How You Can Protect Yourself

Influenza — also called the flu — is a contagious illness that tends to spread more in the winter.

How Does It Spread?

The flu spreads through infected droplets that get into the environment when sick people cough, sneeze, and touch surfaces. When you get infected with the flu, you can spread it to others one day before and 5 to 7 days after symptoms begin.

To avoid spreading the flu:

Stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever has gone away.
Wash your hands frequently with soap or clean them with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze or cough.
Clean frequently touched surfaces.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of the flu include:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Fatigue

You may also experience a cough, sore throat, runny nose, nausea, or vomiting.

The Flu, a Cold, or COVID?

How do you tell if you have the flu or a cold? Could it be COVID?

Getting tested may be the only way to know for sure, but here are some key differences:

Protect Yourself

The seasonal flu vaccine is the most effective way to protect yourself from the flu. You should also:

Wash your hands often.
Stay away from people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose with unwashed hands.

Warning Signs

If you have any of the following symptoms, call your nurse immediately or seek emergency care if you are out of the hospital:

Trouble breathing
Chest pain
Cannot stop vomiting or keep fluids down
Dizziness
Stopped making urine
Confusion
Bluish or gray skin (You may notice it around your lips first.)

Treatment

If your doctor suspects you have the flu, they may start treatment with antiviral therapy. Starting treatment early in your sickness gets the best results. Antiviral medications include oseltamivir, zanamivir, peramivir, and baloxavir.

The most common way to take these medications is by mouth, but sometimes, you may inhale them or receive them through an IV.

To treat the symptoms and feel better:

Stay hydrated.
Take over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen, to help control your fever.
Get lots of rest.

Antibiotics do not help the flu and taking them when you have the flu can lead to the growth of resistant germs. However, there are some complications of the flu that are treated with antibiotics.

Complications: When the Flu Gets Dangerous

Most of the time, people get over the flu with no problems. But in some cases, it can cause serious complications. The most common is pneumonia, a lung infection that causes breathing problems and can be fatal. Between 300,000 and 650,000 people a year are hospitalized because of the flu and its complications. Between 15,000 and 58,000 die.

Vulnerable Groups

Those with the highest chance of having dangerous complications of the flu are:

Over age 65
Young children
People with asthma and lung disease
People with weaker immune systems — like those who have had an organ transplant or are on chemotherapy

Resources:

INFLUENZA (FLU) Flu and You. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2022-2023 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary In-Season Burden Estimates. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Patient education: Influenza symptoms and treatment (Beyond the Basics). UpToDate.
Patient education: Pneumonia in adults (Beyond the Basics). UpToDate.
Influenza Antiviral Medications: Summary for Clinicians. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia. An Official Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Influenza