Swine flu symptoms from celebs who have had it

It was only a matter of time before the tabloids found a way into the swine flu story. In July, People reported that actor Rupert Grint, from the Harry Potter movies, had come down with the H1N1 (swine) flu. Then there was the Colombian and Costa Rican heads of state in August. Now it’s being reported that the goth-rocker, Marilyn Manson, had a case of the flu, and Harry Smith, the host of the Early Show on CBS, took a sick day because he thought he might have the swine flu.

But of all the infected celebs, two stand out. CNN medical reporter, Sanjay Gupta, and infectious disease expert and author of The Coming Plague, Laurie Garrett. Both really know their stuff and both have now written first-hand accounts of their bouts with the swine flu.

From Gupta, who wrote about his illness on his CNN blog, we learn that his flu symptoms started with a cough. “It wasn’t the kind of cough where something is temporarily stuck in your throat,” writes Gupta. “It wasn’t the kind of cough where simply clearing your throat would’ve been adequate. This was the kind of cough that hurts when you do it. A stinging pain that makes you wince and guard and hope that you don’t have to cough again any time soon. I thought I might have a fever, but of course, I was in the middle of covering a war in Afghanistan, and the conditions were…well, hot. So, maybe it was that. Problem was, the next day I wasn’t feeling any better—in fact, I was worse.”

His cough and fever were accompanied by body aches and nausea, and the doctors at the military hospital he was treated at gave him acetaminophen (Tylenol) and sinus decongestants, as well as IV fluids, because he wasn’t keeping food down. Gupta writes, “I am not someone who gets sick, really ever. And this was the sickest I have ever been.”

Garrett wrote a similar account for Newsweek: “This bug is, in virology parlance, a ‘mild flu,’ but only somebody who hasn't been laid low by H1N1 would consider days of semi-delirium, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, and stomach twisting to be ‘mild.’”

It's a good point. We often refer to swine flu as mild, meaning most people don't need to go to the hospital and can pretty much take care of themselves at home with some over-the counter drugs. But as both Gupta and Garrett point out, mild can be miserable.

—Kevin McCarthy, associate editor

Comments

[William Brooks]

My symptoms started with body aches,an severe headache, & then cough and more cough. The cough has been miserable...the fever miserable..I have had a fever of 100-102 for 8 days now. I have coughed up so much infection, blood, & etc. This stuff is very nasty & dangerous...I am having trouble getting the fever to break...

[J. Gless]

My wife, a teacher, and I, a scientist, both have the swine flu. We are both in our mid fifties and healthy. I got it a few days after she got it. For both of us it started with a severe headache which came on very fast, within half an hour. Most of the headache pain was in the area of the temples. A mild fever developed and I felt nauseous for two days and she was vomiting quite badly for an entire day and then had diarhea. I had moderate muscle soreness and she had pretty severe muscle soreness, primarily in the back of the neck and shoulders. Both of us had mild sore throats and only minor respiratory congestion. We both had runny noses but not very bad. My wife was bedridden for two days and I never was. Symptoms began to subside within a couple of days and improvement seemed rapid, much more so than with the typical seasonal flu. We felt much better within 72 hours for a day and then the symptoms seemed to get worse again for a day or so. It has been about two weeks since we got the flu and all that remains is persistant, very minor, upper respiratory congestation. I would describe the key Swine Flu indicators, in adults of our age, as a severe and rapid onset headache and a feeling of nauseousness accompanied by other typical but very mild flu symptoms.

[Jane]

I had four solid days of electrical zapping type of body pain. Whenever I was returning to bed after a bathroom break, I needed to be sure I fell in the position I wanted to remain because turning was far too painful. Because I was in a high-risk group due to asthma, I made myself cough every couple hours, but it was very painful to do so. My fever got up to 102.5 but mostly stayed around 100. Wasn't able to keep food down for close to five days, but just kept sipping water and diluted fruit juice. Fatigue continued for a full eight days from first symptoms, with a headache for the first five or so days. By the tenth day after onset, I was finally beginning to feel like my old self.

[Sadie]

It started with a cough, not productive like the docs always ask. No actually it was a severe headache for a couple days before that. Breathing was almost more work than it was worth and actually had to think about trying to get that deep breath. Body aches that are indescribable! Well it's been almost a week. The fever never got real high stayed around 100 degrees on and off. Getting out of bed was a lot of work. Making the trip to the bathroom seemed unbearable. My guess is that it is the flu. Hopefully it will be resolved here in the next day or so. Not sure how long the back and neck pain will be around but think I'll go lay down now.