Weird Germs

I have to admit that I normally have few worries about getting sick. Our household is generally very healthy. Even after a friend of ours (whom we hadn't seen in some time) told us two weeks ago that one of her children had been diagnosed with Influenza A (or H1N1, or swine flu...however you identify it more commonly) I wasn't overly concerned. They'd done the right thing: one week of isolation.

Then, almost a week later, the mom came down with a stomach bug which lasted for at least three days (today would be the fourth). We didn't get the kids together over the weekend as we'd planned because we wanted to be sure that germs would not spread between the families. BUT...one of our boys came down with a bad headache on Sunday before dinner time, and then became stomach sick after getting out of his evening shower. He still had a headache yesterday morning, bad enough to keep him home from camp, but the tummy was better. I'd spiked a headache on Sunday night, but it had turned to a dull ache yesterday morning and then subsided. Hubby developed a headache yesterday afternoon, followed by nausea which increased through the evening. He's home from work today, as his combined symptoms are still creating a general feeling of malaise. The rest of us are AOK today, and two of the kids have yet to be affected. From where did "our" germ emanate?

Another wrinkle...when she heard what happened in our house, my friend said "uh oh" because their case of flu began as headache and nausea combined with fever. None of us had a fever though, as far as we can tell. It's disconcerting that these viruses (or whatever they are) are manifesting themselves in different ways as they go from person to person. Does it merely have to do with each individual's immune system? Are the viruses actually mutating as they travel? What's in store next? Ugh, I think I feel another headache coming on.

Anyway, my wishes for good health to you and yours!