People saying they’ve never had flu?

[Cumbrianlassie]

I find this incredibly strange. I’ve had flu several times in my life and I’m 36, I mean the ‘proper’ flu - body aches, fever, skin pain, headache, cough, no appetite, fatigue for several weeks and weakness.

I had it in January, as did my DS and DP.
Havent had this new strain yet but feels inevitable!

Are some people just immune?

Vaguely remember having it as a kid but not since. I rarely get colds and when I do I tend to not get the symptoms as bad as others - e.g. years ago my flatmate was off for the whole week, feeling wretched on the sofa. I caught it and felt a bit rough for three days but worked throughout.

I can only remember two days in my life where I've had a day off from bring ill, and it was more the lack of sleep

I’m late 40’s and I think I had it once in my early 20’s. Couldn’t get out of bed for a few days, Felt the worst I’ve ever felt, so assume it was flu.

Never had a flu jab either.

Get the vaccine - from memory about £25 in. Boots.

I don’t think I’ve ever had fly, and Covid only once. Lasted about 36 hours, no worse than a cold.

Both DSs have been felled by some kind of flu type virus, but I’ve never been so ill that I couldn’t have gone into the garden to grab some money flying around, what I’ve heard is the definition of being ill with flu.

I had it at 18, was in bed for a week 3 weeks into uni. My lecturers thought I was a pisstaker but I was absolutely flattened. Never had it since though!

I haven’t had a cold for 3 years now. Have an auto immune condition with the side effect of it beating every minor illness it comes near.

I think you must be bomb proof after such a long teaching career. Long time TA here who looks after the poorly children and I think I’m Teflon 😂 (I do have the flu jab too)

Never had flu, never had a throat or chest infection, never had norovirus. Got covid once and it was symptomless. I get colds but they tend to fizzle out after a few days.

I think the only illness that has had me bedridden as an adult was a serious gum infection caused by impacted wisdom teeth.

I am a farm kid - got the constitution of a rhino.

40 here and I've never knowingly had it. Bad colds, yes, COVID, yes, but never ill for more than 4-5 days at the very most, and only ever had a temperature with COVID. Never been bed bound with anything other than norovirus and tonsillitis.

I think I was 27 or 28 when I got it. Then I got it twice in one year. Haven't had it since.

I know a few people who say they have never ever had flu,but then again I know a few who seem to have it several times a year! They just don't know the difference between a bad cold and the flu.

Definitely haven’t had it, bad colds but nothing that I was unable to get out of bed with, in my late forties.

I have Influenza A right now. I feel mildly under the weather with sore sinuses and a v low fever. With paracetamol, I feel fine.

I've also had confirmed flu with no symptoms at all (took part in a trial).

But I've been on MN long enough to know that 99% of people persist in believing that flu is a special virus that only presents one way. In reality, many people will have had flu that was extremely mild or asymptomatic. It affects everybody differently.

Nobody will read this and the myth will persist.

I'm the same. Never had the flu, have never had antibiotics, never had a stomach bug, only had 2 or 3 mild colds in my life. I've never had the flu jab. Ive had covid twice and was asymptomatic both times.
No idea why.

Had it once when I was a teenager. Totally flattened me for about 10 days. I remember the infection somehow went to my ears so I ended up stone deaf for a while, and the other weirdness was it screwed up my sense of taste. Everything tasted "wrong" chocolate in particular tasted horrible. I read later that that was caused by the body losing zinc. Funny the things you learn! I can still recall the odd tastes now - the only thing I wanted that tasted normal were strawberry ice lollies!

I literally haven't had so much as a cold since getting the covid jabs. It is odd.

Im 43 never had flu, never had a flu jab. My husband and son never had it either. Unless it was super mild we don't think we have ever had covid either.
Maybe some are lucky my nan died at 98 never had flu either and refused the jab every year too as she hated needles .

Not had flu. The one time I thought i did have it, I was so poorly I ended up with an overnight stay in hospital on a drip. They tested me for flu and covid and i was negative for both.

I’ve had flu vaccines for as long as I can remember which might examples why I’ve never had it. I can’t remember when my vaccinations started but more than 20 years ago. Had nasty colds, pneumonia, tonsillitis a lot, but definitely not flu (thankfully).

I've never had flu. But I have also paid for, or had through work or on the NHS, the flu vaccine every year since I was 16.

I've had some bad viruses in my time, (worse than a common cold.) Whether they were flu or something else I don't know though. There's not really a test for flu like there is for covid as far as I'm aware.

I did look up the difference between a cold and flu recently... apparently flu symptoms come on very fast, where as the cold builds up more gradually.

A cold can be worse than the flu, even in a healthy adult.

When I had what we think was flu... I was fine Christmas eve, then out of it on Christmas day. I Iost about a week. And at the time, the fact it was flu never occurred to me as I wasn't capable of thinking straight.

How can you tell the difference?

Im nearly 60 never had flu, had covid twice and wouldnt have known unless l tested postive( worked in a care home in pandemic and tested daily). I actually cant member the last time l was properly sick, maybe noro 10 years ago? And l have the most unhealthy lifestyle ever, drink, smoke and overweight...

The only time I had flu, I didn’t have chest or nose symptoms, but I had an awful temperature and couldn’t stay awake long. I was bed bound for 5 days.

(Though perhaps people have different symptoms.Plenty also call a cold flu.