Both of my children got sick last week with symptoms that were similar to the flu. My older son came down with it first and started running a high fever, had a headache, sore throat and upset stomach. I took him to the doctor to have him checked for the flu because his brother falls into the high risk category and I didn't want him to catch it. They didn't perform a flu test, but they did do a test for strep throat - which came back negative. Luckily, he was feeling better by the next day.
A couple of days later my younger son got sick with a high fever, vomiting and wheezing. It hit him a lot harder than it did his older brother so the next morning I took him to the doctor as well. His pediatrician said she didn't think he had the flu but did perform a test on him anyway since he is high risk. The test was negative and she said it was probably "parainfluenza", which is a viral infection that often causes symptoms similar to the flu, but isn't as serious. After a few more days of fever and wheezing, he got better too.
Now that both of the kids are better, I am sick. At this point, I know it's just a virus and it's not actually the flu, so I'll just wait it out. But it has certainly made me think about how difficult it is sometimes to decide whether or not you (or your kids) need to go to the doctor. If you have been in a similar situation and need help deciding, here are some helpful tools:
