How Do We Know If It's Swine Flu?

• Yesterday my son (6) had sniffles, today he is hot, complaining of a sore throat (looks quite red and inflamed) and his glands and lymph nodes are up in his neck. He is also coughing lots. According to NHS Direct website (there is a symptom check list) he just has a sore throat and is to stay home and drink lots of water. So how is it that the 6 year old girl who died last week, was sent away from the doctor with tonsilitis??? I also know of a family of 4 who had swine flu, but was only found out to be swine flu, after the anti biotics for tonsilitis didn't work, so they were swabbed! So there is obviously very little difference between tonsilitis and Swine Flu, so how the hell are we supposed to know ourselves or trust the docs??

• Answer:

  There is very little difference between swine flu and ANY viral infection. It's basically like seasonal flu but perhaps a little worse in some people. For the vast majority of people it will NOT pose a threat to health and most people recover without medical intervention. You only need to seek medical attention if you develop complications.People are getting worked up simply because there have been reports of deaths in the media. Thousands die of swine flu each year and the only reason you are not worried about that is because there isn't mass hysteria regarding it. Can I just point out that of all the people who have had swine flu, most have made a complete recovery without medical intervention- even those with known risk factors. Also, of the 14 or so people in the UK who have reportedly died from swine flu, it needs to be determined which of those people actually died FROM swine flu and those people who actually died WITH swine flu- there is a significant difference. The girl who had the seizure a few weeks back for example; it sounds like she died as a result of the seizure which could be unconnected to swine flu, she may have coincidentally had swine flu but that may not have been a direct cause of her death. If you have any medical concerns, then ring NHS direct on 0845 4647