Flu emergency...PLEASE HELP! asap

[Taji07]

Hi all,

You may know i have a DS who is nearly four months old but is on the 9th percentile for weight, so he is skinny.

Yesterday I seem to have come down with the master flu and it has totally knocked me out not to mention left me in terror that DS will get it!

Last night I had hot sweats followed by feeling cold then hot sweats and now my husband says I am burning up. I have an awful headache in middle of forhead, my throat glands are really swollen and my ear canals are likewise. I am shivery and achy all over.

The thing is since he has been born I havn't had the flu and am absolutely panicking about what to do..PLEASE HELP!

I am going to try to get to the doctors this morning but you can't always get an appointment, and the questions I have are as follows:

I am really really scared that DS will get this off me, what can I do to prevent it, believe me when I say he really can#t afford to lose weight due to a virus.

Can I and should I carry on breastfeeding? He is mainly breastfed, but will I pass the virus onto him? I don' think I have made any antibodies to it yet as I feel utterly utterly awful.

My husband says that women who take antibiotics normally stop breastfeeding for a few days is this true?

If I am burning up will my milk be "too hot" for him? This is something my grandma asks me from time to time, she breastfed all her kids but for some reasons she says sometimes womens milk is too hot and baby struggles to digest it so a woman should wash her breasts in cool water. This is from India I am the only one breastfeeding in my family so I don't know what to make of this.

Main thing is should I wear a scarf over my mouth to protect him from my germs or am I making no sense whatseoever?

Could someone please give me advice and possibly calm me down? I am up before DS because I couldn't sleep last night, if I am like this will my milk be any good? But the thought of stopping for a few days is making me terful but I will so anything for him.

PLEASE HELP ... asap

[LLLena]

Hi, I'm sorry you're not feeling well.  Try to relax if you can. 

- Make sure you get plenty of fluids, eat, and rest as much as possible.  You need to keep your strength up too.  I would definitely try to be seen as you might even have a bacterial infection.    If you're still running a fever, you can take tylenol while nursingy.

- The best thing you can do for your son is to continue bf.  Your body IS actually making antibodies, even though you feel awful.

- Chances are that your infection would be transmitted from your nose/mouth so you could just be sure to wash your hands frequently and not get too close with your face to his if you can help it. 

- Your doctor should be able to prescribe something that would be safe to take while nursing.  I had mastitis while bf and took an antibiotic just fine without adverse reaction for ds.

- I've never heard of the milk being too hot for baby.  Maybe that's a regional thing, but I've not heard of it.  I've always been told to continue bf as its the best thing for baby... even when you are sick. 

- Stopping bf even for a few days could have a dramatic effect on your supply unless you pump.  Your milk should be fine for him to eat. 

Hope that helps some.  I know someone else will give more info, but I wanted to try to ease your mind a bit.  Feel better!

Lena
 

[deenz]

I agree with the pp - keep bf'ing your lo!  You will be passing on the antibodies you're making, so hopefully he'll be able to fight it off without being affected.  I have nursed through illnesses (incl. a terribly catching tummy bug) and my babies have not caught the bugs.

Also, if it is bacterial and you're prescribed antibiotics, just make sure the dr knows you're bf'ing.  There are some antibiotics that you can take that are safe for baby.  I also had mastitis recently and took antibiotics with no probs.  I also took some probiotics for a while to lessen the chances of getting thrush (which I didn't).

Hope you feel better soon... make sure dh takes good care of you, and rest up!

[Samuel's mum]

It's super important you continue breastfeeding as this article explains:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/mom-illness.html

He will have already been exposed to the virus before your symptoms appeared and by breastfeeding he is receiving the anti-virals your mature immune system is manufacturing that fight that specific strain. You are basically making the perfect medicine for him in your own body. The anti-virals/ antibodies began to be made the moment your body came into contact with the flu virus.

Do not bother with the scarf. The virus was airborne before you had any obvious symptoms.
Never heard of milk being 'too hot' but if washing makes you more comfortable you could do it (although a cold compress can sometimes slow down milk production).
Don't stop breastfeeding - you don't want mastitis on top of everything else or for him to get really ill (without  your 'medicine'). Your supply may dip and you'll have to feed more frequently. Try and keep up your fluids intake.

Women who take antibiotics DO NOT normally stop breastfeeding - infact that can be harmful to the mother to stop suddenly and leave you at risk of some nasty things not least a breast abscess. Mastitis is a very very common reason for nursing mothers to have antibiotics and there are tons of types which are perfectly safe to take while breastfeeding - as pp says tell the doctor you are nursing and take some probiotics in your diet (e.g. eat natural yoghurt) to help fight off thrush which can rear its head when the antibiotics kill the friendly bacteria in your digestive system. Remember babies are prescribed antibiotics themselves - and the dose they receive through milk can be very very small.

The 9th percentile for weight is perfectly fine. It's not a 'bad thing' in itself. Completely healthy babies potter along on the 2nd percentile. It is better for him all round for you to continue breastfeeding.

Really hope you feel better soon. Talk to your doctor but please don't panic. If it really is 'flu' you have a virus so antibiotics won't be prescribed (as they only work for bacteria). Just to mention - do your breasts feel hot or achy or seem red or have red lines? As mastitis can look a lot like flu with its other symptoms.

HUG.

[15milner]

Hope you feel a bit better soon.

DO everything that Emma says!!

I also agree with Emma - how do your breasts feel.  What you are describing is how I felt when I think I had mastitis.  Luckily I stayed in bed all day - i had to feed lying down as I couldn't sit up to feed, I was really really achy all over, was burning up and felt really horrid and fluey.  What gave it away was that my right breast was really tender.  (I'd been doing a lot of extra pumping to get enough milk to be away from DS2 for a day, and then was away from him for 3 feeds - breasts couldn't cope with it and I 'felt' the consequences 2 days later - ds was 3 months then)

 
Alex

[Taji07]

Thank you all so much for your advice and I am so glad I posted on this site this morning. I dragged myself off to the doctors and I literally almost couldn't make it but I did somehow and he told me what I suspected, it is the Flu.

This is a particularly nasty strain and I have been in bed all day but I continued to breastfeed little one. The doctor told me to take paracetamol in good doses so I will just have those. The strangest thing is my temperature is making my milk flow a lot easier so the feeding is not so bad, it's more the lifting of DS I couldn't manage.

I feel a little better now anyway having read your advice! I know it is not mastitis as I have had problems with blocked ducts and my breasts are fine at the moment. "Touch wood"

Thank you.

[Samuel's mum]

Glad the feeding is going OK - do keep up with the fluids yourself. I think you've disproved the 'hot milk' theory yourself.

Get well soon

[First Time Mom]

Hope you're feeling better quickly!

Just wanted to share that I was in the same boat as you when my dd was that age. She ranged from "off the charts" to 10% weight for most of her first year. I remember being sick and worrying! I just had dh do everything (bath her, etc) while I laid in bed for a couple of days and he'd bring her to me for all the bfs. I did bf her extra, just to keep my supply up during that time.

[Taji07]

First time mom how is your daughter doing now? Did she put more weight on when she went on solids or at 1 years old?

Emma, I can't disprove my Grandma's hot milk theory outright as all the women of her generation breastfed their babies and not just one but usually up to 8-12 children (they started young and not all used to survive due to various factors) and for as long as the child wanted (some went up to 6 years old etc) and if you imagine a village as one huge family they all go to each others houses several times a day in between doing their chores and housework. Seriously I went to India and everybody is so social, about 10 ladies can come and sit and chat with you throughout the day and as you go on your errands you will also call in on the houses you pass. I have heard of some people getting insulted if you go by the house and don't pop in from time to time. So all the women would have  been talking to each other and if you think that in each household there is an extended family (usually all the brothers and wives and their children plus mum dad, grandma even great grandma grandad) live together that is alot of advice on how to care for the babies.

So I know she means what she says and there must be some validity to hot milk but I don't think we will get the context. Anyway the weather is very different in India, possibly that has something to do with it.

I will try to find out. My gran says the elders of her generation used to be very fierce women and took the process of bringing up young babies very seriously and would not hesitate in telling you off if they thought you were doing something wrong! But then again they are very outspoken over there and you don't mind if they say something because it's not malicious.

[LLLena]

I just wanted to let you know that my ds was also very low on the charts and the dr wanted me to supplement with formula-- which I did only for a short time once I realized he was getting enough from me.  Once ds started solids, he started to pack on a little more weight and he's now in the 75percentile.  He is and has always been healthy, so I wouldn't worry too much about the weight as long as it's been consistent for gaining. 

Hth!
Lena

[Samuel's mum]

I'd be interested to know the context of the hot milk thing if you can find out more. It might be a traditional response to possible mastitis or something - where breasts would feel 'hot' and a cold wash/ cold compress would help.

Hope you continue to feel better.

[First Time Mom]

My dd only managed to maintain her slow weight gain until she was 14-15 months old, with the milk protein allergy it was difficult to get higher fat food into her (fats had to come from meat/protein foods) but I managed to bf until she self weaned at 18 months. Not sure her weight now, will find out at her 2yr appt but she's packed it on as she's over her allergy and eats everything now!