Flu Care?

[SweetErika]

My whole family has the flu. The baby and I are recovering, and only vomited once (so I thought we had Fifth Disease, since we both had more of those symptoms than flu symptoms) but my husband started vomiting heavily early this morning.

We've asked the doctor to call in a script for an anti-emetic, but that could take awhile. In the meantime, I've given my guy some Pepto and one Benadryl in hopes of calming the nausea, and told him to try a teaspoon of water every 15 minutes or so (he's been throwing up bile for the last couple of hours). I'll get him some Gatorade and Sprite later today (I have a migraine). And we're all getting plenty of rest.

Other than the above, what are your best tips for the flu? I haven't had the flu in about 18 years, so I'm not really sure what helps.

 

[Mac98]

Take it from me, I'm an expert in flu care (YET I'M NOWHERE CLOSE TO BEING A DOCTOR!)

DON'T take pepto or ant-acids. If your husband is throwing up, it's because his body is eliminating the threat. Pepto will not help get the virus out. Furthermore, pepto is more poisonous than you think. I'd stay away from it in general.

If you want rehabilitation, go for pedialyte. It'll hydrate you and fill you with electorlytes to balance you all again. Gatorade and FLAT sprite are also good in small quantites. Consomme soup is also good for some people after 24 hours since last throwing up to get your strength building up again. Also, I would suggest making sure your child's temperature doesn't climb too high, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Pedialyte works miracles. Tastes like ass, but it really does work!

 

[bailadora]

Pedialyte works miracles. Tastes like ass, but it really does work!

You aren't kidding. My kids absolutely refuse the stuff, so Gatorade it is.

Erika: the biggest concern right now is keeping hydrated, which I'm sure you're aware of. If you've got it in the house, you might want to try having your husband sip small quantities of ginger, peppermint or chamomile tea instead of plain water. All are known for their stomach calming qualities.

When the vomiting is under control and your husband finally feels like eating something other than clear liquids, start slowly with the BRAT diet. Foods from that list are gentler on recently upset stomachs than richer fare.

I hope you guys get to feeling better.

PS - Is it possible to call a friend or neighbor and ask him or her to go to the store for you? I do this with a gal in our neighborhood, whenever one of us has kids who are too sick to take out of the house and we can't leave them alone. She usually leaves the stuff on my doorstep, rings the bell to let me know it's there and then we settle up with payments, etc when we're all better.

 

[IrisAlthea]

When you are feeling a bit better, yoghurt or other food with added culture like acidophilus, will help your digestive system get back in shape.

 

[SweetErika]

Take it from me, I'm an expert in flu care (YET I'M NOWHERE CLOSE TO BEING A DOCTOR!)

DON'T take pepto or ant-acids. If your husband is throwing up, it's because his body is eliminating the threat. Pepto will not help get the virus out. Furthermore, pepto is more poisonous than you think. I'd stay away from it in general.

If you want rehabilitation, go for pedialyte. It'll hydrate you and fill you with electorlytes to balance you all again. Gatorade and FLAT sprite are also good in small quantites. Consomme soup is also good for some people after 24 hours since last throwing up to get your strength building up again. Also, I would suggest making sure your child's temperature doesn't climb too high, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Pedialyte works miracles. Tastes like ass, but it really does work!

Fortunately, the baby and I only threw up once, so I passed on the Pedialyte. He got dangerously dehydrated with some weird virus a couple of months ago, but that was just a case of him not wanting anything but breastmilk, so we had to take him to the ER for an IV (he was a million times better the next morning, so that's all he needed, even though the ER doc didn't agree with me at the time).

Hubby's the only one throwing up a lot now, so I got him some Powerade for today and Sprite for after his electrolytes are more balanced. This is a weird virus; we all clearly have the same thing, but our symptoms are focused in different areas.

You aren't kidding. My kids absolutely refuse the stuff, so Gatorade it is.

Erika: the biggest concern right now is keeping hydrated, which I'm sure you're aware of. If you've got it in the house, you might want to try having your husband sip small quantities of ginger, peppermint or chamomile tea instead of plain water. All are known for their stomach calming qualities.

When the vomiting is under control and your husband finally feels like eating something other than clear liquids, start slowly with the BRAT diet. Foods from that list are gentler on recently upset stomachs than richer fare.

I hope you guys get to feeling better.

PS - Is it possible to call a friend or neighbor and ask him or her to go to the store for you? I do this with a gal in our neighborhood, whenever one of us has kids who are too sick to take out of the house and we can't leave them alone. She usually leaves the stuff on my doorstep, rings the bell to let me know it's there and then we settle up with payments, etc when we're all better.

Thanks. I was able to make a quick trip to the store while I was out getting Hubby's compazine suppositories (good thing he's open to anal play, eh? )and dropping the munchkin off with my mom for the day. I'm feeling better, save for a massive headache w/ some nausea, muscle aches and profuse sweating. I thought I was getting the flu this weekend, so it seems like the baby and I are several days ahead of Hubby (who's been taking care of us for a couple of days) on this.

I didn't think of asking a neighbor to make a store run, but that's a great idea for the future. We have three awesome families surrounding us, and I'm sure they'd all gladly run out to get whatever we needed if we asked. Fortunately, just about everything we need is 5-10 mins away, so usually one of us is well enough to make the trip.

When you are feeling a bit better, yoghurt or other food with added culture like acidophilus, will help your digestive system get back in shape.

Good idea. I have some acidophilous pills for us, and the baby has probiotics in his cereal.

 

[sillypanda]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear you and your family are sick!

Unfortunately, I am worse than useless when it comes to babies, but for adults with the flu, I suggest:

- Plenty of water (and you may have to fiddle with the temperature; some people can't drink ice cold water with the flu, while others have to have it almost frozen)

- Canada Dry Ginger Ale - I don't know why, but this ginger ale more than any other is the best thing in the world for me when I have nausea. Again, may have to find just the right temperature, but diet just won't do the trick, so I tend to put ice in it and let the ice melt a bit and water it down.

- Saltines - they're bland, they absorb acid and bile in the stomach, and they're usually pretty easy to keep down.

I hope all of you are feeling better soon! Best of luck! :*

 

[fire_breeze]

My sympathies . I hope that your family recovers quickly.

My doctor recommends ice chips or sucking on ice cubes throughout the day during those times when even water doesn't stay down. While I love ice cubes, I usually melt ice chips, which is easier to stomach.

Once your hubby can keep something down, camomile tea (or mint or ginger) with honey, consume, unbuttered toast/saltines and gatorade (or similar) to replenish lost minerals.

Once you have slowly recovered, try a smoothie with yoghurt, bananas, milt and peanut butter (add honey if you want to sweeten it). It's chock full of good things, and it is easy on the stomach, but only if you can keep milk down. It's a touch and go.

It goes without saying that if anyone of you are not getting better or if the symptoms worsen, get thee to a doctor.

This works for me - it's rare that I'm sick, particularly stomach flus, but this is what my doc recommended for me, as she hates prescribing unnecessary meds. Furthermore, when I had 2 bouts of gastro in one month in the middle of the desert (fun ), this got me through it, back on my feet and bouncing around in less than half the time than the others who were also afflicted.

In the meantime, rest and fluids. Hopefully, this will pass quickly

 

[fuckmeat]

Ginger is great for nausea. Get some ginger root, slice it and steep it in hot water.

Mint and liquorice will help calm and soothe the stomach.

I don't know what's in Gatorade but a simple alternative to dehydration formulas is a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of salt in it.

Start eating again slowly. Porridge oats with water instead of milk is a good first step. Dry toast is another one.

I'd recommend leaving dairy, probiotics and other fancy stuff until the stomach's recovered. Dairy is full of goodness but it's harder to digest. Milk has everything required to build a cow, so stick to very simple, vegan stuff till you can keep fluids and basic foods down.

Yes, you'll feel like crap for a couple days but it won't take long to redress the balance and get your nutrients once your stomach has recovered.

Some stomach flus can't be home treated. If 48 hours pass without being able to keep fluid down, seek medical help. An IV may be needed for hydration.

Hoe you feel better soon.

 

[Adrraiya]

Lots of excellent advise... another something to consider.. is after the bile comes up, rinse mouth & gargle with 1 tsp baking soda in a 1/4 cup water... because it will help neutralize the acidity left behind... and with that it will also help break the cycle of the mouth creating additional saliva & that then increases the nausea

I would suggest sipping on pedialyte instead of water because even in tiny amounts the electrolytes will help. The reason I suggest pedialyte instead of gatorade is because pedialyte is designed for more rapid absorption

Room temp liquids absorb faster in the body that hot or cold... so, if room temp is tolerable, then try that.. sometimes slightly warmer is actually easier to tolerate than colder

Progress from pedialyte to ginger or mint tea made with pedialyte instead of water

Dry toast or plain crackers will help absorb the stomach acid & are a good step when you can hold down at least a 1/2 cup of liquid at a time

If there is alot of gasy-belching with this, consider small dose of liquid simethicone to keep the gas from increasing & then aggravating the nauseau

Have you considered acupressure to help with the nausea?
http://www.altmd.com/Articles/Acupressure-for-Nausea

Bless y'alls hearts... those kinds of illnesses are so difficult to deal with

I hope y'all feel better soon

 

[SweetErika]

Well, the Compazine suppository and rest worked wonders for him. I came home from picking up our son to find him eating beef-barley soup and saltines slowly, so he must be better. We'll probably do another suppository tonight and see how he is tomorrow. He usually recovers quicker than I do, though he's on methotrexate for psoriasis, so that may slow his recovery somewhat.

Hopefully we'll all be better by Saturday, since his 90-something y.o. grandma is coming to stay with us Monday night and we still have quite a bit to do.

 

[SweetErika]

Update: My husband's recovering, but it seems our little monster gave the flu to my mom (he's spent several days with her in the past week, but she was fine with that because she's already been exposed to just about everything and "never gets sick").

It must be a rather rapid mutator because she has the same symptoms as my husband.

Anyway, I passed on your advice to her about slooooow sips of the electrolyte solution, not eating (apparently her banana and tea didn't agree with her this morning ), ginger, etc.

 

[sircumvent]

Be sure and chunk your tootbrushes. They hold lots of those bad bugs you and yours just dealt with. You don't want to go through that hell right after feeling better.
I used to not believe in flu shots, but working for a large health agency I now see the benefits.

 

[SweetErika]

Be sure and chunk your tootbrushes. They hold lots of those bad bugs you and yours just dealt with. You don't want to go through that hell right after feeling better.
I used to not believe in flu shots, but working for a large health agency I now see the benefits.

Good idea. I'll do that tonight, along with changing the sheets and towels, now that we're feeling better.

I got the H1N1 vaccine last year because I was pregnant and the hospital did it for free. My husband got it due to the pregnancy and new baby as well. But that's the only flu shot either of us has ever had.

We declined the regular one for our son this year (he's touchy with vaccines in general, and we have a lot of immune system issues in our families, so we're spacing the necessary ones out), but we may all be getting it next year after this experience.

 

[warrior queen]

Well, the Compazine suppository and rest worked wonders for him. I came home from picking up our son to find him eating beef-barley soup and saltines slowly, so he must be better. We'll probably do another suppository tonight and see how he is tomorrow. He usually recovers quicker than I do, though he's on methotrexate for psoriasis, so that may slow his recovery somewhat.

Hopefully we'll all be better by Saturday, since his 90-something y.o. grandma is coming to stay with us Monday night and we still have quite a bit to do.

jesus - that's some heavy shit!
his psoriasis must be really bad.

i have had it all my life, and up until my early 20's i was about 70% covered.
since i started looking into other treatments, i've got it down to just a single 5-cent-sized spot.
all without medications.

 

[SweetErika]

jesus - that's some heavy shit!
his psoriasis must be really bad.

i have had it all my life, and up until my early 20's i was about 70% covered.
since i started looking into other treatments, i've got it down to just a single 5-cent-sized spot.
all without medications.

Yes, it is. Or at least it was until about 18 months ago when he had a bout of pustular psoriasis that could have killed him, and they put him on a course of cyclosporin.

He only takes the methotrexate 2-3 days a week, and it's a fairly low dose. His doctor does bloodwork regularly to monitor his liver function (which has been perfect). It's better than using heavy-duty steroid creams and such all over his body.

We've tried turmeric, some other supplements, acupuncture, dietary changes, etc., with minimal results. The only thing that really works well for him is tanning or sunbathing, but that's time consuming and a cancer risk, of course. He can't do the doctor-prescribed UV lights due to coverage and expense, so the methotrexate is really his best option at this point. His doctor has suggested some of the IV/injectable drugs, but those have things like cancer and DEATH as side effects, so we're unwilling to go there.

 

[warrior queen]

http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/23/2/44/5/

this ^^^^ was the report that stopped me from even attempting it.
i hope your hubby does not have any issues

and i sincerely hope you all get over your flu soon!

 

[SweetErika]

http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/23/2/44/5/

this ^^^^ was the report that stopped me from even attempting it.
i hope your hubby does not have any issues

and i sincerely hope you all get over your flu soon!

Yeah, but he's a healthy 32 year old with no renal, hepatic or cognitive deficits who's taking the medication exactly as prescribed (which is correctly, according to that article) and is closely monitored by an expert. I've seen his doctor, and he's one sharp, clear fellow.

Now if he was a 70-year-old with health or some memory problems or didn't receive clear instructions from his doctor, I'd be concerned.

I take a medication that could hurt my liver and/or have other adverse effects, too, but that same medication has prevented me from getting diabetes and given me a child. Those are big net benefits for me.

 

[Ellafun]

I have been out of touch since early last week because of family commitments (i.e., school play!) and missed this news earlier...

I hope you're feeling better! As I recall, you have a bit of a busy week ahead of you in preparation for someone's birthday. I can't do more than send happy, get well wishes from the east coast, but please know that I have a candle lit for you and your family! (((hugs))) to everyone, E!