Can we please stop spreading the same tired old myths about flu?

[AutisticAndMore]

The ones about not being able to get out of bed if there was a £50 note on the floor and talk of “real flu”.

Flu can be asymptomatic, mild, moderate or severe. It’s still “real flu” regardless of severity.

It’s a tiresome and potentially dangerous myth that it always has to be severe. And no you might not know for definite that you have flu unless you test for it/are tested but you don’t have to be confined to your bed to have flu.

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/yahoo-life-why-does-the-flu-make-some-people-sick-but-not-others

Well I've had flu three times in my life and each time it's knocked me out for a fortnight. Unable to do a damn thing apart from drag myself to the bathroom. So I've only got my experience to go on.

Your experience doesn’t change the facts though. I’m not expecting everyone to magically know this hence the link but it is not helpful to have people repeating the same myths about flu and it can be dangerous.

Oh god yeah, any thread with a mention of flu I have to take myself off it so I don't get banned for swearing at the inevitable dipshit who shows up on page one going "iF yOu ACKSHUALLY HaD fLu YoU wOuLdN't EvEn Be AbLe To TyPe ThIs PoSt"

I've had flu a couple of times in my life, once I was delirious and hallucinating and once I was barely symptomatic and only knew I had it because it was on a battery of tests I had. But people love to act like if you're not crawling around on the floor drooling and seeing Jesus you can't possibly have real flu. Does my swede in.

Sorry, rant over.

I used to think the same - that 'real flu' knocked you out, couldn't get out of bed etc. I had three bouts of it which had that effect. But someone pointed out when I was at work one day feeling a bit rough, that I might have flu then. just be reacting differently to it or have not such a severe strain. And I realised that they had a point - I knew I had a virus and there was no reason it couldn't be flu. Just a different type to the one that had me laid out in bed for a week.

There are many versions of it and it’s affects everyone differently.

My friend is in hospital at the moment on oxygen with flu.

Real flu is nothing like a cold. It can be incredibly serious. I know a woman in her 30s who died of flu.

Yes that is rather my point.

My son almost died from influenza A and the rest of the family tested positive for it too, all completely symptom free. It’s dangerous because thinking we can’t have flu may make us careless when meeting vulnerable people.

You've probably had it loads of times but not been affected as badly.
It's not a competition.

This is complete confirmation bias though - were you tested for flu every time you had a milder virus?

It can be exactly like a cold. Only a test will tell you if you have it

No it can be like a cold at times. That is the whole point. It can kill people. It can make them mildly ill. It can be anything in between. They may have no symptoms at all but still be infected with the flu virus. So you could be spreading the flu virus to vulnerable family members even if you think it’s “just” a cold.

I fear a lot of people are going to miss your point @AutisticAndMore

It can be. It’s a bit like Covid. You can have it and die, be very sick, be mildly sick, or be asymptomatic.

I had “real flu” last year, had fairly mild symptoms basically just felt like a slightly stronger cold, could get out of bed and just felt crappy, covid on the other hand, I felt like utter death.

OP didn’t say that it couldn’t be incredibly serious.

But it is a fact that around 25% of cases are asymptomatic. And other cases can be mild to fatal.

The flu is a virus just like a cold or covid.
it can vary in symptoms and severity just like a cold or covid. You wouldn’t know what’s what unless you test for it.

You’re right and you’re correctly about exactly why the myth can be so dangerous.

Why is it dangerous?

I agree with this! Ive had it twice and never ever felt so ill in my whole life! There is a reason we are vaccinated every year….because it can kill!

Millions died of COVID. The first time I had it, it knocked me down for 6 in so many ways. The second time I was just sneezing a lot. It still was “real” COVID. The test said so. The same can happen with flu. Not just that, but someone with a nasty cold can feel 100 times worse than someone with a mild flu.

Because people can be going about spreading the flu to vulnerable family members and friends in the belief that it’s “just” a cold and not the flu because they only have mild symptoms. I know of people who aren’t worried about giving their vulnerable grandmother a cold so would still attend a party if they have what they think is a cold but they could still be infected with flu.

Agree. It’s also annoying though when people say they are/were sick with “flu”, to describe every cold. If it felt like a cold, and you didn’t have a flu test - just call it a cold!

Quoting myself because you answered my question in a subsequent post. Totally get your point now. Also, even if someone thinks they “only” have a cold they should be careful around known vulnerable people.