How Long Till The Flu Goes Away

Preventing The Spread Of Flu

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You can help stop yourself catching flu or spreading it to others with good hygiene measures.

Always wash your hands regularly with soap and warm water, as well as:

regularly cleaning surfaces such as your computer keyboard, telephone and door handles to get rid of germs
using tissues to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
putting used tissues in a bin as soon as possible

You can also help stop the spread of flu by avoiding unnecessary contact with other people while you’re infectious. You should stay off work or school until you’re feeling better.

In some people at risk of more serious flu, an annual flu vaccine or antiviral medication may be recommended to help reduce the risk of becoming infected.

difficulty sleeping

How Is A Cold Diagnosed

Typically, an exam is enough to determine if you have a cold. During a physical exam, your healthcare provider will check for signs such as:

Swelling in the nostrils.
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
Clear lungs.

You may need tests if your provider suspects you have the flu or another condition. Your provider may give you a nasal swab test to test for the flu virus. Chest X-rays rule out bronchitis or pneumonia.

How Is The Flu Treated

Most kids with flu get better at home. Make sure your child:

drinks lots of liquids to prevent dehydration
gets plenty of sleep and takes it easy
takes acetaminophen or ibuprofen to relieve fever and aches. Don’t give kids or teens aspirin because of its link to Reye syndrome.
wears layers that are easy to remove. Kids might feel cold one minute and hot the next.

Children with the flu should stay home from school and childcare until they feel better. They should go back only when they haven’t had a fever for at least 24 hours without using a fever-reducing medicine. Some kids need to stay home longer. Ask the doctor what’s best for your child.

Doctors may prescribe antiviral medicine for a very ill child or kids are at risk for more serious symptoms. The medicine can shorten the flu by 12 days. It works best if children start taking it within 48 hours of the start of the flu. If a doctor prescribes antiviral medicine for your child, ask about any possible side effects. Doctors won’t prescribe antibiotics for the flu. Antibiotics work only against bacteria, not viruses.

Common Symptoms Of A Cold The Flu And Covid

The chart below shows common symptoms. Not everyone will have these symptoms. Your symptoms may be more or less severe, or you may only have a few. If you feel sick, stay home and call your doctor

Common Symptoms

Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze
Staying home when you are sick
Avoiding close contact with people who are sick

What If A Cold Or The Flu Wont Go Away

When complications develop, a person will likely be sick for longer than a week or two, depending on the severity of the complication, how quickly a person receives treatment for it, and how well the patient responds to treatment.

Signs of severe complications that should prompt you to seek medical attention include the following, according to the CDC :

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No One Wants To Be Hit By The Flu So Stopping It In Its Tracks Is Crucial

With one of the worst flu seasons in decades in full swing, this is the best time to make sure you have the necessary tools to bounce back in case you or your loved ones are affected.

So what are the best ways to give your immune system a much-needed boost? Here are eight tips for dealing with the flu without resorting to unnecessary antibiotics or gut-killing pain relievers like Ibuprofen.

Keeping Your Infection To Yourself

Colds, flus, and COVID-19 are contagious from the time you get them up to ten days after your symptoms start. Theyre usually not contagious after ten days, even if youre still coughing or congested.

The best way to avoid passing on a URI is to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth with your arm when you cough or sneeze and wear a mask that fully covers your mouth and nose. Its also best to take at least a couple of days off work or school while youre most contagious.

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Whats The Difference Between A Cold And Covid

You might have heard that the common cold is a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections. While rhinoviruses cause most types of common cold, a few are caused by different coronaviruses. Most people recover quickly from these common colds.

Coronaviruses may also travel into the lungs and lead to pneumonia and other complications that can be fatal. A new type of coronavirus, discovered in late 2019, causes a specific disease known as COVID-19. Early symptoms that make COVID-19 different from the common cold include:

Fever.
Diarrhea.

Tips For Dealing With Fatigue After Covid

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1. Go easy on yourself

Dont try to rush to resume your normal activities. You may not have the energy to take care of everything you did before you got sick, and you may need to take more time off from work than you expected. Discuss the possibility of phased return with your manager and avoid hurrying back to your normal routine.

2. Rest

Rest is a very important part of the recovery process from COVID-19 infection, allowing your body to heal faster. Its also important to relax your mind as well as your body, so minimize your exposure to TV and digital devices to only a few hours a day. Try calming techniques such as mediation, breathing, aromatherapy, and listening to music.

3. Sleep

Fatigue can make you sleepier than before, and its important to get 6-8 hours of quality sleep. Practice good sleep hygiene, such as:

Sleeping in a dark room
Avoiding caffeinated drinks or foods before bed
Staying away from devices that emit blue light at least an hour before bedtime

4. Focus on good nutrition

Feeding your body with nutritious foods can help you recover faster and fight fatigue, so include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Limit intake of processed foods, and opt for whole grains over refined carbs. Since not drinking enough water can add to fatigue and irritability, stay hydrated with at least 8 glasses of water a day.

5. Move around slowly

While it may be tempting to stay in bed all day, try to get up and move around slowly several times a day.

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When Am I Most Contagious

People with the flu are the most contagious during the first three to four days after symptoms begin.

How long is the flu contagious?
1 day before symptoms develop	3-4 days after symptoms begin	5-7 days after symptoms begin
Start becoming contagious	Most contagious	Still contagious even if you feel completely better

Note: This table is only a generalization. The CDC reports that young children and people with weakened immune systems may be contagious after seven days.

Symptoms of the flu can start to appear anywhere from one to four days after getting the flu virus, and even though most cases of the flu resolve in a week, symptoms can last up to several weeks for some people. Here are the most common symptoms of the flu:

Fever
Runny nose

Welcome To The Pandemic Era

The 1918 flu pandemic was by far the deadliest flu outbreak of the 20th and 21st centuries to date, but it wasnt the only one to qualify as a pandemic. Even with the advent of the first seasonal flu vaccines after World War II, the flu virus has proven capable of some unexpected and deadly genetic tricks.

In a normal flu season, vaccine scientists can track the most active viral strains and produce a vaccine that protects against changes in the human flu virus from year to year. But every so often, viral genes from the animal kingdom enter the mix.

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If one animal is infected with two different influenza viruses at the same time, says Taubenberger, maybe one virus from a bird and another from a human, those genes can mix and match to create a brand new virus that never existed before.

Thats what happened in 1957 when the 1918 flu, which is an H1N1 virus, swapped genes with another bird flu giving us the H2N2 pandemic, which claimed a million lives worldwide. It happened again in 1968 with the creation of the so-called Hong Kong Flu, an H3N2 virus that killed another million people.

The so-called Swine Flu pandemic of 2009 has an even deeper backstory. When humans became infected with the 1918 pandemic flu, which was originally a bird flu, we also passed it on to pigs.

READ MORE: See all pandemic coverage here.

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What Exactly Is A Cold

A cold is a virus that infects the upper respiratory tract . More than 200 different viruses can cause a cold, but the rhinovirus is the most common culprit.

Colds are spread when you breathe in a virus that has been coughed or sneezed into the air by an infected person or have close personal contact with an infected person. They can also be spread by shaking hands with an infected person or touching an infected surface and then putting that hand to your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Colds are more common in the fall and winter, but you can get them any time of year. Each year, adults have an average of 2 to 3 colds, and children have even more.

How Long Does Immunity Last

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With some viral illnesses, once you have been infected with it or have been vaccinated against it, youre immune for life.

With the flu, however, immunity doesnt last that long.

A study published in March 2017 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases confirmed that immunity declines over the months following vaccination or infection.

Getting vaccinated every year is important to lower your likelihood of getting the flu. It takes about two weeks to develop immunity to the flu, and experts recommend getting vaccinated before flu season is in full swing to ensure adequate protection.

I think part of the problem with getting people vaccinated is people dont understand how serious can be, says Dr. Troisi. They confuse it with the common cold. But if you actually have the flu, you can get very sick.

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What Are The First Stages Of The Flu

When you get the flu, youre actually already contagious even before you start experiencing any symptoms. Youll feel fine for even 48 hours, but then the flu symptoms start coming. Over the course of several hours, youll start feeling worse and worse with a headache, a sudden fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. These symptoms are the most common initial ones.

During this initial stage, you may realize youre sick, and you should speak with a doctor about it. Flu medication is most effective during this initial stage. Also, its important to bear in mind that flu- and cold-like symptoms could actually be symptoms of another condition like a more serious viral infection, and the flu and viral infections are very contagious. With this in mind, its best to stay home and seek telecare from a clinic like ours.

How Do I Know If My Child Has A Cold

Typical cold symptoms include:

fatigue , and
mild fever.

The influenza virus causes high fever, cough and body aches. It strikes more quickly than a cold and makes people feel worse. Children with colds usually have energy to play and keep up their daily routines. Children with the flu are usually in bed.

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What Is The Keto Flu And How Long Does It Last

EMMIE SATRAZEMIS, RD, CSSD October 2, 2020

If you’re thinking about starting a keto diet, chances are you’ve heard of this pesky thing called keto flu. But what exactly is it and how long do you have to endure it?

While keto flu is not actually a flu or a diagnosis you may hear from your doctor, it is something many people feel they experience when they transition onto a keto diet.

As if cutting carbs wasnt hard enough, common flu-like symptoms add a unique layer of difficulty for keto goers – enough to discourage even the most dedicated dieters from sticking to their new lifestyle choice.

However, many will claim there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. If you can grin and bear it, you might come out on the other end feeling more energetic, less hungry, and most importantly, highly efficient at burning fat for long-lasting energy – supporting your fitness and fat loss goals!

Using Antiviral Medicines To Prevent The Flu

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Two antiviral medicines can help prevent the flu caused by influenza A and B viruses. These medicines may also reduce the length of the illness if they are given as soon as possible after the first symptoms. During a flu outbreak, these medicines may be given at the same time as a flu vaccine and for 2 weeks after while your body produces antibodies to protect you from the virus.footnote 5 The influenza medicines are usually given to people who are very sick with the flu or to those who are likely to have complications from the flu. But they may also be used for a person who has been sick with the flu for less than 48 hours. These medicines are taken by mouth or inhaled into the lungs .

The antiviral medicines amantadine and rimantadine have been used to prevent flu caused by influenza A. But for the past few years the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised doctors not to use these medicines to treat or prevent the flu. These medicines have not worked against most types of the flu virus. Amantadine and rimantadine do not protect against influenza B. Be sure to talk with your doctor about the medicine that is best for you.

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Cold Symptoms In Children

While cold symptoms are similar in children and adults, some additional symptoms in children include:

irritability
difficulty breastfeeding or taking a bottle

Although most children will get better within a couple weeks, you should keep an eye out for possible complications. These include:

Ear infection. Look for signs of ear pain such as ear rubbing or scratching and increased irritability.
Sinus infection.Signs to look out for include congestion and nasal discharge that continues for more than 10 days, facial pain, and possibly a fever.
Chest infection. Check for signs that indicate difficulty breathing such as wheezing, rapid breathing, or nostril widening.

Preventing The Flu After Exposure

Although there are various products and remedies that may claim to help prevent illness once you’ve been exposed to the flu, none of them have proven to be effective. Your best bet to prevent the flu is to get your annual flu vaccine. Although it’s not 100 percent effective at preventing the flu, it gives you a much better chance of avoiding the illness than anything else.

If you are exposed to someone with the flu, avoid close contact with the person and wash your hands frequently.

Vitamin C: Although vitamin C is widely used and has many benefits, there is no scientific proof that it will help you avoid an illness such as the flu or a cold.
Humidifiers: Evidence suggests that viruses such as the cold and flu spread more easily in cold, dry air. This is one of the reasons that they’re more common during the winter. Running a humidifier in your home during the winter can help keep your nasal passages moist. And while there’s no guarantee that this will prevent you from getting sick, it can’t hurt .
Antiviral medications: If you’re at high risk for complications from the flu and you know you were exposed to it, talk to your healthcare provider about taking antiviral medications. It can help prevent influenza in some people and will reduce the severity of the symptoms in those who do get it.

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How To Tell The Difference Between A Cold And The Flu

A cold and the flu are both respiratory infections, but theyre caused by different viruses. A cold can be caused by more than 200 distinct viruses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , while there are only a handful of viruses that cause the flu. The flu is usually more intense than the common cold, says the CDC.

Cold symptoms tend to develop gradually, while flu symptoms can come on suddenly, without warning, per the CDC.

Care Advice For Influenza

Humidifiers can help keep the flu bug away

What You Should Know About Influenza:

Flu symptoms include cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever. During influenza season, if your child has these symptoms, he probably has the flu.

Most parents know if their child has flu. They have it too or it’s in the school. It’s also in the news. You don’t need any special tests when you think your child has flu.

If your child develops a complication of the flu, then call your child’s doctor. Examples are an earache or trouble breathing. These problems are included in the “What to Do” section.

For healthy people, the symptoms of influenza are like those of a bad cold.

With flu, however, the onset is more abrupt. The symptoms are more severe. Feeling very sick for the first 3 days is common.

The treatment of influenza depends on your child’s main symptoms. It is no different from treatment used for other viral colds and coughs.

Bed rest is not needed.

Most children with flu don’t need to see their doctor.

Here is some care advice that should help.

Runny Nose with Lots of Discharge: Blow or Suction the Nose

The nasal mucus and discharge is washing germs out of the nose and sinuses.

Blowing the nose is all that’s needed. Teach your child how to blow the nose at age 2 or 3.

For younger children, gently suction the nose with a suction bulb.

Put petroleum jelly on the skin under the nose. Wash the skin first with warm water. This will help to protect the nostrils from any redness.

Nasal Saline To Open a Blocked Nose:

Medicines for Flu: