First Flu, then..... Cold.

Salam,

Right after the concert for the special open day in Alladin's kindy, Hafizah was infected by FLU.She started whining and became so clingy on Sunday afternoon. By night time, her temperature went slightly higher than the normal temperature. I suspected that she had FLU since the symptoms were high fever, vomiting and tiredness. So, yesterday, I took one day off and brought her to the nearest clinic. The doctor was not convinced when I told him the diagnosis even before he did some basic check-up on Hafizah. tak tahula kot2 dia ingat sy memandai2 jeHowever, once he finished the check-up, he agreed with me and told me in fact, he could see that Hafizah tonsil was swelling. He then, prescribed the cough syrup and a syrup for flu/cold.

This morning, the fever has somehow subsided but she was still a bit clingy. I had to work as if I don't go, it means that there'll be no pay for me for that day. I gave the helper in her nursery the medications and asked her to monitor her condition. BUT seriously, I still felt so bad that I had to leave her this morning. Even my immediate boss questioned my decision for showing up at work! huhu.I quickly left the office after my last class to fetch my daughters even though I have had some symptoms of having COLD. It was a relieved to see that Hafizah was getting better BUT................this evening, Fathini was infected with flu too! Actually I have expected this to happen as it is normal for siblings to be infected.

While I'm typing this entry, my nose is blocked with some discharges. I know that most of us always confuse with FLU and COLD. I myself didn't really know the differences between the two. Only after consulting and based on experiences dealing with my daughters' diseases, I realized that they are two different diseases.

Here are some excerpts  from this website (I don't want to write based on my own understanding without the medical jargons that we need to know. Hopefully this  can help us to have a better understanding):

Cold can be caused by a number of viruses. In fact, there are more than two hundred strains of virus identified that are capable of causing common cold. Whereas, flu is caused due to infection by the influenza virus, which can be of the type A, B and C. Nevertheless, the influenza virus type A is the one responsible for flu epidemics. In addition to these types, many more viral strains that cause flu are identified each year. Flu infection is also known as influenza.

A notable difference between cold and flu is the onset of symptoms. Cold symptoms develop gradually over time; whereas, symptoms of flu usually appear suddenly. Symptoms of cold are mild, in comparison to flu symptoms. The most common signs and symptoms of cold are nasal congestion, cough, mild fever, sneezing, sore throat, laryngitis and increased fatigue. Flu, on the other hand, causes symptoms like high fever (104º Fahrenheit or 39º Celsius), headache, chills, restlessness, cough, sore throat and loss of appetite. Many a times, these symptoms are accompanied with a blocked nose and muscle pain.