The flu

[Pete_uk]

Never mind all this new fashioned Covid 19, what about the good old flu?

I'm going to Superdrug on Monday to hopefully get my flu jab. I didn't have one last year as they were in short supply. I used to get them on the NHS because of astma, but as I don't have inhalers any more I'm paying for it.

The last time I know I had the flu was when I had Swine flu, felt bad for a week, constant headache then a morning of the worst snotting, sneezing and eye watering I have ever had.

 

[yorkie]

Never mind all this new fashioned Covid 19, what about the good old flu?

Are you asking why 'flu strains are circulating at lower levels than usual?

No-one knows for sure, but it could be related to viral interference.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-absence-flu-usual-covid-pandemic.html

...infection with COVID-19 may have protected people against other respiratory viruses, through viral interference. This occurs when one virus temporarily blocks a co-infection from another virus and was seen during the H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic in 2009.

Similar reductions in incidence of influenza and other respiratory viral infections have been noted elsewhere, including in the southern hemisphere where Australia, Chile and South Africa reported just 51 cases of flu in total in the 2020 flu season.

Ms Sarvepalli says that "it is likely that the number of cases of flu and other respiratory infections will rise back to normal in the coming years as SARS-CoV-2 becomes a seasonal virus...

Of course, the more people we vaccinate against 'flu, the better, as this will also help keep levels low. We are vaccinating more children against 'flu than previously, which is a good move in my opinion.

 

[birchesgreen]

Are you asking why 'flu strains are circulating at lower levels than usual?

Probably because of all the mask wearing

 

[GusB]

I had my 'flu vaccine on Thursday - NHS Scotland is utilising the the Covid vaccination centres to get the 'flu shots done as well. When I arrived I was handed a card that said I was getting both my Covid booster and 'flu jab, but when I queried the fact that it hadn't been 6 months since I had my 2nd dose they confirmed that it was too early... by a week! So now I've got to make an appointment to go back next week. (Right hand, meet left!)

Just as well, though; my arm is a bit numb as it is without having it stabbed twice in one day!

 

[johnnychips]

What is the difference between flu and a bad cold? Genuinely interested as I think I might not have had flu in my 61 years.

 

[JohnMcL7]

What is the difference between flu and a bad cold? Genuinely interested as I think I might not have had flu in my 61 years.

For me aside from the flu hitting me a lot harder the main difference was joint pain with the flu, I had the flu back in 1997 and then again in 1999 but while I've had some pretty rotten colds since then I don't think any have been the flu as the symptoms weren't as severe. The last time I had the flu I was young and in good health but it really hit me hard putting me in bed for a week and it took some time after the initial recovery to get back to normal with daily tasks leaving me a lot more tired than they should.

 

[eMeS]

For me aside from the flu hitting me a lot harder the main difference was joint pain with the flu, I had the flu back in 1997 and then again in 1999 but while I've had some pretty rotten colds since then I don't think any have been the flu as the symptoms weren't as severe. The last time I had the flu I was young and in good health but it really hit me hard putting me in bed for a week and it took some time after the initial recovery to get back to normal with daily tasks leaving me a lot more tired than they should.

I too had flu when I was in my early 20s; and I too felt really ill for around 7-12 days. Lots of aches in my bones, and other nasties.

 

[Cowley]

I too had flu when I was in my early 20s; and I too felt really ill for around 7-12 days. Lots of aches in my bones, and other nasties.

Flu often gets mistaken for a bad cold but they really are very different.
I think I’ve had ‘proper flu’ perhaps two or three times in my entire life (once when I was six) and I remember being so ill that I couldn’t do anything.
Pretty much all of the other occasions I’ve been ill I’d have put down to just being a very bad cold.

 

[dosxuk]

What is the difference between flu and a bad cold? Genuinely interested as I think I might not have had flu in my 61 years.

I've had flu twice, one about 20 years ago and once this September. I would describe the difference as with a bad cold I could still look after myself - I always knew what was going on and even though I would feel horrible, it made things difficult rather than impossible.

With flu though, I find myself "out-of-it" - time passed and I'm aware of that, but even things like "when did I last have a drink" become confusing, and actually getting up to get a drink is like contemplating starting a marathon. Add to that a fever that means the difference between being awake and asleep means little, where your weirdest dreams follow you while you're awake.

"Proper" flu is not to be messed with. If you're otherwise healthy you will probably just have a few days of being incapable of doing anything, but then be back to normal. If you're not in good shape or things don't get better, call a doctor and get help. Flu still kills a notable number of people every year - it's not harmless.

 

[johnnychips]

Thank you for all your observations. Having read them, I think I will book a flu jab next week.

 

[Cowley]

I've had flu twice, one about 20 years ago and once this September. I would describe the difference as with a bad cold I could still look after myself - I always knew what was going on and even though I would feel horrible, it made things difficult rather than impossible.

With flu though, I find myself "out-of-it" - time passed and I'm aware of that, but even things like "when did I last have a drink" become confusing, and actually getting up to get a drink is like contemplating starting a marathon. Add to that a fever that means the difference between being awake and asleep means little, where your weirdest dreams follow you while you're awake.

"Proper" flu is not to be messed with. If you're otherwise healthy you will probably just have a few days of being incapable of doing anything, but then be back to normal. If you're not in good shape or things don't get better, call a doctor and get help. Flu still kills a notable number of people every year - it's not harmless.

That’s a very good description. The feeling of being completely out of it and confused was exactly how I felt.

 

[jupiter]

If you’ve just spent three days on the sofa wrapped in a duvet completely unable to do anything else, you’ve just had flu.

 

[GB]

I thought the Flu and other diseases were eradicated in December ‘19.

 

[Typhoon]

I had my 'flu vaccine on Thursday - NHS Scotland is utilising the the Covid vaccination centres to get the 'flu shots done as well. When I arrived I was handed a card that said I was getting both my Covid booster and 'flu jab, but when I queried the fact that it hadn't been 6 months since I had my 2nd dose they confirmed that it was too early... by a week! So now I've got to make an appointment to go back next week. (Right hand, meet left!)

Just as well, though; my arm is a bit numb as it is without having it stabbed twice in one day!

Interesting. I had been booked for a shingles jab and flu jab at the same time by a receptionist about a month ago. When I turned up the nurse told me it was one or the other but not both because, if there is a reaction, they would not know to which jab it was (although I guess shingles might be easy to spot). Consequently my booster is early next month when, I guess, I will feel like a pin cushion.

 

[westv]

The last time I had flu was, I think, 1999 or 2000. Didn't feel right for several weeks after.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Yes, the comments here about how flu can affect an individual are entirely accurate. I recall my partner having it about 20 years ago. She was absolutely out of it for about two weeks, couldn't do anything, slept in the spare room, had no energy and was in considerable pain...and as @westv notes, she didn't feel right for some weeks after. I think you either have toi experience it yourself or see someone really go through it to understand the effect. It used to amuse me at work when people could be off sick for 2-3 days and on return say that they had flu...I would always think 'No,you didn't!'

 

[birchesgreen]

Only had it (for sure) once, closest i've felt to death.

 

[JohnMcL7]

It used to amuse me at work when people could be off sick for 2-3 days and on return say that they had flu...I would always think 'No,you didn't!'

I come across this frequently as well and it frustrates me because it undermines how serious a threat the flu is.

 

[alex397]

Reading through this thread, and hearing people’s experiences with actual flu, makes me feel frustrated that so many people say they have the ‘flu’ but really it’s a cold.

I have a friend who has the ‘flu’ quite a few times throughout the year, meaning they have a tough day at work, or might take the day off. Clearly that is not the flu. I do have to bite my lip whenever they say this.

 

[Typhoon]

Reading through this thread, and hearing people’s experiences with actual flu, makes me feel frustrated that so many people say they have the ‘flu’ but really it’s a cold.

I have a friend who has the ‘flu’ quite a few times throughout the year, meaning they have a tough day at work, or might take the day off. Clearly that is not the flu. I do have to bite my lip whenever they say this.

Isn't that what is described as 'man flu'?

 

[alex397]

Isn't that what is described as 'man flu'?

Yes it probably is. Though plenty of women do this too!

 

[nlogax]

Sorry to add a 'me too' story here but yes, you either have flu or you don't, and when you do you know it. Last had it in 1999 and I was off work for two solid weeks. Fever dreams, throwing up, plus all the other usual symptoms that morphed into a bizarre barking cough finally ending up as a chest infection. For ten days of those two weeks I could barely move. Outside of some specific life-threatening stuff I've had in my life, that was as ill as I've ever been.

 

[gg1]

Reading through this thread, and hearing people’s experiences with actual flu, makes me feel frustrated that so many people say they have the ‘flu’ but really it’s a cold.

I have a friend who has the ‘flu’ quite a few times throughout the year, meaning they have a tough day at work, or might take the day off. Clearly that is not the flu. I do have to bite my lip whenever they say this.

There is definitely a common misconception amongst many who've never had it that flu is nothing more than a very a bad cold, they may genuinely think that's what they've had rather than pulling a fast one.

I've had full blown flu once in my 40+ years and can honestly say I've never felt as ill in my life. I had a brief reminder following my first Covid jab, with shivers, aches and vomiting starting around 6 hours after my jab but I was completely fine the following day.

 

[Ediswan]

I have never had the classic flu symptoms. Does that mean I have somehow lived an urban/office lifestyle yet avoided the virus, or does my immune system fight it off better than others ? No idea.

Worst I have ever felt is after I caught a stinking cold (presumed) on a UK->US flight. One of the US locals suggested over the counter (OTC) pseudoephedrine. It certainly dried up the cold symptoms, but it felt like half my brain was not working. Definitely time to let somebody else do the driving.

Pseudoephedrine is no longer OTC. Due to what you can make from it, not the potential side effects

 

[bspahh]

Worst I have ever felt is after I caught a stinking cold (presumed) on a UK->US flight. One of the US locals suggested over the counter (OTC) pseudoephedrine. It certainly dried up the cold symptoms, but it felt like half my brain was not working. Definitely time to let somebody else do the driving.

Pseudoephedrine is no longer OTC. Due to what you can make from it, not the potential side effects

It is in Sudafed. There are people who shouldn't take it according to https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/pseudoephedrine/ but you can get it in a UK supermarket

 

[DarloRich]

what about the good old flu?

You will know when you get flu. I have had it once and couldn't get out of bed for a day or 2. Totally out of it. Awful.

 

[Typhoon]

It is in Sudafed. There are people who shouldn't take it according to https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/pseudoephedrine/ but you can get it in a UK supermarket

Very helpful post, I had not associated pseudoephedrine with Sudafed. You can also get it over the counter from pharmacists who don't check (it happened to me - fortunately I only took one dose before reading the leaflet; when you feel like you are at death's door the first thing you want is pain relief, not reading some leaflet in 6 point font).
In case anyone is unable to open the link:

Pseudoephedrine is not suitable for some people. Tell a pharmacist or doctor if you have:

• ever had an allergic reaction to pseudoephedrine or other medicines in the past
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• heart disease
• taken medicines for depression known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) in the last 2 weeks
• diabetes
• an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)
• glaucoma (increased pressure in the eye)
• an enlarged prostate (men with difficulty peeing or needing to pee often)
• liver or kidney problems

Personally, I would have thought the the pharmacist should ask about underlying medical problems. And why it is in supermarkets - I could not see anywhere on the box where it says who should not take it?

 

[brad465]

You will know when you get flu. I have had it once and couldn't get out of bed for a day or 2. Totally out of it. Awful.

If it's for a day or two it could also be norovirus, which tends to be as severe as flu at its peak but not for as long.

 

[DarloRich]

If it's for a day or two it could also be norovirus, which tends to be as severe as flu at its peak but not for as long.

I was in bed for 2 days but ill for about a week. Shivers and sweating, aches and pains, banging head, full on snot monster, tired and quite toliety. Awful.

 

[nlogax]

I was in bed for 2 days but ill for about a week. Shivers and sweating, aches and pains, banging head, full on snot monster, tired and quite toliety. Awful.

Sounds less like flu and more like Norovirus. The short story paperback of flu-like viruses and not something anyone would want to contract during a loo roll shortage.