Stay hydrated for your own comfort and to keep your immune system working at its best. Having a dry throat and nose can thicken mucous and make it hard to clear.
Dry winter air makes this problem even worse. For one thing, having a fever can dry you out - the moisture inside your lungs will evaporate fast when your body temperature is high. By sleeping more than usual, you can conserve energy and give your immune system what it needs to do its job.ĭrink plenty of fluids: Although you might not have much of an appetite, it is especially important to stay hydrated when you have the flu. Your immune system has extra work to do while you are sick. Listen to your body - you probably feel exhausted. Get lots of rest: Don’t try to maintain your regular schedule if you have influenza. In fact, when your body is fighting the flu it makes sense to get back to the basics. Taking care of yourself when you’re sick doesn’t need to be complicated. What are some natural home remedies for the flu? If you feel like you have the flu but you don’t fit into any of those categories, it might still make sense to get tested. Children younger than age 5, people older than 65, women who are pregnant, and anyone with asthma, diabetes, or a weak immune system should talk to their doctor if they think they have the flu. Many doctor’s offices and urgent care centers can use a nasal swab to test for flu while you are there in the office.Īlthough most people recover on their own, influenza can sometimes be severe. In addition, a positive influenza test can sometimes reassure you if you’re worried you might have something else, like COVID-19. Things are different now that antiviral medications, like oseltamivir (Tamiflu), are readily available. After all, there wasn’t much doctors could do about it.
Until recently, most people didn’t have much reason to get tested for influenza. Sinusitis, which is a bacterial infection, might be responsible for symptoms that last longer than that. Influenza symptoms generally improve within about 2 weeks.
Loss of taste or smell, which can be signs of COVID-19, do not usually happen with the flu. Unlike the common cold, influenza also causes body aches. Influenza usually causes a sore throat, cough, headache, fever, and tiredness.
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Here are some suggestions for how to tell the difference. While most of the tips listed here can apply to any kind of head cold, sometimes it’s helpful to know when you’re dealing with influenza. But other illnesses, especially the common cold, also spread widely during the winter months. When it’s flu season, every sniffle can make you wonder if you have influenza. In addition to treating your symptoms, think about supporting your immune system so it can be a strong force against the virus. There are a variety of things you can do to take care of yourself when you have the flu. Many at-home treatments and natural remedies for the flu are still helpful today. These days, prescriptions and over-the-counter medications can help, but they aren’t the only approach. Folks who got the flu had to find alternative ways to deal with symptoms and get through the illness quickly. For years, there was no specific treatment available for influenza.