How common is proper flu?

[Duckypoohs]

I'm just wondering how likely it is I have gotten to my age without having it

I remember my Mum being really ill once, she looked and felt really bad, I mean terrible. Dr came out but she didn't spend time in hospital.
I looked after her the best my mid teen self could.

Sister was v I'll too but a couple of years earlier

I'm early 60s and had it really bad once, when I was in my 20s, 6 weeks off work iirc as I couldn't shake it off, lost loads of weight and had high temperature for ages. I went back to work for a couple of days and then had to have another week off as it came back again.

I am mid-60s and I think I have had it three times. The last time I had to go to emerg for breathing treatments twice (asthma) and needed antibiotics to recover. I was feeling awful for weeks.

The other times I managed with antibiotics at the end to clear up the bronchitis but didn't need emergency.

Sorry pressed post too soon. I wanted to say take flu seriously. My parents both got the flu at essentially the same time. Two weeks later I lost both of them. They had other conditions, but the flu was the last straw. Take it very very seriously.

I had flu when I was 21 and I was so ill, I can absolutely see how people die of it given how unwell I was when I was young and healthy. I literally couldn't walk to the bathroom and it took me about 3 weeks to recover

I have never had flu and I'm 30. My sister thinks she caught it at university when swine flu was going around. She was so ill but had coursework due and for some reason still did it and when she read it back it made no sense with sentences just stopping mid flow 😂

55 and I’ve had it once, I was about 30 at the time. Never been so ill, having Covid this year was easier than a common cold for me but flu at 25 years younger was awful. Took two weeks to recover.

50 and never had it. Ive had bad, chesty coughs/colds. that have made feel awful, flu must be bloody awful.

I had it once when I was 19. I was so ill I couldn’t walk to the toilet - my tiny little mum had to drag me to the 10 steps to the bathroom (am v.tall) I couldn’t eat, I was hallucinating with fever and I had terrible pains in my joints. I was in bed for 2 full weeks and had to take 3 weeks off work.

When people are walking around telling me they have the flu I laugh at them, as once you’ve had it, you know there’s not a chance you could be wandering around. The once time I have felt worse, was when I had pneumonia. I don’t get ill very often but I seem to get very ill when I do!

Late 40s and had it twice. It is horrendous and completely debilitating.

I'm nearly 50 and only had it once in my 20s. I thought I was going to die and that's no exaggeration. I'm asthmatic and have the flu jab now.

I work in a hospital where there was an outbreak of Influenza A. I had what I thought was a mild cold but was confirmed as flu on a PCR swab, I could have easily carried on going to work / normal activities but obviously along with lots of other staff was signed off until asymptomatic. We were all given tamiflu. I had had the flu jab as had most of us. Some of us were quite ill with it but as I said, I only felt a bit under the weather and never had a high temperature / muscle aches etc.

I would never have thought it was the flu had I not been tested.

@Throughtheday

I do know people who think they haven’t had it, but perhaps like covid it can be very mild or very severe, we’re just not tracking the mild cases, or even many of the severe ones.

www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2014/mar/three-quarters-people-seasonal-and-pandemic-flu-have-no-symptoms

I've already posted on this thread but nobody reads the full thread and flu threads always go the same way.

The vast majority of flu cases are asymptomatic. Symptoms can be mild.

I’m 52 and had flu once in my mud 20s. It was horrendous and nothing like a bad cold.

I then had Swine Flu in 2009. That floored me and was quite strange. It was a good six weeks before I felt anywhere near normal.

I'm 60 and have never had flu (to my knowledge).
My son caught flu when in halls at University and I went to pick him up so he could be unwell at home. Blimey he was unwell - it was quite scary.

Aaaaand I'm invisible.

I've had flu once in 40 years and that was enough. Sudden onset of chills and fever and the next thing I was aware 2 days had gone past and I had no recollection of it. Realy scary. Then came a week of exhaustion, sore throat, sweating and headaches. I've had the flu vaccine every year since!

I'm 33 and I've had colds, chest infections, ear infections, tonsillitis and bronchitis, all more than once. I had pneumonia in 2019 but I've never had actual flu.

Like all viruses flu comes in many forms. Sometimes it can be full in leaves you in bed, feeling utterly miserable and very poorly. other times it can be mild and you may not even notice you've got it much.

The old myth 'it's only flu if you wouldn't get up to retrieve a £50 note' is just that - a myth.

Covid should have shown us that viruses affect people in different ways.

For myself, I have knowingly only had one bad dose of flu where I was very poorly in bed and unable to work, etc. I was in my 20s. Dh has had it like that once - again in his 20s. And Dd has knowing only had a bad dose once - when she was 15.

Dd and I always have the flu vaccine each year - mine is free due to a medical condition and we pay for teen DD.

If you're not sure you've had it then you haven't had it. Flu is a whole different level. When you have it you know

@BrownEyedGirl80

I've had it twice.

You know its real flu when if someone offered you £1000 to walk to the next room youd tell them to fuck off

Again. This is a myth.

@ShowOfHands - you’re not! I totally agree. Flu can kill (I work in critical care) or it can be incredibly mild like I had it.

"All cards on the the table, I am an alcoholic. I have felt like actual death many times. I think I might just leave it to fate. Just like covid probably a less embarrassing death certificate."

Have you seen your GP about your drinking OP? There's no shame in having a drinking problem, could you book an appointment with your GP and tell them your truthful level of drinking? They should offer you support in reducing your drinking (if that's something that you want), and do a liver function blood test and potentially refer you to a liver specialist doctor if needed.

@AnnaSW1

If you're not sure you've had it then you haven't had it. Flu is a whole different level. When you have it you know

And again, this is not true. Flu, like most viruses, come in different severities.

@AnnaSW1 not so. As @ShowOfHands and @Abraxan and others have said repeatedly, flu affects people differently just as we've found that covid does.

In addition, some people feel terrible with a cold virus and some go on to develop bronchitis/pneumonia etc when they have one. There is a massive overlap between all of these types of viruses.

@ShowOfHands

Aaaaand I'm invisible.

You're not. People have already stated the same.