Flu Symptoms

What is FLU?

Flu is also known as influenza. It is an infection and causes chills, fever, cough, headaches, body pains and some of the time sinus problems or earaches. Influenza virus is responsible for causing the flu. This is very small and you can not see it without a microscope.

Flu mostly cured in one or two weeks. But in some cases, people get very sick because of flu. Those groups of people include:

Healthy adults and kids get a shot of flu, so they have minimum chances of getting the flu. Flu vaccines are normally given before starting of season of flu. Flu season may be starts in ends of April or in start of November. In these months most of the people suffers from the flu. After getting the shot of flu, there are less chances of flu and if you get flu you will recover quickly.

You have to take this shot every year because every year flu virus changes and vaccine is formed on that basis to fight the virus.

Spreading of Flu:

This virus gets spread through the mouth of patient of flu such that through small drops out of mouth, nose at the time of sneeze, cough or even laugh. You also get infected when the drop of infected person gets on your hand and if you touch that drop through your mouth or nose. So you must cover your mouth at the time you sneeze.

Through the respiratory secretion, flu reaches from one person to another. It normally sweeps through the bunch of people who spend most of the time in close contact such as in college dormitories, school classrooms, military barracks, nursing homes and in the offices.

When you inhale the particles in the air which contains virus of flu, you get the flu. This makes direct contact with your respiratory system or you are affected with flu if you use the items which are used by infected person. The flu virus present on the skin affects you when you touch your face, nose or eyes. So systematic hand washing minimize the spreading of flu.

Types of flu viruses:

Viruses of the flu can be divided into three categories such as type A, type B and type C.

Type A: changes are dependable for major flu epidemic for the every few years.

Type B: this is a very rare type of flu virus and occurs in milder cases of the flu. Every 3 to 5 years, flu epidemics can occur with this type.

Type C: This type of virus only causes infection but not symptoms of the flu. Flu viruses of type A and B connected to development of Reye's syndrome and generally affects to the children and the youth below the age of 18.

Causes of the Flu:

The flu (influenza) viruses:

Flu viruses are divided into three categories named type A, B and C. Flu viruses of type A and type B causes respiratory illness which occurs mostly in winter and is linked with rising the rates of hospitalization and the death. Flu virus of type C is different from type A and type B. Type C causes only mild illness of respiratory but no symptoms at all.

These viruses changes continually over the time, normally by the mutation. Working of this process is as below: the host affected with flu virus creates antibodies against that virus. As the virus gets changed, the first antibody no longer identify new virus and again infection may occur. First antibody in some cases provides protection against that virus.

Type A can be divided into two parts based on viral surface proteins named hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are 16 H subtypes and 9 N subtypes. Protein subtypes occur in number of combinations. If the patient affects by the virus and immune system does not kill that virus then host cells get damaged.

Antigenic shift and drift:

Flu virus of type A is of two types. One is sequence of mutation that occurs over the time and known as antigenic "drift". The other type of change is rapid change in the neuraminidase proteins and/or hemagglutinin proteins called as antigenic "shift".

Flu Symptoms:

FLU usually starts abruptly and may include the following flu symptoms:

Flu symptoms may be mild or severe. Mild symptoms do not take a time to become sever. Always take care of your body and maintain the body temperature. Flu symptoms can come at any time so you should be ready with prevention and treatment options.

Diagnosis the Flu:

It is not a simple to identify the flu from the other type of infections only on the basis of flu symptoms. Examinations taken by the doctor are useful for tell whether flu is developed or any complications occur in the flu. You have to complete these tests within initial 2 or 3 days of the illness.

If you develop same as flu symptoms and worried about the illness, especially at the high risk for the complications of flu, you have to consult your health care provider.

Treatment of the Flu: Flu vaccine:

Many of the illness and the death caused because of flu viruses may be prohibited by the annual influenza vaccination. These vaccinations are made up from anactivated and attenuated viruses. Flu vaccines are suggested for those who are at the high risk and serious problems as a result of the infection of influenza. Groups of high risks includes those peoples whose ages are sixty five years or older than that and the people of any age having disease of lung, kidney, diabetes, forms of anemia or the immunosuppression.

Generally in case of flu, you take bed rest and plenty of fluids to minimize the flu.in some of the cases doctor gives medicines which are antiviral such as zanamivir (Relenza) or oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

For more information on flu symptoms follow below pages