Kaitlan Ware dis­cusses how it felt to have the Swine flu

Kaitlan Ware, a health infor­ma­tion management/pre-nuclear med­i­cine major, is still bat­tling some symp­toms result­ing from the H1N1, or swine flu virus.

“I have been with­out a fever for over two weeks, I just can’t kick the cough,” said Ware of one of the lin­ger­ing symptoms.

In order for stu­dents to get an idea of what it’s like to have H1N1, Ware shared some infor­ma­tion on how it feels to be ill with the virus, and what other stu­dents can do if they become ill.

When did you find out you had H1N1/swine flu?

Ware: I found out four days after I got my ini­tial symptoms.

When you were ill, how long were you quar­an­tined for?

Ware: I wasn’t strictly quar­an­tined. I live off cam­pus, so the doc­tors told me to wear a face­mask if I was within six feet of a per­son. I was also told to stay home from school until I felt better.

How long did the virus last for?

Ware: About one full week. However, I still have a cough and have been strug­gling with fatigue.

What were your main symptoms?

Ware: High fever (102−103 degrees F) for hours at a time, chills, severe pain in my lower back, cough­ing, sneez­ing and light nausea.

Where were you diagnosed?

Ware: Birkam Health Center.

How did the uni­ver­sity han­dle the situation?

Ware: They gave me a “flu kit” and advised me what to do, how long I should be sick, what to do if I get worse, what to eat, what med­ica­tions to take, etc.

Is H1N1 sim­i­lar to the reg­u­lar sea­sonal flu?

Ware: I thought it was worse than any flu I have ever had before. It lasted longer and the symp­toms were far more inoc­u­lat­ing than what I had been used to.

If any­thing, was there any par­tic­u­lar med­ica­tion that aided you in a quicker recovery?

Ware: I didn’t take any med­ica­tions other than pre­scrip­tion cough syrup and Motrin to com­bat the back pain. This was because I wasn’t diag­nosed until four days into the symp­toms, so the antibi­otics would have been rather ineffective.

In regards to advice for other stu­dents who are feel­ing ill, Ware said,” Students need to real­ize that if they get sick, they need to stay home from school and teach­ers need to real­ize the same thing and be sym­pa­thetic to the sit­u­a­tion.” She added, “So far all of my teach­ers have been extremely understanding!”

Any stu­dents who are feel­ing ill with sim­i­lar symp­toms should con­tact the Birkam Health Center at x2614 to speak with a nurse for addi­tional instruc­tions or come to the physician’s office if symp­toms are severe.