To Flu or Not to Flu...

How am I gonna get to an answer if I don't understand the question?

So Maddie has had this icky fever + dry cough + achiness + vomiting. After consulting my medical degree and experience (Google) I decided that a day of sitting in the doctor's office is in order. Because Mondays are generally slow anyway.

We went to our favorite family doctor who is not in our town. We see the ones here for cuts, like trophies to the head, or shots. But when I feel some serious lab work is involved, over the river and through the woods we go.

Upon sight of Maddie walking into the office we were ushered to the back of the office. Like not a waiting room. Like my little girl had green polka dot skin with purple stripes. Because she did look that pitiful.

Of course the usual...flu test, x-rays, temp taking...yadayadayada. Then...

Doc: Okay. I want to show you something.
Me: ~hold my breath and stuttering, not easy to do at the same time.~
Doc: Here is the information and official release from the CDC and Arkansas Childrens Hospital about the H1N1 virus.
Me: ~still holding, wide-eyed~
Doc: Now, as a guideline they are not testing any children for flu this season. They are treating flu like symptoms as the flu because children under 3 are having false negatives on their flu tests. So if you went into a clinic at children's they would just say Maddie has the flu and treat her as such due to her age and the fact that she has EVERY.SINGLE.SYMPTOM.
Me: ~wanting my mommy~
Doc: So, you have a choice. You can take her results as negative that she doesn't have the flu. We can treat the symptoms as flu-like. Or, we can treat her as they would, assume she has the flu and act accordingly. It is really your decision.

Okay. I digress. My decision? That's why I come to you! I want you to tell me what to do so I can make her feel better. And I promise if it is antibiotics I will give them till they are gone. Really. I will not leave the bottle a 1/4 full in the fridge shelf until it develops into a super-medicine that could cure evil.

I asked if we could take the easy road, treating the symptoms for a few days, see if it got better, start the tamaflu if not. But NO_O. We are within that 72 critical hours for the medicine to have effect. Stupid virus with its timetable.

So I am home with my daughter and her flu/not flu virus. And we are quarantined. And there will be ice cream eating. And I might even let her have some of it.