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Summary
Flu is a respiratory infection caused by a number of viruses. The viruses pass through the air and enter your body through your nose or mouth. Between 5% and 20% of people in the U.S. get the flu each year. The flu can be serious or even deadly for elderly people, newborn babies, and people with certain chronic illnesses.
Symptoms of the flu come on suddenly and are worse than those of the common cold. They may include
- Body or muscle aches
- Chills
- Cough
- Fever
- Headache
- Sore throat
Is it a cold or the flu? Colds rarely cause a fever or headaches. Flu almost never causes an upset stomach. And "stomach flu" isn't really flu at all, but gastroenteritis.
Most people with the flu recover on their own without medical care. People with mild cases of the flu should stay home and avoid contact with others, except to get medical care. If you get the flu, your health care provider may prescribe medicine to help your body fight the infection and lessen symptoms.
The main way to keep from getting the flu is to get a yearly flu vaccine. Good hygiene, including hand washing, can also help.
NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Latest News
- Is Your Child's Day Care Center Ready for Pandemic Flu? (05/15/2017, HealthDay)
- Flu Season All but Over in U.S. (04/14/2017, HealthDay)
- Flu Vaccine a Pretty Good Match for Viruses This Year: CDC (02/16/2017, HealthDay)
Symptoms
- Flu Symptoms & Complications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Diagnosis and Tests
- Cold, Flu, or Allergy? Know the Difference for Best Treatment (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
- Diagnosing Flu (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Flu & You: Preventive Steps (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Influenza Prevention: Information for Travelers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Preventing the Flu (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Protect Yourself & Your Family Against the Flu (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Treatments and Therapies
- Decongestants: OTC Relief for Congestion (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Echinacea (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
- European Elder (Elderberry) (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
- Flu and Colds: In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) Also in Spanish
- Time To Talk About Natural Products for the Flu and Colds: What Does the Science Say? (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
- Treating Influenza (Flu) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- What You Should Know about Flu Antiviral Drugs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Living With
- Caring for Someone Sick (Flu) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Flu: What to Do If You Get Sick (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Cancer, the Flu, and You (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Flu and Heart Disease and Stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Flu and People with Asthma (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Flu and People with Diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Seasonal Flu and Staph Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- H3N2v and You (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Pandemic Flu (Department of Health and Human Services)
Genetics
- Genetics Home Reference: acute necrotizing encephalopathy type 1 (National Library of Medicine)
Images
- Influenza Photos (Immunization Action Coalition)
Health Check Tools
- Flu Checkup (DSHI Systems)
- Flu Widget (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Influenza (National Center for Health Statistics)
- Getting a Better Grasp on Flu Fundamentals (National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
- New Study Shows Clinicians Under-Prescribing Flu Antiviral Drugs and Possibly Overprescribing Antibiotics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Situation Update: Summary of Weekly FluView (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Influenza, Human (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Children
- First Aid: Influenza (Flu) (Nemours Foundation)
- Flu (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Flu: A Guide for Parents of Children or Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Is It a Cold or the Flu (For Parents)? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Seniors
- Flu Prevention and Treatment Tips (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - PDF
- What You Should Know and Do This Flu Season If You Are 65 Years and Older (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- College students and the flu (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Flu (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Flu (Influenza): Information for Parents (American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Pregnancy and the flu (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Your baby and the flu (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Your child and the flu (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish