Flu information and comparisons
| Introduction (from Wikipedia): | Influenza, or flu, is an infectious viral disease. Common symptoms: high fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle and joint pain, headache, coughing, and feeling tired. Symptoms typically begin 2 days after exposure and last less than a week. |
| Symptoms: | Flu symptoms appear quickly (within 3-6 hrs) and include fever, chills, severe aches and chest discomfort. |
| Treatment: | Sometimes antiviral medication helps control the flu but often patients simply wait for their body to fight the virus and overcome the disease. Medication is also available to ease patient comfort. |
| Fatigue: | Moderate to severe |
| Aches: | Usual and often severe, affects the entire body. |
| Fever: | Usually present |
| Sore throat: | Rare |
| Sneezing: | Rare |
| Stuffy nose: | Rare |
| Severity: | Serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections can occur. |
| Chills: | Common |
| Chest discomfort: | Often severe |
| Vaccination possible: | Yes |
| Coughing: | Dry, unproductive cough |
| Headache: | Common |
| Causative Organism: | Influenza virus |
| Duration of illness: | In children, the cough lasts for more than ten days in 35–40% of the cases and continues for more than 25 days in 10%. Adults usually feel better in seven days. |
| Seasonality: | Seasonal (in winter). In the U.S., flu season is generally October to May and peaks in February. |