I have the same crud myself. It's definitely NOT the flu. If you have the real flu, you feel like you are literally Dying!!!

The worst part of this is that I can't go see my new grandbabies! :Bawling:

Just fix a hot toddy and sweat it out. The flu striking the Southeast this season isn't even one of the three strains this years vaccine will protect against but all the docs on TV and at their offices say "get the shot" in the same breath as they admit that no cases of the strains that the vaccine is designed for protects against the strain infecting all the southern states.

When my doc finally gave up trying to push the shot on me and I was checking out , one of the clerks who is a family friend said less than 15% of their patients were getting the $20 shot because they knew it did nothing to fight this years flu and they could use the $20 better elsewhere in their budgets.

Actually, according to the CDC, this year's flu shot seems to be pretty spot on:

H1N1 - ALL H1N1 flu has been the same in the flu shot
A - 99.3% have been the same in the flu shot
B - 68.7% have been the same in the flu shot

So it seems that the B virus is the one that isn't quite as spot on but it's still more than 1/2 so that is pretty good.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

I always doubt the self reported cases of flu. People just love to say they have the flu. Everyone who gets a bad cold has the flu. It's just so much more dramatic and attention getting. Just yesterday I spoke to my stepmother who upon hearing I was sick said "is it the flu?" When I said no she sounded almost disappointed lol.

I've never gotten a flu shot and I have had the flu once as a child and once as an adult. You literally do feel like you are going to die with the flu.

And this is why I think so many false information is going around about the shot. "I got the shot and still got the flu" is often said but when you ask about it, they were never tested and never went to the doctor. There are MANY infections that make you sick - the flu is just one of them. I've seen friends who you go to greet and they say "I don't want to hug you. I have the flu." If they had the flu, they would not be out and about. But because they say they have the flu, people take it as medical gospel. NOT conducive to the conversation regarding the flu.

Whatever it was we had, we are much better today. Now, however, a tummy bug has started around town! Only one person here has it so far and he was banned to a Cabin so maybe the rest of us will be OK.

Stay healthy everyone!

Two of the best tips I can ever give to prevent the spread of disease:

#1 - Wash your hands regularly for 20-30 seconds at a time with hot running water and soap.

#2 - Do not touch your face until after you have washed your hands as in tip #1.

Some good advice here on this thread, thank you.

Make sure to occassionally open a few windows for awhile to get some fresh air into the house. When a house is closed up tightly in the winter, the air can get pretty nasty and germy.

Go outside and breathe some fresh air deeply. You will feel it cleanse your lungs (and will probably cough up a lot of junk in the process). Worked for me anyway.

The only times I ever did get the shot was at the plant where in an underhanded way they required it by making it a requirement if you were assigned with a group greater than 3 employees.

For all except one of the years I got the shot, according to the company physician, I had the flu or another contagious infection related to flu carriers. The next year I dodged the shot by telling my supervisor my family doc told me I had an egg allergy and I was transferred to a 3 man lab crew and I never asked for transfer from the dead end position nor had the flu or any other contagious infection again.

Since my retirement I get no inoculations and have no serious infections plus I save the expense of being injected.

Good idea about opening the window and letting in some fresh air. We have two dogs and a cat too and they go in and out all day long. That flaps the doors enough but we also open a window a crack at night.

Oddly enough, when I was the sickest, I could breathe better in the cold air. I would open my bedroom window at night even though it was in the 20's outside. The cold air seemed to keep me from coughing so much.

Wash hands everyone! Stay healthy and thank you again for all the tips.