[Paul R.]

Thanks - Agreed on the symptoms in general - I was really looking for specifics on flu variants. This last “bug” seemed unusual because it sort of “crept up” on me over a 2 week period: Slight lung congestion that then got somewhat worse one cold day I worked outdoors for a few hours. I was warmly clothed but breathing cold, dry air, and going “in and out” a lot — the moderate coughing that produced that evening lead to a sore throat which proceeded (as often with me) quickly into full bore head cold symptoms, the worst of which lasted only a day, but then I was left with worsening chest congestion, coughing if I attempted to talk, worsening and eventual extreme fatigue. I had one morning of mild (99.4 deg. max) fever and chills as the head cold symptoms were departing, and some 2-3 days of aches (not severe), but those last may have been as much from being in bed a lot as much as anything else.

About a day after the head cold mostly left, the chest coughing actually hurt in the area(s) of both my kidneys — don’t think I’ve ever felt anything quite like that. If it’d continued I’d have gone in to a clinic, but that mostly dissipated about a day later, too.

Several days after the head cold symptoms, I’m back to slight chest congestion, almost no cough, and otherwise feeling fairly good.

Pneumonia... is basically fluid in the lungs from whatever source — my Dad had lots of trouble with aspiration into his lungs toward the end. :-(

[Jane Long]

I read someone’s post, somewhere (apologies...I can’t remember where I saw this) saying their Doctor said to be sure and cover mouth and nose (face) with a warm scarf, when going out in the cold.

Glad you’re on the mend.

[familyop]

"Several days after the head cold symptoms, I’m back to slight chest congestion, almost no cough, and otherwise feeling fairly good."

Good! Now, whatever you can do to strengthen immunity. Hopefully, you can get around enough to increase wind endurance. I'm glad your kidneys aren't hurting. That is scary! Sounds like an infection in the kidneys, although it could have been something else.

I had a flu in the spring of 2015 that left me with trouble breathing for a couple of years (extremely cold climate). Was too fat and have been getting much more physically busy and sleeping more to remedy that. Maybe adding a part time service job would be best. Maybe I wasn't made to be sitting at a desk most of the time.

A middle aged (younger) relative told me that he had a pain in his lower right side every time when trying to walk. Besides seeing a doctor, I told him to try laying on his back every day, lifting his arms and legs a little and waving them back and forth and lifting them for a while. Hey, it's better than resigning to croaking early.