|
But if you are suddenly flattened as if ambushed from behind, with a high fever (102° to 104°F is common), headache, extreme fatigue and weakness, and severe aches and pains in muscles you didn't know you had, most likely you've got the flu. Upper respiratory symptoms like runny or stuffy nose and sneezing only sometimes accompany the flu. Whereas the sore throat that occurs with a cold typically disappears in a day or two, when you have the flu and your throat is sore, the soreness is likely to get worse by the second or third day. Also, the muscle aches that accompany flu are usually much more severe than you might experience with other fever-inducing ailments.
With flu, the lower respiratory tract is a common site of attack, resulting in a dry, hacking cough that can become severe. Sometimes the digestive tract also takes a beating, with vomiting and diarrhea, especially in children. When flu hits below the belt, it can be a challenge to keep down anything more nourishing than tea and water. But this symptom of influenza is not to be confused with the so-called intestinal flu, which isn't any kind of flu at all and is not accompanied by the fever, aches, pain, and severe malaise that characterizes the real flu. Because a number of infectious agents, including some bacteria, can produce flulike symptoms, people tend to use the word "flu" to describe a host of ailments that are not really influenza and are rarely as dangerous as the real thing.
Working-or playing-through the flu is usually impossible, unless you're the type who can walk on hot coals and feel no pain.
Most victims wisely (not that they have much choice) take to their beds for three or more days. The main symptoms of flu-high fever, headache, aches, and prostrating exhaustion-tend to disappear almost as suddenly as they begin, usually after three to seven days. But even after you recover, a lingering fatigue and weakness can persist for weeks and leave you with a dragged-down feeling that is sometimes compounded by depression, a common legacy of the flu virus.
*3\296\2*
Anti-Infectives
|
|
