It’s been a rough couple of weeks at our house. First the hub started with a raging fever and chills, which finally drove us to a 4am emergency room visit for blood cultures, nasal swabs, breathing treatments and IV fluids.

Followed by (4 days later) a predictable cough, chills and fever for me. In the middle of a family crisis.

H3N2…I hate you.

I never got as raging ill as my hub did. Why not, you ask? Because, I got a little thing called the flu shot. Despite all the hoopla from the CDC about how they were off with the shot this year (it’s always, pretty much a guess as to which strains will be dominate) it was still better than nothing.

Just ask my hub.

104 temps, chills and body aches were his story. For days. Mine lasted 48 hours.

All this to say: be careful out there folks. It’s everywhere. So here’s your PSA for this week as the flu season reaches the peak:

1. Wash your hands, frequently. MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO.
2. Cover your mouth if you cough. Better yet, practice coughing into your bent arm instead of your hands.
3. Try to keep your hands away from your nose and eyes.
4. Use wipes and hand sanitizer sparingly. It’s a balance of wiping bad germs away and wiping our good germs off.
5. Go get tested immediately if you start having fever, coughing and chills. Tamiflu is only effective if given within first 48 hours of onset of symptoms.
6. Get next seasons flu shot in midfall, NOT in the spring or summer as some pharmacies advertise. You want maximum coverage during the height of flu season. (The surgery center where I work likes us nurses to delay until the first of November to get ours.)

It’s no fun, my friends.

Here’s hoping to see ya’ll on the other side. (Of the flu season.)

Blessings,

Stephanie