunistic pneumonia literally every year. I've cracked so many ribs from coughing, it's just brutal.

H1N1 made me crack a rib too, but also left me feeling like I just couldn't breathe. I had never had that before except as a kid when I would get croup regularly. It felt like crushing pressure and suffocating.

ETA: I also suspect that I got covid early in 2020 before the shut downs. I was working in an extremely high exposure health profession with a largely Chinese population, many of whom had just come back from China after Christmas, right beside the nexus of our city outbreak.

I didn't so much get sick as just lose my ability to breathe properly, just like with H1N1 the first time, only without the vicious cough. For 6 straight weeks, I just couldn't breathe properly. I was so weak that I was falling asleep all the time. I sustained narcolepsy-ish symptoms for months after my lungs started working again.

It was the strangest infection I've ever had.

I got covid again this past summer after a flight, but this was after 5 vaccines. It was more like a traditional flu, except again no serious cough, more trouble breathing, but with exquisite body pain. It hurt to have the sheets touch me. That lasted about 12 days.

Yup.  The fatigue was crazy, especially the way it lingered.  I had body pains, too, but fortunately for only 5-6 days, and slightly low blood oxygen levels, but no significant trouble breathing.  I’ll be happy to not get Covid again like that.

[eyesonthehorizon]

DW is knocked out with what might be the flu right now. Minor respiratory symptoms and a negative COVID test, so that's the assumption.

So far the kid and I show no signs. All 3 of us were vaxxed against flu and COVID.

Most people haven’t had the real flu & refer to any significant cold in a general way as the flu (as if a cold weren’t enough to keep us from marching on to work.) But read the rest of the comments in this thread; if it’s minor, it probably isn’t the flu, which generally is bad enough to be extremely memorable. Hopefully she feels better soon.

OP, I hope your BIL & family come out of this alright. Thank you for sharing so that people can be reminded how severe these diseases actually are - just because we have gotten good at keeping people from dying when they can’t breathe on their own doesn’t mean they’re less serious, but I think not talking about the serious outcomes  leaves a general belief that it’s just a few days of blankets & tissues.

To the rest in this thread - thank you for sharing your experiences as well, for the same reasons. Good health to you & yours.

[Just Joe]

Flu + pneumonia put me in the hospital for several days late last year. Coughing so hard I almost blacked out several times. Couldn't lay flat. Scary.

Oxygen got a little low and the hospital walk-in clinic told me I really needed to be in the hospital on oxygen. So I went in. About $2500 in fees after insurance paid their part. 

I've had the flu several times over the years, never anything like that. Probably an age thing.

We were putting off the COVID booster and flu shots. Sloppy, can't even blame it on work. DW and I got them both today.

[Just Joe]

Also local hospital announced yesterday that they are no longer allowing patient visitation due to rising cases of COVID, flu, RSV, etc.

[wenchsenior]

DW is knocked out with what might be the flu right now. Minor respiratory symptoms and a negative COVID test, so that's the assumption.

So far the kid and I show no signs. All 3 of us were vaxxed against flu and COVID.

Most people haven’t had the real flu & refer to any significant cold in a general way as the flu (as if a cold weren’t enough to keep us from marching on to work.) But read the rest of the comments in this thread; if it’s minor, it probably isn’t the flu, which generally is bad enough to be extremely memorable. Hopefully she feels better soon.

OP, I hope your BIL & family come out of this alright. Thank you for sharing so that people can be reminded how severe these diseases actually are - just because we have gotten good at keeping people from dying when they can’t breathe on their own doesn’t mean they’re less serious, but I think not talking about the serious outcomes  leaves a general belief that it’s just a few days of blankets & tissues.

To the rest in this thread - thank you for sharing your experiences as well, for the same reasons. Good health to you & yours.

Not only that, but people colloquially call gastro-intestinal viruses, 'stomach flu'. They are not the same thing as actual flu.

Any time your respiratory illness is mild and comes on over more than a day, it's almost certainly not flu.  Flu typically hits like a truck... suddenly over a couple hours, usually with headache and joint pain and usually some fever on the front end.

Most other types of respiratory virus creep in over a few days... e.g., a raspy throat, then some nasal irritation and sore throat and fatigue,  then maybe some headache/body aches and congestion, then the cough.

ETA: I'm personally convinced that one of the reasons people don't take flu seriously and blow off vaccinations is b/c they don't usually get it. Instead, they mistakenly believe that a host of other 'colds' that they get every year are the flu, so it isn't a big enough deal to worry about.

If you actually get the flu when you are unvaccinated, trust me: it's hard to mistake what you have.

[eyesonthehorizon]

... ETA: I'm personally convinced that one of the reasons people don't take flu seriously and blow off vaccinations is b/c they don't usually get it. Instead, they mistakenly believe that a host of other 'colds' that they get every year are the flu, so it isn't a big enough deal to worry about. ...

Exactly. I have heard this same perception directly from at least four MDs.

[RetiredAt63]

Any time your respiratory illness is mild and comes on over more than a day, it's almost certainly not flu. Flu typically hits like a truck... suddenly over a couple hours, usually with headache and joint pain and usually some fever on the front end.

Covid does this too or at least it did for me.  Fine on Friday at bed time, massively sick when I woke up Saturday morning.  It was Covid, I had a positive test on Monday and the symptoms were not flu symptoms.

[Kris]

... ETA: I'm personally convinced that one of the reasons people don't take flu seriously and blow off vaccinations is b/c they don't usually get it. Instead, they mistakenly believe that a host of other 'colds' that they get every year are the flu, so it isn't a big enough deal to worry about. ...

Exactly. I have heard this same perception directly from at least four MDs.

Agreed. I’ve had the flu. With 99% of people I’ve talked to on my life who mention that they “had the flu”… they did not, in fact, have the flu.

[NotJen]

... ETA: I'm personally convinced that one of the reasons people don't take flu seriously and blow off vaccinations is b/c they don't usually get it. Instead, they mistakenly believe that a host of other 'colds' that they get every year are the flu, so it isn't a big enough deal to worry about. ...

Exactly. I have heard this same perception directly from at least four MDs.

Agreed. I’ve had the flu. With 99% of people I’ve talked to on my life who mention that they “had the flu”… they did not, in fact, have the flu.

I had the flu once, confirmed by test (it was influenza B, I think).  It was no picnic, but it did not hit suddenly.  I did not feel like I was going to die.  I basically just slept for a week.  But I did take Tamiflu, so maybe that helped?  I have gotten a flu shot every year since, but that's more about avoiding the TEST for flu (my god, that was the most awful part).

[myrrh]

Thanks to this thread and because two of my coworkers came down with Covid, I finally got my Covid and flu shots on Tuesday. I've been lazy and whiny and there was no excuse. But it's done now. I'm back to normal after after two days of being tired and achy, which is certainly better than suffering either Covid or the flu again!

[Missy B]

It was nice to read this thread after the surge in people around me expressing vaccine hesitancy and opinions that vaccinating is worse than nothing at all.
It's an  attitude that I think is a result of the success of our multi-decade vaccine programs. Most 1st world people alive today have not encountered the truly ugly microbiome that dogged us for millenia, because those were the first to get addressed. People get relatively mild bugs, and think that their naive immune systems are all-powerful because they beat those off fine.
They haven't lost half their family to cholera, or plague, or seen the neighbors kid go deaf or blind from measles, had their last baby cough itself to death from diptheria, etc. (And yeah, cholera and plague are hygeine not vaccine, but you get what I'm pointing at).

There's a great doc on youtube about the discovery of what caused the Spanish Flu, which I'm too tired to find. The virus was isolated from an Alaskan woman buried in permafrost in 2005, and its a great story - the researcher who was inspired to find a viable sample, and the work to get the consent of the Alaskan indigenous community to exhume the bodies, which was not a minor thing.

Most historical viral infections (like the infamous sweating sickness of Tudor times) we'll never know what they were.

[NorthernIkigai]

There's a great doc on youtube about the discovery of what caused the Spanish Flu, which I'm too tired to find. The virus was isolated from an Alaskan woman buried in permafrost in 2005, and its a great story - the researcher who was inspired to find a viable sample, and the work to get the consent of the Alaskan indigenous community to exhume the bodies, which was not a minor thing.

I looked for this on YouTube since my kid is very interested in learning about these things, but found lots of possible candidates. If anyone knows which one is "the great documentary", I'd love to know.

[getsorted]

There's a great doc on youtube about the discovery of what caused the Spanish Flu, which I'm too tired to find. The virus was isolated from an Alaskan woman buried in permafrost in 2005, and its a great story - the researcher who was inspired to find a viable sample, and the work to get the consent of the Alaskan indigenous community to exhume the bodies, which was not a minor thing.

I looked for this on YouTube since my kid is very interested in learning about these things, but found lots of possible candidates. If anyone knows which one is "the great documentary", I'd love to know.

Not what you are looking for, but sharing because my kid is obsessed with this video about the immune system and more broadly, with this channel: https://youtu.be/lXfEK8G8CUI?si=mNub5HjL3mVjv7yt

[cupcakery]

The sickest I've ever been was when I had H1N1.  It was brutal.

[kenner]

It was nice to read this thread after the surge in people around me expressing vaccine hesitancy and opinions that vaccinating is worse than nothing at all.
It's an  attitude that I think is a result of the success of our multi-decade vaccine programs. Most 1st world people alive today have not encountered the truly ugly microbiome that dogged us for millenia, because those were the first to get addressed. People get relatively mild bugs, and think that their naive immune systems are all-powerful because they beat those off fine.
They haven't lost half their family to cholera, or plague, or seen the neighbors kid go deaf or blind from measles, had their last baby cough itself to death from diptheria, etc. (And yeah, cholera and plague are hygeine not vaccine, but you get what I'm pointing at).

My grandmother was a nurse in the 40s-60s (ish, not sure when she actually stopped, just know she started in WW2), and while she's since passed, when she was alive she had plenty to say about anti-vaxxers and how lucky they were *not* to have seen what vaccinations had protected them from.  And how it was too bad that they weren't going to be the ones to get hurt by their stupidity since their parents had lined up to get them vaccinations, it was going to be their kids.  Still pretty sure she was right, just not sure if we're going to lump another generation or two in there.

[RetiredAt63]

It was nice to read this thread after the surge in people around me expressing vaccine hesitancy and opinions that vaccinating is worse than nothing at all.
It's an  attitude that I think is a result of the success of our multi-decade vaccine programs. Most 1st world people alive today have not encountered the truly ugly microbiome that dogged us for millenia, because those were the first to get addressed. People get relatively mild bugs, and think that their naive immune systems are all-powerful because they beat those off fine.
They haven't lost half their family to cholera, or plague, or seen the neighbors kid go deaf or blind from measles, had their last baby cough itself to death from diptheria, etc. (And yeah, cholera and plague are hygeine not vaccine, but you get what I'm pointing at).

My grandmother was a nurse in the 40s-60s (ish, not sure when she actually stopped, just know she started in WW2), and while she's since passed, when she was alive she had plenty to say about anti-vaxxers and how lucky they were *not* to have seen what vaccinations had protected them from.  And how it was too bad that they weren't going to be the ones to get hurt by their stupidity since their parents had lined up to get them vaccinations, it was going to be their kids.  Still pretty sure she was right, just not sure if we're going to lump another generation or two in there.

Sometimes we win.  My daughter is strongly pro-vaxx and is getting DD all her vaccinations on schedule.  Maybe all my horror stories about the family health history took?

[wenchsenior]

... ETA: I'm personally convinced that one of the reasons people don't take flu seriously and blow off vaccinations is b/c they don't usually get it. Instead, they mistakenly believe that a host of other 'colds' that they get every year are the flu, so it isn't a big enough deal to worry about. ...

Exactly. I have heard this same perception directly from at least four MDs.

Agreed. I’ve had the flu. With 99% of people I’ve talked to on my life who mention that they “had the flu”… they did not, in fact, have the flu.

I had the flu once, confirmed by test (it was influenza B, I think).  It was no picnic, but it did not hit suddenly.  I did not feel like I was going to die.  I basically just slept for a week.  But I did take Tamiflu, so maybe that helped?  I have gotten a flu shot every year since, but that's more about avoiding the TEST for flu (my god, that was the most awful part).

This is interesting. I do remember that getting sick with the flu when I was a kid, it seemed to come on over a full day, rather than e.g., 3 or 4  hours the way it did every time I got it as an adult (thankfully not too many times).

[eyesonthehorizon]

This is interesting. I do remember that getting sick with the flu when I was a kid, it seemed to come on over a full day, rather than e.g., 3 or 4  hours the way it did every time I got it as an adult (thankfully not too many times).

Since most the symptoms of illness are not caused directly by the bacteria, virus, or fungus causing the infection, but rather by your immune system mounting defenses, this might make sense - an adult who is no longer immune-naive against an infection (either from having it before or being vaccinated) should have a strong reaction quickly, sounding alarms because the invader is a “known enemy,” whereas an immune-naive person’s immune system is still trying to figure out whether or not it’s bad news & get its figurative boots on as the infection is sweeping the body. It’d only be anecdotal & there are always more strains of flu than we can vaccinate against, but out of curiosity do you recall if you were vaccinated at that age?

[wenchsenior]

This is interesting. I do remember that getting sick with the flu when I was a kid, it seemed to come on over a full day, rather than e.g., 3 or 4  hours the way it did every time I got it as an adult (thankfully not too many times).

Since most the symptoms of illness are not caused directly by the bacteria, virus, or fungus causing the infection, but rather by your immune system mounting defenses, this might make sense - an adult who is no longer immune-naive against an infection (either from having it before or being vaccinated) should have a strong reaction quickly, sounding alarms because the invader is a “known enemy,” whereas an immune-naive person’s immune system is still trying to figure out whether or not it’s bad news & get its figurative boots on as the infection is sweeping the body. It’d only be anecdotal & there are always more strains of flu than we can vaccinate against, but out of curiosity do you recall if you were vaccinated at that age?

Oh, for sure not. IIRC, flu vaccines didn't really become a widely known thing until the late 90s/early 2000s. I was in my late 20s/early 30s by then.

[Taran Wanderer]

Got my (4th? 5th?) Covid booster. No side effects yet except that my arm is a little sore.

[NorthernIkigai]

There's a great doc on youtube about the discovery of what caused the Spanish Flu, which I'm too tired to find. The virus was isolated from an Alaskan woman buried in permafrost in 2005, and its a great story - the researcher who was inspired to find a viable sample, and the work to get the consent of the Alaskan indigenous community to exhume the bodies, which was not a minor thing.

I looked for this on YouTube since my kid is very interested in learning about these things, but found lots of possible candidates. If anyone knows which one is "the great documentary", I'd love to know.

Not what you are looking for, but sharing because my kid is obsessed with this video about the immune system and more broadly, with this channel: https://youtu.be/lXfEK8G8CUI?si=mNub5HjL3mVjv7yt

Thanks, that was great! Kiddo will probably go “oh, I knew all that already”, but I found the video very informative X-D I’ll have to take a look at the rest of the series.