Symptoms and Complications
Here's a quick guide to help you tell the flu from a bad cold:
 Symptom |
|
Cold |
|
Flu |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Fever |
|
Uncommon |
|
Characteristic, high (102-104º F or
38-41º C); lasts 3-4 days |
|
|
|
|
|
| Headache |
|
Uncommon |
|
Prominent |
|
|
|
|
|
General aches,
pains |
|
Slight |
|
Usual, often severe |
|
|
|
|
|
Fatigue,
weakness |
|
Quite mild |
|
Can last up to 2-3 weeks |
|
|
|
|
|
Extreme
exhaustion |
|
Never |
|
Early and prominent |
|
|
|
|
|
| Stuffy nose |
|
Common |
|
Sometimes |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sneezing |
|
Usual |
|
Sometimes |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sore throat |
|
Common |
|
Sometimes |
|
|
|
|
|
Chest discomfort,
cough |
|
Mild to moderate,
hacking cough |
|
Common, can become severe |
|
|
|
|
|
Left untreated, flu can last up to a month in a healthy person. The main complication is secondary bacterial infection of the airways. Yellow, green or brown sputum is the clearest sign of this. Sudden extreme soreness of the throat is another possible symptom. Children are prone to ear infections like otitis media.
Flu in nursing homes is dangerous because the residents usually have weak immune systems. This means that vaccination won't stimulate as much antibody production as in healthy people. People with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can get closed airways due to inflammation. People with angina can develop congestive heart failure. The risk of secondary bacterial infections like pneumonia is far higher.
In American studies, influenza hospitalization rates for children under 5 were second only to the rate in the over-65s. School-aged children have the highest attack rates of all both during and between epidemics, and are particularly likely to be infected early in the season. Households with school-aged children have infection rates 30% above the norm.