Flu is here.

Our daughter, Abigayle, has probably been sicker that I have ever seen her.

She started out with allergy problems originally. Phlegm ran down the back of her throat, pooled and then eventually, she threw it up. This had happened a few times on Wedneday and Thursday. Then, late Thursday afternoon, horrible stomach pain hit followed by LOTS of vomiting. In a 2-hour time span, she threw up 12 times!!! I don't think that I have ever heard of anyone else ever doing that!

I called our local hospital to get advice for her. Since this stuff is running rampant right now, I thought that you might appreciate the information.

1. First of all, call your doctor BEFORE you go to the clinic or the hospital. No one wants you to catch something else from those two locations.

2. Whenever you have vomiting or diarrhea, your body is losing much needed fluids therefore, you can become dehydrated. It is not that necessary to eat anything unless you are hungry. If that is the case, remember the B.R.A.T. diet. It consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Don't gorge yourself on anything including water. If you do, everything will probably come right back up. When it comes to fluid intake, avoid sugary drinks. Much fruit juice has sugar. Pediacare and water are great. Soda is fine if the bubbles are gone when you drink it. However, Dr. Werner, a much loved and respected doctor in Tribune, always recommended Coke and 7up. There was some ingredient in the coke syrup that helped.

3. At times like this, we sometimes feel like we cannot get enough water in us. It is a definite mistake to just start gulping fluids because they will more-than-likely, come back up. Instead, drink about 1/4 cup. Stop. About 30 minutes later, drink another 1/4 cup. Repeat over and over. That way, you stand a better chance of the fluid actually getting to be absorbed into your body.

4. Another good thing to do is to suck on ice cubes. The ice is dissolved and then is slowly absorbed by the body.

5. Believe it or not, but Abigayle has never had a fever with this junk. However, if a fever is present, take the person to the emergency right away if the temperature gets to 100.5 or 101 and won't come down.

6. Ibuprofen is better than Tylenol for pulling temperatures down quickly. The two can be alternated. Check with your doctor to see how you do that. I THINK that you can alernate them every 2 or 3 hours. DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR GRANTED ON THIS!!! Many of us cannot take ibuprofen if we are on other prescription drugs. For example, I cannot because I have to take blood thinners because of my mechanical heart valve. Check into it!

7. Aspirin should NEVER be given to children. Some doctors do not recommend it to adults either when they hare viral infections. Again, check with your doctor. I cannot take aspirin either because of my blood thinners. So, check it out.

No one should return to school or work until they have been fever-free and have not vomited for at least 24 hours. If you must have something from downtown, etc., ask a relative or friend to get it for you. Otherwise, the chances of you passing it to others is VERY possible.

I do not pretend to be a medical professional so if you have any concerns/questions, it is always best to contact the REAL medical authorities!!! Good news! The hospital is always open 24 hours a day!

VLE-B