If you live or have traveled in areas where people have been identified with new H1N1 flu, and you have become ill with influenza-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people, except to seek medical care.

First thing is to be sure you have the flu. According to John Bartlett MD, of John’s Hopkins Medical School, the absence of fever pretty much rules out the diagnosis. No fever = no flu. Use a thermometer. A temperature less than 100.5 is not a fever. Also, if you are in an area where there are no known cases of flu, and haven’t recently been to a place where there is flu, your illness is unlikely the flu. See how is swine flu spread for more information.

Know that most people who are getting the flu are not having severe illness. The main things are to prevent spread of flu, and ride it out until you get better. Some people have had severe illness or death due to the swine flu. Consult the information about that I the links below, or your health care provider. Click the links below for more information about preventing spread of the virus, and taking care of yourself or your family if you get sick.