H1N1 – the first skirmish
January 13, 2010
I have been absent from my blog for some time for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the factor that has prevented me from posting the most has been H1N1 sweeping through my family. As soon as we recovered, (a lengthy and difficult process), I was ready to post about the experience, but as I heard more and more anecdotal data from friends on the flu boards and in real life, my perception of the ongoing flu pandemic changed. As a result, I was paralyzed in posting, waiting for a definite conclusion. I now realize that this virus, and possibly others, will be with us for years, and manifest themseles in a variety of ways in different populations, so any attempt to catagorize H1N1 now is premature to say the least. What I will do is relate my perception of how the first wave of the virus acted in my area, the value of which is such that adding $5 to it will get you your favorite beverage at Starbucks.
First let me briefly say that in my family, and in some of the people I talked to in virtual and real life, H1 N1 was a real bitch. For us it didn’t come on with that “hit by a truck” feeling I associate with the flu. My theory on this is that sensation comes from your body’s overwhelming response to an influenza infection. Since Pandemic A/H1N1 was a novel virus, our immune systems didn’t mount such a huge response, and therefore, at least initially, we didn’t experience that feeling, at least not right at first. We all did experience overwhelming fatigue that lasted for weeks, and a dangerous mental “fog” that took a long time to dissipate.
My theory is that this round of H1N1 was mostly “silent” in that it didn’t present with a lot of symptoms. What it did do was to draw down the host’s immune system so much that ANY avalable bacterial or viral bug could get a good foothold. In my family we all presented with different symptoms. My granddaughter had a terrible sinus infection. My wife had deep lung congestion and a lot of coughing. I had a bronchial infection from hell that lasted over a month and required a treatment of 3 courses of antibiotics. Huge numbers of people were being diagnosed wth strep, pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, etc., practically everything but flu. Only one doctor had it right in my opinion, and that was the doctor that I took my granddaughter to when she first became ill. He checked her syptoms, asked her where she went to school, and asked if anybody else in the family was feeling ill. When I replied in the affirmative, he said:
“She has the flu,. You and your wife most likely have the flu. Everybody in the waiting room has the flu. Everybody I have seen in the past 3 days has the flu. I would really like to open up the door to an exam room and find somebody who doesn’t have the flu.”
That wave swept through the community pretty quickly, and then dropped off, with only a few laggard infections here and there. There were a few reported deaths in the area, but little panic. No businesses had to close to my knowledge as infections were more prevalent in children than adults. Most people now believe that the pandemic is all over, and getting them interested in preparation for Wave 2 is nigh impossible. I know differently however, and after living through Wave 1, I have no interest in a return engagement. There was one common characteristic that I did notice from this variety of H1N1, and that was dark circles around the eyes and a rapid heartbeat when the patient was feeling the worst from the infection. I saw it displayed both by my wife and my granddaughter and it scared the bejesus out of me.
