A Bristol mother who has got over swine flu is encouraging people to make arrangements so they are prepared if they fall victim to the virus.

Elizabeth Johnson, of St Werburgh's, at first thought she had a bad cold, but after checking her symptoms with NHS Direct discovered she had flu.

Having been caught unawares, Ms Johnson wanted to pass on her experience so that others would be more prepared for spending a week in quarantine.

Health experts have advised people with swine flu to avoid leaving their homes so that the spread of the disease is minimised.

More than 50 schools in the Bristol area have reported cases of swine flu since the Department of Health moved their focus from containing the virus to treating it and families are being advised to remain vigilant.

Schools are no longer being advised to close if cases are reported, but most schools are sending letters home to parents to inform them that the virus has been present in the school and warning them of the key symptoms.

A handful of cases have also been reported at the city centre offices of RBS in Broad Street. Managers have taken advice from health experts about the quarantining of staff.

As previously reported, patients are told to arrange for a "flu friend" to pick up antivirals on their behalf, but Ms Johnson's advice goes a step further.

She was diagnosed with flu last Tuesday and her 14-year-old daughter was confirmed as having the virus the next day.

The full-time mum of two thinks her seven-year-old son may have had the virus first as he had a sore throat and cold symptoms, but it did not occur to the family that he might have swine flu.

She said: "I didn't feel terrible at first and just thought I had a bad head cold.

"I took my temperature and it did not seem too high. My headache came the next day and then it went into my nose."

Ms Johnson said: "You can't just rely on one person because they might get swine flu. I would advise that people organise this in advance, as you don't want to start organising people when you feel poorly. It is also helpful for people to be able to swap DVDs and video games so the children do not get bored.

"And now that I've had flu I will be able to help other parents, I know to entertain their kids."

Ms Johnson said it is also important to prepare food in advance, such as soups that can be frozen, or buy ready meals that can be stored in the freezer as a precaution, along with supplies of painkillers.

She said: "When you are feeling ill you don't want to stand at the cooker preparing vegetables. During the worst days I could not get up and cook for the kids, so they lived on noodles for a few days, which wasn't the most nutritious option but it stopped them starving.

"And while I know you are not supposed to stockpile paracetamol it was good to have a supply. Every time someone went to the shop for me I would ask them to get more packs."

Ms Johnson said she did not think she had swine flu because she did not have a raging temperature, but when she contacted NHS Direct they informed her that if she had a reading of more than 37ºC there was a chance she had flu.

She said: "The GP was really overworked and took all day to phone me back but said that I had flu and I was prescribed Tamiflu. The flu was pretty nasty at times and I felt rotten for about four or five days."

"I wonder if a lot of people have had swine flu and did not even realise they had it, but we are all asthmatics and we have survived, so people should not be scared."

Consultant in public health for NHS Bristol, Viv Harrison, said: "We need to be prepared for a rise in cases and be prepared for this peaking later on, and that there may be a second wind in the autumn. We can expect it to become more widespread."