Every year the flu comes back with a vengeance. Some flu seasons are better than others, but what never changes year after year is how it is spread, prevented, and treated. Even if it doesn’t seem like a particularly bad flu season, trust us when we say, it’s still lingering around, so you need to protect yourself and get informed!
The flu can range in severity depending on who catches it. For example, kids and the elderly can be particularly hard done by with the virus because of their weaker immune system. Even though it’s quite common and more often than not, it comes and goes no problem, it’s can still be a scary experience for a parent to watch their kid get sick. To avoid crowding hospitals or doctor offices, here are some tips for parents and adults in general on what to do if you get the flu…
1. Determine Whether It’s a Cold or the Flu…
This might seem silly, but it’s not uncommon to mix these two up. While the flu has several symptoms that are not present in a cold, there are some that overlap and the flu can be mild for some people, especially those who’ve had their flu shot. Someone who is only experiencing mild symptoms of the flu might confuse it with a bad cold. WebMD describes a cold as a milder respiratory illness than the flu, and while a cold can get particularly nasty with symptoms of a sore throat, runny nose, cough, and congestion, the flu will often make a person feel ill. While it is possible for a child to get a fever with a common cold, it will not occur in adults. The flu on the other hand will cause a fever, congestion, cough, body aches, and general malaise.
Another difference between the two is how it comes on and how long it lasts. A cold typically develops slowly and lasts about 10 days or so. The flu tends to come on hard and fast, but will begin to improve after about two to five days. However, WebMD notes that it’s not uncommon to feel run down for about a week or more.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
