People saying they’ve never had flu?

I’m 71, never had flu, never had a flu jab (watch me get the worst dose of flu ever now!). Even when I had covid it was asymptomatic, I only knew I had it because I had to test as a colleague had it.

Is it? What about people who get it with no symptoms at all? Or really mildly?

in my late 30s, had similarly nasty illnesses when younger but fairly sure I’ve never had the flu that I can remember. These days I get the jab as well.

I'm aware of that, but influenza is typically much, much worse than a cold virus.

56 and never had it - had glandular fever aged 19 which had me bed ridden for two weeks and off work a further 4 weeks to recover. Lots of tonsillitis and really heavy colds but nothing remotely described as 'proper flu'. Just getting over my first shitty cold for 5 years - I did have high temperatures at night time for 3 nights last week but felt fine during the day so carried on as normal. (my daily life doesn't involve being near or around people, young, old or vulnerable or using public transport or risk spreading the bug any further)

You've probably had a temperature, headache and sore throat loads of times though and battled through despite being tired.

I've never had it and nearly 50.

Though of course, I might have had it but it just didn't result in the severe flu symptoms that others get so it didn't register as flu.

The difference between flu and a bad cold is the virus causing it, not the severity of the symptoms.

Flu is short for influenza, which is one nasty disease out of many which are floating around all the time. People say flu to mean any nasty virus that makes them feel like crap for a while, but it's not. Was yours diagnosed by a doctor? If not, it probably wasn't actual flu. I haven't had it; most people haven't. Which is a good thing - it can be fatal.

You're lucky. I couldn't stand up when I had it. Had to crawl to the bog.

I was a bit arrogant that nothing could fell me and I could keep going, before that like.

I have had flu once in my thirties now mid forties but generally never get a cold, get nausea, muscle aches sometimes throat pain but they generally last 12- 24hrs.

I had two incidences of the 'can't get out of bed' illness, once in my twenties and once in my 30's, I'm now 65 and haven't had that again. However, I've had nasty viruses with a temperature and aches, and some which have made me need to lie down. I've never been incapacitated since though, but I put a lot of that down to having been a single mum, and now living alone. I just couldn't take to my bed, so maybe I now soldier on through illnesses that I might have gone to bed with a couple of decades ago?

Some of the 'walking about' viruses have been pretty nasty and, given the choice, I might have gone to bed and thrashed about for a week, but I just couldn't or my dog would have starved (or, even worse, my kids!).

So I wonder if some of the perception of flu comes from how able you are to take to your bed?

I've had it a couple of times in my life, I'm 50. Flu jab every year and total avoidance of crowds if they've got it wrong. Or a strain mutates like it did this year after the vaccines were put together

A lot of people think a heavy cold is flu so think they've had it a lot I've noticed.

No, I've never had flu.

Just bad colds.

I was told once that the difference between flu and a very bad cold was that if you put a tenner on the floor and tell someone with a bad cold they can have it if they pick it up, they will, but someone with flu won't. This was many years a go when £10 was worth something. 😂

If you are regularly getting flu then that's unusual. Why not pay for a flu jab?

You can have flu like virus and you can have full blown flu. I’ve had flu symptoms a day or two in bed and got through.

but I’ve also had flu very very ill, when I was 12 so over 50 years ago now. I was soo poorly I can remember dad carrying me to the bathroom. He employed a nurse to come and help care for me but did as much as he could himself. I was in bed for weeks. I had covid a couple of years ago and it was very similar just a faster recovery well for me anyway

I don’t find it odd at all. Dh has never knowingly had it, and I’ve only had real flu once - the kind that knocks your stuffing right out for at least 3 weeks, even after you’ve started to feel a lot better.

OTOH I do know plenty of people who think they’ve got flu when it’s apparently just a bad cold - since they are able to carry on much as normal.

i've never had flu, I always get the vaccine. mad anyone doesn't, worth paying for it.

I've had proper flu about 10 times in my life, my immune system sucks especially as a kid. DP has never had it, he's very rarely ill (though when he does he gets very sick along with a chest infection). DD is 11 and had it when she was a baby, it was horrendous, I make sure she's vaxxed every year now and hasn't had it since. Currently half the school are off with it, we live across the road and the playground is the emptiest I've seen it since COVID restrictions.

I’m a GP and am sure I’ve had “proper flu” with super high fever for days, extreme fatigue and awful muscle aching several times in my life, particularly when I was in my 20s actually.

I don’t get it every winter but when I have had proper flu, it’s almost always been over the Christmas holiday period which is such a bummer. I remember in 2020 thinking how lovely it was to feel fully well at Christmas for once (if it’s not flu it’s norovirus - I actually tend to get this several times nearly every winter, it’s a nightmare - or at least a horrible cold or sore throat etc). It was a revelation to me that it was in fact possible to not be ill at Christmas every year!

I do have asthma and obviously frequent exposure to such things is a hazard of the job! I’m not worried about my immune system at all though, I think this is normal allowing for my occupation (I do think I get norovirus more often than most even accounting for this, and we know some people genuinely are more or less prime to this due to genetic variations, but most healthcare workers I know get it at least once a year, and I wash my hands obsessively lol - I read a thread here recently from someone in their 40s who was having it for the second time only in their life and was very envious!)

Of course we now also have COVID to add to the mix which currently seems to come in waves around 3 times a year including in wintertime. I’ve had that several times as well. Feel extremely unwell every time I have it, completely wiped out and a bit out of it, completely unable to work or function at all. And all of this is despite vaccination etc.

I agree some people can have the flu virus without realising it as they just have cold type symptoms, however I will say that it’s a bit unreasonable for some people to say they just soldier on with the same symptoms as others who don’t, it’s really not just about mindset for someone with a persistent fever of 40 plus etc! Flu can stop even the most determined person in their tracks for a bit.

I don't THINK I have had it. I have had grim miserable colds with many symptoms, but I don't think I have ever been as bad as people describe the flu.

I’ve never had it, touch wood, I’m 44

My DM is in her late 80s and I can never remember her ever having a cold, let alone flu. She did get Covid mildly a couple of years ago but that was over in a few days. She is now vaccinated against both and I am still very careful when I visit her.

I read somewhere that research has suggested that there may be a link to blood group. I think it is those with Blood Group A that are more immune.

I'm 60 and have certainly never had flu which left me weakened for several weeks. I've had several illnesses which might have been flu, ie, aches and fevers, bedridden for several days, but they could equally have been heavy colds. I certainly don't recognise the old 'if there was a £20 note on the floor, you wouldn't have the energy to pick it up' definition of flu.

I'm 35. My immune system is none existent and I've never had the flu!

I think the spectrum of cold symptoms and flu symtoms overlap, so flu and a cold are pretty indistinguishable without testing.

I doubt that some people get many, many more doses of flu than others (adjusting for vaccination), so it's really about language and mindset. Some people will take to their beds and declare it "flu" at the first sign if a sniffle, other will still call it a "bad cold" and carry on even when they're fairly unwell. Most people probably sit in the middle, call it a "cold" if they feel OK to soldier through, and only "flu" if they really can't. Impossible without testing to know who actually has flu and who has a cold though, whatever they call it.