Page 4 | AIBU to have only just realised what people meant by a cold is defo not the flu !

Bringbackdrifterbars · 2023-11-04T07:27:07+00:00

I am early 30s no massive health issues and would not at all be deemed vulnerable. I have always known the difference between a cold and flu as in one being influenza but suppose really didn’t listen when people said trust me you would know if you had the flu over a cold. well I caught the flu and as a healthy adult ended up admitted in to hospital for the first time in my life because of influenza A ! maybe this year is a bad strand or something but is it usual for it knock out healthy young people ? 🙈🙈

Original poster

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:20

Tbf I was able to text my sister but I think adrenaline kicked in because I had a sick child also in my care.

OP posts:

SylvieLaufeydottir · 04/11/2023 08:22

I had flu some years back when DC1 was a baby. I remember lying on the floor next to his cot genuinely not able to get up, thinking I might die right there and not really minding because I felt so awful.

jesshomeEd · 04/11/2023 08:22

The flu virus is like covid.

You can have mild flu that is no different to a cold.

You can have flu with almost no symptoms and be unaware you've even had it.

You can be affected really badly and be in bed for a week.

Thousands die from flu every year.

It's a myth though that it is only 'real flu' if you can't get out of bed etc.

vidflex · 04/11/2023 08:22

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 07:46

Honestly I felt terrible and tbf must have looked terrible on arrival to A&e because the receoptionist called out triage straight away and I was taken in and treatment started without minutes ( I didn’t know it was the flu then ) but honestly when the test come
back as influenza ( was still in a&e ) I was embarrassed and apologised 🤣

First time I had flu I was 23 and was so bad my family called an ambulance as I was incoherent and dehydrated. The hospital thought I had meningitis. I was in hospital for two weeks so don't feel bad. I've had it once more since then and it floored me for weeks. I religiously get my flu jab

DebussytoaDiscoBeat · 04/11/2023 08:22

I’ve never had flu but just wanted to say I love your username OP, Drifter bars need to come back! And Cabanas. And mint Wispas.

jesshomeEd · 04/11/2023 08:23

Mummumgem · 04/11/2023 08:19

It’s always irritated me when people say they have flu when it’s a cold, yes ok a bad bad cold, but not flu.

I had flu as a teenager, 35 years ago now, my dad had to carry me to the loo, my parents ended up employing a nurse to care for me, the doctor called twice a day. It took me weeks to recover. That’s the flu.

I had covid last year, and I was completely knocked off my feet again. I would say there was very little difference between the two.

DH said last week he had the flu, yes he was ill I made him hot lemon and honey, and waited on him whilst he died on the sofa, but when he said he had the flu or maybe covid ( he’s never had either, but he did nurse me with covid ) I laughed, and pointed out that he had got up, had a soak in the bath and is now in the living room watching tv - that’s a cold.

If you have the strength and the breath or even simply care enough to tell someone you have the flu, then that’s a cold, with flu you can barely manage to roll over in bed.

Edited

How can you know if it is a flu virus or a bad cold virus? Unless you're testing?

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 04/11/2023 08:23

JustAMinutePleass · 04/11/2023 08:09

Apparently symptomless flu normal

This is true. Epstein Barr virus too.

NotAnotherPylon · 04/11/2023 08:23

I think the problem is that the myth of 'real' flu versus a cold has been perpetuated for many, many years and has become stamped on our brains. I was guilty of it myself, thinking I had only had 'real' flu twice in my life because I was so ill I couldn't move. The first time I was a child and the second time I was in my forties. I started paying for the flu vaccine after the 'second' time. Then there was Covid and we all became well versed in how differently it affected different people. Some people didn't know they had it until they tested. And suddenly there was similar information circulating about the flu virus, information which had always existed, but wasn't in the public consciousness. It dawned on me that the two bouts of 'real' flu were not necessarily the only times I had it, but they were the times I remembered because it floored me. The flu is certainly not the cold, but it can be LIKE a cold, or it can be deadly and it can be everything in between.

lolliesandblankets · 04/11/2023 08:24

This reply has been deleted

Hi all, unfortunately the OP is a previously banned troll so we've removed their threads and posts.

IrresponsiblyCertainAboutSexualDimorphism · 04/11/2023 08:25

DustyLee123 · 04/11/2023 07:32

Yep, when I had flu I laid in bed wanting to go to sleep and never woke up. If you’re on SM telling everyone you’ve got flu, you’ve not got flu.

Well it is possible to have a mild case of the flu and be perfectly capable of basic functions including going to the shops, or to be past the worst and to be vaguely functional. This is how it spreads.

But agreed, a bad cold isn’t the flu. And anyone who claims the flu or Covid are “just a bad cold” is a fool.

Zanatdy · 04/11/2023 08:26

It really winds me up when people with a cold / sore throat say they’ve got flu. Flu is a really serious illness, it essentially killed my dad by weakening his already damaged lungs. Having a cold and a stuffy nose is really not the same. I get a flu jab every day as I’ve got a chronic condition

RafaistheKingofClay · 04/11/2023 08:26

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 04/11/2023 08:17

It really is exhausting! It took well over a week to even feel normal again.

Show quote history

I gave an abiding memory of watching some absolute shite on TV because I couldn’t be arsed to summon the energy to move my arm to the remote to change channel. Which is ridiculous given being sick once was the extent of my symptoms.

jesshomeEd · 04/11/2023 08:28

IrresponsiblyCertainAboutSexualDimorphism · 04/11/2023 08:25

Well it is possible to have a mild case of the flu and be perfectly capable of basic functions including going to the shops, or to be past the worst and to be vaguely functional. This is how it spreads.

But agreed, a bad cold isn’t the flu. And anyone who claims the flu or Covid are “just a bad cold” is a fool.

Show quote history

It's not that a bad cold is the flu or covid - just that the symptoms of colds, flu and covid can all be mild, moderate or severe and it's pretty difficult to tell the difference without testing.

Syndulla · 04/11/2023 08:29

Not this old chestnut again.

Flu, like ALL viruses, can affect individuals differently. Some people will only have very mild symptoms. Some will have severe symptoms.

Some will have no symptoms whatsoever.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2646474/

You would think, after the Covid pandemic where we saw a wide range of presentations from a simple loss of smell to full blown pneumonia, that this myth of "you will know when it's flu" would have been put to bed by now.

Does Influenza Transmission Occur from Asymptomatic Infection or Prior to Symptom Onset?

A better understanding of transmission dynamics is essential in influenza pandemic planning. If a substantial proportion of transmissions were to occur during the presymptomatic phase or from asymptomatic individuals, then infection control measures su...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2646474

lolliesandblankets · 04/11/2023 08:29

This reply has been deleted

Hi all, unfortunately the OP is a previously banned troll so we've removed their threads and posts.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 04/11/2023 08:30

You need to go back for them to monitor your phosphate levels, as it can affect multiple body systems. It's something that can be incredibly serious if left unmonitored and untreated.

TrashedSofa · 04/11/2023 08:32

NotAnotherPylon · 04/11/2023 08:23

I think the problem is that the myth of 'real' flu versus a cold has been perpetuated for many, many years and has become stamped on our brains. I was guilty of it myself, thinking I had only had 'real' flu twice in my life because I was so ill I couldn't move. The first time I was a child and the second time I was in my forties. I started paying for the flu vaccine after the 'second' time. Then there was Covid and we all became well versed in how differently it affected different people. Some people didn't know they had it until they tested. And suddenly there was similar information circulating about the flu virus, information which had always existed, but wasn't in the public consciousness. It dawned on me that the two bouts of 'real' flu were not necessarily the only times I had it, but they were the times I remembered because it floored me. The flu is certainly not the cold, but it can be LIKE a cold, or it can be deadly and it can be everything in between.

You're absolutely right, it's stamped on people's brains. That's the level of the perpetuation. There are examples of it on this thread. There's been actual clinical evidence posted, people will painstakingly explain that it's nonsense that you don't have flu unless you're really ill, and then someone comes along and trots out the same nonsense about not lifting your head off the pillow.

I've wondered before if the reason so much of the explanation falls on deaf ears is that people don't like the idea they could have any asymptomatic or unnoticeably mild virus at any time, so could very well have infected others and caused them serious harm. Any one of us could've asymptomatically transmitted flu to someone and killed them, without having the faintest idea.

Original poster

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:32

@NeverDropYourMooncup yes they told me to go back today to collect some sachet things ? And then back on Tuesday for bloods.

OP posts:

RafaistheKingofClay · 04/11/2023 08:32

MN: covid is just like the flu
Also MN: unless you feel like you are dying and can’t function it’s not flu.

I have missed these annual threads during the fluless covid period.

Original poster

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:33

Tbf I didn’t mean for it to be like that
I was genuinely concerned that it flooded me at my age as I’m healthy and panicked slightly that I’m missing something !

OP posts:

IrresponsiblyCertainAboutSexualDimorphism · 04/11/2023 08:35

jesshomeEd · 04/11/2023 08:28

It's not that a bad cold is the flu or covid - just that the symptoms of colds, flu and covid can all be mild, moderate or severe and it's pretty difficult to tell the difference without testing.

Show quote history

Exactly.

In all cases it’s best to keep one’s virus - whatever it is - to oneself if at all possible. One person’s sniffle is another person’s week in hospital, and all that.

RafaistheKingofClay · 04/11/2023 08:35

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:33

Tbf I didn’t mean for it to be like that
I was genuinely concerned that it flooded me at my age as I’m healthy and panicked slightly that I’m missing something !

Sorry, I didn’t mean you OP. Flu can be severe at any age even if you are healthy. Don’t underestimate how nasty it can be. It’s by no means always a mild disease.

TrashedSofa · 04/11/2023 08:37

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:33

Tbf I didn’t mean for it to be like that
I was genuinely concerned that it flooded me at my age as I’m healthy and panicked slightly that I’m missing something !

It's totally understandable that you picked this idea up, it's very pervasive! I used to believe it myself. Hope you're fully recovered soon.

Finetoday · 04/11/2023 08:38

Lies on floor waiting for kettle to boil

IrresponsiblyCertainAboutSexualDimorphism · 04/11/2023 08:39

Bringbackdrifterbars · 04/11/2023 08:33

Tbf I didn’t mean for it to be like that
I was genuinely concerned that it flooded me at my age as I’m healthy and panicked slightly that I’m missing something !

I don’t think you should be too worried - viruses can floor anyone without there really being any underlying reason. And I too haven’t heard about this winter’s strain being particularly nasty, although it’s early season yet.

I hope you’re home very soon - and take it easy until you’re feeling properly better.