What do you call it when its not the flu?

[Enko]

I have been unwell since Thursday.

To begin with would have called it a headcold however now on day 4 of a low grade temperature (stays at 37.5 if regularly taking ibroprofen/paracetamol goes above 38 if i slip with tablets) and a throat thats beginning to feel irritated and a irregular cough that just feels dry and annoying yet tickly in my throat I am thinking this is likely not a cold but something more.

I know it is not " the flu" yet its what you would usually say isnt it? " I have a touch of flu" a virus to me seems so general and could be anything ..

So what do you say? (trying to entertain myself when my attention span is not good)

Heavy cold

A cold. Every time I get a cold it lasts about 2 weeks

Lurgy for any cold throat sinus cough type illness.

A virus of some sort by the sounds of it. Hope you feel better soon op and don’t feel guilty about not going into work, other people will be more annoyed if they all come down with it.

My big bugbear is people using the flu so flippantly, my neighbour told me the other day she had the flu, for one day!
I had flu when pregnant yrs ago, it wiped my clean off my feet, I didn’t leave my bed for ten days, barely ate, slept constantly, every bone in my body hurt, without sounding over dramatic I thought I was dying, no way could I have stood up and had a conversation! Flu is fecking horrible and 20x worse than a bad cold.

I would use the phrase "heavy cold".

I avoid using the word flu even in the phrase "flu-like" because I had the flu once as a teenager and I don't believe there IS anything like it - I was virtually asleep for three weeks. And I say this as someone who can drag out a cold for weeks. But this is just a personal chip on the shoulder - go with what it feels like!

"Absolutely stinking cold"

"Streaming cold, ugh the worst I've had for years."

"If I was a man i'd be saying i'd got the flu"

I’d say ‘a feverish cold’. I may be old fashioned, though.

I would say bad cold too. I always get phases in cold of blocked up nose then that is replaced by cough and sore throat. I see each phase as a good thing as it's moving through its stages towards the end! Plenty of sleep, the best restorative medicine.

Heavy cold, I have it too, since Thursday. I have stayed at home today which is pretty rare for me. Sore throat, headache, cough, fever ... sweat was literally running down my torso and my legs yesterday as I was getting dressed.

I usually soldier on but someone I work with is imminosuprressed so soldiering on is not an option.

I would call it an URTI - upper respiratory tract infection. Usually viral, usually lasts about a week to ten days depending on the organism, usually symptomatic improvement with simple analgesia, hot honey / lemon / ginger drinks.

Keep your fluids up, keep warm and rest.

It's a cold

@MrsMozart

I'm in week three of one too. It's been a bugger but definitely not flu because I can actually function. Hope you get well soon

A virus

Or a fever

MorningsEleven ta kindly. Hope yours bobs off very soon and you're back to full health.

Mine definitely not flu, horrible though it's been, just wish breathing was a bit easier.

A cold and a temperature. I've had it since Thursday too. The headache sucks ! Can't get rid of mine.

I hate people using the term Flu for colds. I've only had it once and was off work for 3 weeks. I was so so ill - bloody awful.

I'm about to go into hospital for a treatment which will leave me severely autoimmune suppressed for several months.. not looking forward trying to avoid the winter colds and bugs!

Bad cold, awful cold, horrible cold. But definitely just a cold. I would avoid using the term infection as without a clinical diagnosis you don't know if it's a bacterial infection or not.

I read somewhere that if you are ill in bed and someone dropped a fifty quid note on the floor and said it was yours if you picked it up - if you think you would pick it up you do NOT have flu! I am fortunate to have never had it. Had some truly awful cold though and it is indeed hard to call in sick even though you fe terrible.

A virus. Or a heavy/rotten cold.

If people at work are raising an eyebrow, just say it's gastric flu, or norovirus or something. People are glad you're off and don't ask too many questions.

I believe you that you're too ill to work, and it's easy to say 'it's only a cold' when it's not you that has it, or maybe you're someone who's never had a proper hefty cold. But no one will thank you for coming into the office and sweating your fever out whilst hacking lurgies all over your colleagues. Sometimes you can't win - so just lie and say it's your bum!

Virus.

I came home from work at lunchtime today because of this bloody cold, I feel absolutely grim.