How often do you get debilitating flu?

[CharlotteRumpling]

I am hardly ever ill, but once a year or so I get a terrible bout of flu. Got it now and can barely get out of bed. ( have had my flu jab).

DH has flu several times a year but not severe attacks. Can usually keep going but just WFH.

He's always quite taken aback by how ill I get quite quickly.

Let's face it Op your husband has just had a bad cold a few times. Cold virus is nasty sometimes and you can feel really rough. But it's nothing like influenza which honestly is awful. I've had it once and im 46. You can't walk, can't talk, can't watch TV, can't read just wallow and groan and all your muscles ache and you've got a fever and your sick . It's awful!!

I’ve only ever had flu once. I was about 14 I think.

I’m now 64.

I had flu once. 12 years ago. Was in bed a fortnight, took a month to feel 100%. Just awful. If a 20 pound note was on the floor next to my bed, I was so poorly I couldn't reach for it. I have had horrible colds since but never the flu. If you had flu, you would know and I don't want it again.

Tbf nobody else on this thread can either unless they have been swabbed and that hasn’t stopped them staying they’ve only had flu one or twice in years because they are assuming anything that means they can function.

About 1/2 of all flu cases are asymptomatic IIRC the other half vary from anything from asymptomatic to needing ICU care.

Several times a year is unlikely though. At least some of those are

Once when I was in uni 25 years ago. I honestly thought I was going to die.

Very lucky to have never caught it again as I am one of those people who picks up every virus or infection going around as I have autoimmune issues.

Only once.ive had covid 8 times now and the first time wasn't much fun. Closest I've got to having proper flu a second time. Anyone who thinks it's a cold has no idea

A few times spread over my 60+ years. I had ‘something’ last year that started first week of December that was evil… took until well into January for it to go, then DP got it, I’ve never seen him so poorly. It was well past the Dressing gown of Doom phase!
Im not sure if we had Covid or a strain of flu, but it was not the usual common cold, ‘better in 7 days’ illness.
He had to have 2 lots of antibiotics to clear his chest and we were both wiped out.
Luckily there’s only us 2 cos Christmas was not so much cancelled as ignored!

If you literally can't get out of bed, it's flu. Dr Chris on This Morning used to say if there was a £10 note on the floor and you could get out of bed to pick it up, it definitely wasn't flu.

I had flu when I was about 13, at the same time as my DF and my paternal GM who lived with us (I am an only child). My poor DM who was physically disabled (mobility problems) had to look after all three of us. We would all manage to get to the living room at about 1pm each day where DM would give us something to eat (we couldn't eat much) and then we would return to our respective bedrooms until 1pm the next day. This went on for quite a few days!

My daughter was at boarding school and they had flu going around. Her roommate got it so they tested her too. She tested positive for flu.

I drove 5 hours up to pick her up, then she drove us the 5 hours home. We stopped for a McDonalds along the way. When we got home she did her homework.

She did cough once or twice but other than that was fine.

I'm 60 and have only ever been struck down( literally!) by 'flu once but I remember it vividly. January 1990
I've never felt so unwell in my life.

Nwvwr had flu. Never had any debilitating physical illness (to the extent couldn't get out of bed)

I was 7 and had flu in 1986 epidemic. I just remember everything hurt. And sleeping downstairs on the sofa.

Then I got it 2 years ago. I wouldn't have known it was definitely flu but for the fact our ds got it and he was so ill we took him to A&E and they swabbed both of us. I was over the worst of it but still tested positive like ds. I took a whole week off work. And it took me another 4 weeks to feel normal.

TLDR: twice in 46 years

I’ve had a severe flu-like illness once, when I was about 40 and I was stressed, extremely unhappy but trying to maintain this facade that I was living my best life. It was absolutely grim, and even grimmer as I was not in my home environment but rather in a hotel room whilst also trying to wrangle two very young children.

Infectious diseases are really luck of the draw coupled with how your immune system works.

Have had flu jab every year since, it just feels like partial insurance against that happening again - I never want to feel like that if I can help it. My children have also had annual jabs even if they haven’t been eligible for flu sniff because of age.

Ten years later and I can still see the pattern of the wallpaper in the room I was limited to, and the layout of the hotel bathroom. Normally I’m totally oblivious to my surroundings.
Couldn’t describe 95% of places I’ve laid my head 😂

I don’t think being bedbound or completely out of action for days at a time, annually, is normal, personally. Not unless you have an underlying immunological or other long term health condition, or work in an environment absolutely suffused with viruses, like a hospital.

I used to get it yearly until I started getting the flu jag a few years ago. Since then I’ve only had it once at the start of this year (had 4 different bugs within 4 months and it was absolute hell).

I was able to text and believe me I had raging flu with a temp for 5 days and I needed help to the loo. Texting takes barely any effort.

This is also entirely possible with flu. Not everyone gets an extreme case.

Same as any other infectious disease like covid, chicken pox, shingles, E. Coli, etc.

Never had it. I don't get sick often.

The flu can be mild.

You need to go and see your GP.

Never.

I’ve had a few nasty colds but generally I don’t really get sick. Never have the flu jab either.

Only had it once when I was in my 20’s, developed pleurisy, lost a stone. It was nasty.

I had it over the millennium. Really poorly and took about a month to recover.

And possibly in 2013, but I was able to get my kids food ready. Lone parent so they would have starved if I hadn't. But I was in bed for a week.

I get flu jabs these days.

I had it when I was about 25 for 5 or 6 weeks, I'm in my 60s now and that was the only time really, I had Covid for a few days but that was soon over.

Once in 42 years.