{"id":54374,"date":"2017-11-01T11:15:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T15:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=54374"},"modified":"2021-08-26T13:30:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T17:30:59","slug":"flu-symptoms-flu-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/flu-symptoms-flu-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Things Your Doctor Wants You to Know About the Flu"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"7
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is there anything more miserable than being saddled in bed with the flu<\/a>? The common (and highly contagious) virus can lay you up so bad that even watching a Real Housewives<\/em> marathon can seem too strenuous. Some\u00a0slightly<\/em>-more-scientific signs of influenza: You\u2019ll likely experience fever, body aches\/chills, a sore throat, headache and a cough. What\u2019s worse, those symptoms tend to come on suddenly and severely, says Mohamad Fakih, MD, MPH, Senior Medical Director, Ascension Center of Excellence for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention at Ascension St. John Hospital and Medical Center. (Symptoms of a cold<\/a>, on the other hand, tend to be above-the-neck only and milder.)<\/p>\n

From avoiding the flu altogether to getting the vaccine, here\u2019s what docs want you to know at the height of sickness season.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Is It Too Late to Get the Flu Shot?<\/a><\/p>\n

Flu Facts You Need to Know<\/h2>\n

1. Prevention is up to you.<\/h3>\n

The first rule when it comes to the flu? Don\u2019t get the flu. You can decrease your risk with simple measures, like washing your hands and keeping your paws off your face. \u201cYou can get the flu through direct contact with someone who has it \u2014 like shaking hands, or if someone coughs on you,\u201d says Dr. Fakih. (That means someone has to directly cough on you \u2014 it\u2019s not necessary to hold your breath if, say, someone hacks on the other side of the train car.) Your hands are the biggest culprits, though. \u201cYou probably don\u2019t realize how often you put your hands in your mouth or touch your face,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

2. Get the vaccine \u2014 no excuses.<\/h3>\n

The CDC recommends that everyone over age six months get vaccinated. \u201cIt\u2019s not just to protect you, but the people around you that have more of a risk of getting extremely sick, like the elderly or pregnant women,\u201d says Dr. Fakih.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Which Vaccines You Should Get As an Adult<\/a><\/p>\n

3. It\u2019s not too late.<\/h3>\n

While it\u2019s ideal to get the flu vaccine<\/a> in early fall for the longest protection, flu season tends to peak in December or January, says Dr. Fakih. That\u2019s when you tend to hear \u201csomething\u2019s going around,\u201d because a lot of people will be sick at once. Getting vaccinated at any time throughout the season can help, though. Make your appointment at the doc or head to your local Walgreens or CVS today.<\/p>\n

4. But\u2026you may still get the flu.<\/h3>\n

“If you do get the flu, having the vaccine can lessen how bad it is.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you fall sick with the flu despite getting the vaccine, it\u2019s frustrating, no doubt. But know that the vaccine doesn\u2019t 100 percent guarantee you\u2019ll stay well. In fact, in 2016 it was 48 percent<\/a> effective, says the CDC. That said, here\u2019s the upside: \u201cIf you do get the flu, having the vaccine can lessen how bad it is,\u201d says Dr. Fakih. Simply put, your symptoms may not be as severe as they would\u2019ve been had you skipped vaccinating completely. And since the flu can send you straight into misery city and keep you home for four or five days, he says, you need any protection you can get.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Are You Crazy for Working Out While Sick?<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Exercise totally helps.<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s another reason to exercise on the reg: avoiding the office plague du jour. When a group of people participated in an eight-week moderate-intensity exercise program, they missed just 32 days of work due to illness compared to 67 sick days in a control group, reports a 2012 study<\/a> in the Annals of Family Medicine<\/em>. So, baby it may be cold outside, but bundle up and fit in that four-miler on Saturday. (Germaphobes, if you hit the gym, just keep these hygiene tips<\/a><\/em> in mind.)<\/p>\n

6. Antibiotics, well, don\u2019t.<\/h3>\n

Running to your doc asking for antibiotics is as effective as taking magic beans and hoping you get better. Even worse: It\u2019s more dangerous. First, antibiotics only work against bacterial infection, whereas the flu is a virus. Second, popping these meds unnecessarily is one reason antibiotic resistance is the dangerous problem it is today. There is a chance that having the flu can make you more susceptible to a secondary bacterial infection like bacterial pneumonia, says Dr. Fakih. One clue that that\u2019s the case? \u201cIf you get the flu and start to get a bit better but then relapse and get worse,\u201d he says. See your doc.<\/p>\n

7. Seriously, stay home.<\/h3>\n

It can be hard to stay home when you\u2019ve got to be boss lady at work. But listen carefully: You should really stay put. Not only will it help you get back on your feet faster, you\u2019re less likely to spread it around, too. Because certain symptoms, like coughs, can linger a long time<\/a>, you don\u2019t have to wait until you\u2019re 100 percent, though. When your fever goes away, you have most doctors\u2019 green light to go back in. \u201cThat\u2019s when you\u2019re less likely to \u2018shed\u2019 the virus and get others sick,\u201d Dr. Fakih says. Just keep tissues handy and remember to cough and sneeze into your elbow. Oh, and don\u2019t forget the chicken soup<\/a> today. Science<\/a> says so.<\/p>\n

Originally published November 2016. Updated October 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n

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You might know the flu symptoms, but what about the ideal time to get the flu vaccine? Keep sniffles, sneezes and fevers away with these tips \u2014 straight from the source. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":54386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[208,224,345,391,186],"class_list":["post-54374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-flu","tag-illness","tag-tax1conditions","tag-tax2cold-flu","tag-winter"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}