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?

Never had it and lucky enough never to have been bedridden by an illness. Touches wood

I think the issue is that people say “you cannot get out of bed with the flu”, etc.

Whilst it’s awful and you certainly wouldn’t want to get out of bed if you had any choice, but you usually can. I’ve had flu several times and just had to get on with it, despite feeling like death.

I’ve never had it (43)…well discounting COVID in the height of the pandemic, that was bad enough a d I wasn’t even massively unwell. I’ve occasionally had the flu jag but not regularly and I haven’t for a few years.
My poor DP is currently struck down with it and I’m ok (hope I’ve not jinxed myself) and looking after him.
i think I have a pretty good immune system, I get the occasional sniffle but nothing seems to progress into anything too bad.

😂

I was born in the 1960s and, apart from colds, I've had no illnrsses since chicken pox when i was in single figures. I cant be unique

56 and never had it, despite all my family having it at some point, including recently. I don't know how I've avoided it given repeated close contact, including nursing DC with it. I tend to get achey joints and a bit of a headache when I'm around flu, which could be how it effects me, but just as likely to be psychosomatic tbh.

I’ve had Covid twice but never had the flu. My youngest daughter has had flu but my eldest hasn’t.

You've all almost certainly been infected, and just been asymptomatic or mildly ill. Nearly 1 in 5 are infected each year according to this study, which measured antibodies before and after the flu season and monitored for symptoms, but most didn't report illness.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/h1n1-2009-pandemic-influenza/uk-flu-study-many-are-infected-few-are-sick

I suspect some people must fight it off much more easily than others, sadly I'm not one of them. I've had what I strongly suspect is flu several times in my life and it always floors me - high fever, zero appetite and can't get out of bed for the first few days, and usually 2-3 weeks before I'm fully well again. Always have the jab now!

You can buy tests for flu A & B

I've been bed ridden one time in my life with a virus. That was about 25 years ago. I presume that was the flu.

Touch wood, but I appear to have a grade A immune system. Any time I can feel a cold coming on it just seems to bounce off me in a couple of days with minimal symptoms.

But isn’t that a new thing? People who said they had it 20/30 years ago, how do they know?

I'm 60. I'm pretty confident I've never had flu. It's not that unusual. Lots of people have bad colds and think they've got flu, tbh.

40, never had it. Only had flu jab once.

I'm 50 and have never been ill with flu either.

I think what really talking about here is the severity of illness rather than the technicalities of which virus we’ve had, because really, how do we know without testing?

So I’m going to change my answer to ‘I’ve never been significantly unwell with a cold or flu like virus”.

Doesn’t change my view on why or the fact that my Mum and grandparents could have said the same even though they lived through many 20th century flu epidemics including the one in 1918.

42 and have never had the flu. I never had covid either.

51 had it once at 32. Omg it was bad. I genuinely could not care for my baby and had to give her to a family member for a few days. Wiped out for weeks after it.

Im 60. Never had proper full blown flu or Covid.
I am a bit prone to bronchitis though and have had a couple of very rough episodes

The way flu is described and how I have seen other people with it, no I dont think I have ever had it. I am 52.

I dont tend to get much in the way of colds either but I have do seem to have a weakness when it comes to tonisilitis. Any sore throat inevitably ends with really bad tonsilitis.

I think if you’ve had proper flu you certainly know about it! It’s not like a heavy cold.

I’ve had flu had it bad twice, I have had ‘flu like’ viruses. DH had never had flu till last year where he was floored for 3 weeks with it.

41 and have never had what you describe. I’ve had the body aches, fever, skin pale, cold sweats, cough and sickness for a few days but no, I’ve never had anything for more than 2 days.
However I do have Parkinson’s. I’ll happily swap you 1/2 bouts of flu per year for this hell.

Going back to flu though, I’ve always sworn that me being a heavy milk drinker has helped my good immune system. I drink 4 pints a day and have done for the last 25 years. I never got covid and the last time I was ill with any cold or flu symptoms was 2017

I’ve had bad colds and I’ve had covid; I’ve never had flu. Touch wood! I’m 47.

i have been pretty lucky, mind. Covid is the only named illness I’ve had since I was about 9 (I had them all as a kid, including mumps and whooping cough) and I have even avoided vomiting bugs (touch wood!) since my teens.

Lots of people say they have flu when they mean they’ve got a cold. Similar to the way people say they have a migraine when they mean a headache.

I’ve never had flu for ‘several weeks’ but I have had flu. I’m sure I get it after every festival I go to. Usually lasts a week.

50 and never had flu. Also never had vaccination as don’t qualify. i do get coughs and colds etc as much as the next person.
This year seems higher than usual but think you’re fairly unlucky to have had actual real flu (as opposed to bad cold) as often as you have