1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic - Experience

Question

From the spring of 1918 to the early months of 1919, the Spanish flu pandemic ravaged the world, killing an estimated 50 million to 100 million people. It came in three waves, with the last wave being the most deadly. This flu was unusual in that it was both extremely deadly and seemed to target the young and healthy, being particularly deadly to 20 to 35 year olds. By the time the flu had run its course, it had killed upwards of five percent of the world's population.

Source

Question: Since I discovered that many of my family in Ireland died as a result of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic I have read many articles on the subject from many sources (I included the above paragraph to "set the scene").

To be specific, my question isnt about the details of the flu itself (this is well documented), I would like to know more about what a person would have experienced once contracted, how was it diagnosed?, was prognosis given immediately? how families coped? where they able to visit their loved ones in hospital or did they die in quarantine? etc

Answer 1

I heard a few interviews with an author of a book that went into this subject on the NPR circuit a few years back. Sadly, I didn't pick it up, and don't remember the book's name now.

I do vaguely remember hearing that when it was going around, so many people were sick (not to mention dying), that in a lot of places society hit a kind of tipping point and basic services started to break down. Trash could no longer be collected, bodies weren't getting buried, etc.

From surfing around Amazon, the best book that I can find that goes into the societal aspects is America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918. It covers the USA rather than Ireland, but it was a truly global pandemic, so it should give you an idea.