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Is Influenza Contagious?
Question: I'm a 36 year old breastfeeding mom to a 5 month old baby girl. I also have a 5 year old daughter. Since my 5 yr old got the nasal flu mist vaccine back on Nov. 2nd it seems someone in our house has been sick. Coincidence, maybe? Anyhow my husband was laid up for a good 6 days with the flu, I unfortunately got it next. I had a fever for 4 days. Started Saturday Dec 5th. I tried to sweat it out the first night but the neck and headaches were so bad I took a 600mg ibuprofen. I haven't gotten good sleep in 3 nights. I've taken a total of 3 ibuprofens the entire 4 days and now I'm experiencing night sweating and freezing cold chills where I have to wake up and change, get a heating pad and make some tea. My body temp is also really low now at about 95.7 -96.6. What is happening? I did have a fever for quite a while, is this normal for the body? Is my thyroid off? Do I have an infection of some kind?
Brief Answer:
an infection is likely
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
it sounds like an infection. You haven't mentioned any specific symptoms (like cough, sore throat, runny nose) so there is some uncertainty about the diagnosis. The fact that your husband was sick and you got sick after he did can be probably attributed to common viral diseases like influenza or others.
When a patient has high fever and unless the diagnosis is certain, a visit to the doctor is recommended. In most cases the cause is not serious but there are exceptions to this rule... Pneumonia and other serious diseases may present with the same symptoms as common infections, so clinical examination is very important.
Regarding your low temperature it could be due to sweat (when the axillae are humid, the thermometer cannot provide accurate readings) or due to the falling temperature. When an infected patient either starts to get better or has a falling fever (after taking ibuprofen for example) then low temperatures are normal and may persist for a few days.
I don't see any clues about thyroid disease here. The low temperature is not very concerning at this time.
So in conclusion, I believe that a visit to your doctor would be appropriate if you still have fever. If you're already better and afebrile for at least 24 hours without ibuprofen, then you can wait to see what happens. Any sign of recurring fever or worsening should drive you to the doctor...
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
an infection is likely
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
it sounds like an infection. You haven't mentioned any specific symptoms (like cough, sore throat, runny nose) so there is some uncertainty about the diagnosis. The fact that your husband was sick and you got sick after he did can be probably attributed to common viral diseases like influenza or others.
When a patient has high fever and unless the diagnosis is certain, a visit to the doctor is recommended. In most cases the cause is not serious but there are exceptions to this rule... Pneumonia and other serious diseases may present with the same symptoms as common infections, so clinical examination is very important.
Regarding your low temperature it could be due to sweat (when the axillae are humid, the thermometer cannot provide accurate readings) or due to the falling temperature. When an infected patient either starts to get better or has a falling fever (after taking ibuprofen for example) then low temperatures are normal and may persist for a few days.
I don't see any clues about thyroid disease here. The low temperature is not very concerning at this time.
So in conclusion, I believe that a visit to your doctor would be appropriate if you still have fever. If you're already better and afebrile for at least 24 hours without ibuprofen, then you can wait to see what happens. Any sign of recurring fever or worsening should drive you to the doctor...
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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