viralSymptoms

syndicNation

---

It starts around September or October. I'm pretty sure it's either viral or drug resistant bacterial, because it doesn't respond to "Z-paks" or other antibiotics. Although the local newspapers just reported there's only been two cases of influenza reported. So far. The local clinics have been jam packed.

When my daughter and I first got it in October, the doctor said her's was probably viral, and treated the symptoms. Mine, he said was going to treat as bacterial because I'm COPD and my lungs are susceptible to pneumonia. My daughter and I both had flue shots, and I also had the pneumonia shot weeks before getting sick.

First symptoms, the first time you get it, are burning lips and nasal membranes. Followed closely with the nose running suddenly with very watery mucus, the ears getting itchy inside, and the back of the throat getting scratchy where the sinuses drain into it.

It seems to be opportunistic in that if a person has problems with sinuses, ear infections, or lungs, that's where it hits hardest first. Otherwise, it just causes a sore throat, and moves down to the stomach.

When it hits the stomach the first time, after some rumbling and maybe light cramps, it's sudden, explosive diarrhea, often with vomiting at the same time. It takes a week to ten days to run it's complete course with the the bad diarrhea lasting 24-36 hours. I know of two people personally that soiled their clothes.

Around the transition time between upper-respiratory and digestive systems there's a couple of days where the low-grade fever spikes and you feel bad enough to want bed rest.

This thing must mutate very fast, because those susectable, will catch it right back within a couple of weeks, and over and over afterwards. The only good news is that each time the symptoms are a little milder. It does seem to eventually change enough, or cross propagate, and hit hard enough to knock you down again.

Anecdotally, and I guess this is all ancedote, or word of mouth, Children are a favorite vector, and the old are hit hardest. I've heard of cases with these symptoms personally as far East as Brinkley, North as Concord, West as Fort Smith, and South as Little Rock. I'm sending this out on my mailingList and posting it to syndicNation to see if it's more wide spread than Arkansas.

--
gMail