What are the symptoms of the flu bug going around?

[JohnKleeb]

I stayed home sick for unrelated reasons, but Ive discovered I am coughing pretty hard.

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. when you have the flu

You'll know it. My father had it a few years ago and I swear I was 15 minutes away from making funeral arrangements at times. He was in just awful pain.

The flu is more than just coughing. If you're coughing up stuff that's thick enough to spread over a bagel - then you might have the flu. :D

[JohnKleeb]

2. Thanks

It just starts out slowly I hear. I had my reasons for staying home, I feel like crap, and had cotton mouth again :(.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. stop smoking weed then

:D

[JohnKleeb]

5. I am a non pothead for sensible drug laws remember

:D

[rasputin1952]

4. If the pandemic influenza of 1918 returns...

Death is one of the more likely prognises.

You probably have a minor Upper Respiratory Infection. If phlegm is clear or yellowish.....ho-hum; it will pass.....

Green/brown/black...or with blood.....go to MD.

O8)

[JohnKleeb]

6. Oh great, death

:D

[LizW]

7. The difference between flu and other crud

is the aching. (In my experience, of course. YMMV.)

Flu is when your toes and fingernails and hair and everything else in your body hurts. Head and chest congestion and cough without fever and aching is not flu.

However, that doesn't mean a deep chest cough is not dangerous. You can have pneumonia and not really feel all that sick.

[Nadienne]

8. In November a year ago...

Three of my fellow co-workers had pneumonia. There are five of us office-staffers (well, four now... *sigh*) You'll notice that this was before the SARS outbreak.

Now, seems like everybody has a cold.

Superflu, anyone?

[Robb]

9. When the hair on your arms hurts

...that's the flu.

Grooooooaaaaaannnn..... Poor me.

[soothsayer]

10. When you have the flu, you feel deathly ill

Can hardly stand up, sweating and shivering, aching awfully much, fearing death but nearly wishing to die.

When you've got it, you know it!

[Palacsinta]

11. My dead father visited me when I had the flu...

He sat in a chair across the room.......said he wasn't here to come for me (this time!) and he wasn't, obviously. Man! Was I sick!!!! Cough, aches nausea, fever, chills. I kept thinking about a nice hospital bed and an IV. Anyway,when you have it you know it......also, you feel weak for about three weeks afterwards.

[NashVegas]

12. When I Had It

It started with a day of lethargy, then a day of annoyance in the lower nasal cavity, just above the uvula, and a low-grade fever. By day 3 I could barely speak, my throat hurt so much. The entire first week was pretty much like that, with some muscle achiness, low fever, and lots of coughing. At times, it felt like there was some dried crap in my lungs.

The 2nd week was off-and-on between sounding like crap but feeling okay, and sounding AND feeling wretched.

2nd-4th weeks included coughing up globs every morning, up to what seemed like a tablespoon or two.

4-7 weeks were filled with residual phlegming.

Self treatment in the first two weeks included lots of chicken soup & garlic, NyQuil, LOTS of sleep, aspirin & such to keep the fever down and a facial steamer to help keep things loose. The remainder I just let take its course.