What is flu?
Flu is a highly infectious disease and symptoms usually appear very quickly. It causes fever, chills, headache, aches and pains in the joints and muscles, and extreme tiredness. Healthy individuals usually recover within two to seven days, but it has the potential to be very serious, in some cases leading to people requiring admission to hospital, permanent disability and even fatality.
Flu symptoms come on very quickly and can include:
- sudden high temperature
- aching body
- feeling tired or exhausted
- a dry cough
- a sore throat
- a headache
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea or tummy pain
- difficulty sleeping
- feeling sick and being sick
The symptoms are similar for children, but they can also get pain in their ear and appear less active. For clear guidance on how long to keep your child off school if they are ill with flu or other infections, you can download our free poster.
What causes flu?
Influenza viruses affecting your respiratory system cause flu, and unlike bacterial infections, viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics. In some cases, however, antibiotics are prescribed if there are additional opportunist bacteria that cause complications and need treating.
What to do if you suspect you have flu?
There is no need to visit your GP if you are suffering from flu as there is nothing they can do to help you fight it. However, if you develop complications or are seriously worried please phone the surgery and get additional medical advice.
Treatment
The key advice to recover as quickly as possible is:
- Rest and sleep
- Keep warm
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen to treat aches and pains as well as lower your temperature. Read our detailed advice on how to treat a fever safely at home.
- Drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration (urine should be pale yellow or clear)
- Don’t sweat out a fever – allow fresh air to circulate, but avoid a draft. Wear loose cotton clothing and if you have a raised temperature don’t add additional blankets or clothes, but help the body cool down.
- Pharmacists can give treatment advice and recommend flu remedies that can help you to feel better.
There is no need to visit your GP if you are suffering from flu as there is nothing they can do to help you fight it. However, if you develop complications or are seriously worried please phone the surgery and get additional medical advice.
When you are caring for someone who has flu, it is important to take appropriate precautions to avoid being infected yourself. If you regularly look after an older relative or someone with ongoing health needs, our first aid for carers course establish if something is seriously wrong and give immediate first aid.
Recognising when something is seriously wrong:
Flu is a nasty virus and can make you feel incredibly unwell. It is often difficult to decide when you should phone your GP or 111 for medical advice, or when they are seriously ill and you need an ambulance. Remeber to tell the medical team that you are calling about someone with flu, as it is a contagious disease.
You should phone an ambulance if they:
- Struggle to breathe, they are extremely wheezy, taking a lot of effort to breathe, sucking in their tummy, using their shoulders, or needing to tripod – sitting forward to try and get their breath.
- Begin to develop blue lips or become cyanosed or the extremities of their fingers look blue.
- Haven’t passed urine for 12 hours.
- Are unable to drink fluids and have become seriously dehydrated.
- Have an underlying health condition which makes them more vulnerable and they are feeling extremely unwell and struggling to breathe.
- Develop an extremely high temperature that you cannot bring down, or they are really hot, but unable to sweat.
- Have a seizure or rigor (shivering and feeling really cold when they have a high temperature).
- Show signs of meningitis or Sepsis.
- Develop chest pain
- Start coughing up blood
- Becomes extremely confused or unresponsive
How do you catch flu and can I avoid it?
Flu virus is spread liberally in tiny droplets of saliva released when someone infected with the virus coughs or sneezes. These droplets can then be inhaled by others or people are infected by touching surfaces where the droplets have landed. The virus can survive on surfaces for many hours.
Although, the best way to protect yourself against flu is by having a flu vaccination before flu season commences there are additional steps you can take to reduce your chances of getting flu.
In order to prevent the spread of the virus ensure that you cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Avoid touching your face in a public environment such as a bus or train, use hand gels to reduce the risk of picking up the virus while out and wash your hands regularly.
Hand hygiene
As well as getting vaccinated, hand hygiene can play a large role in keeping us well.
In fact, this is the number one way to prevent the spread of infection. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA estimates in excess of one million deaths caused by infection and disease directly attributable to insufficient hand washing.
Handy habits
Use soap and water and wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. Hot water is optional, and research shows it makes no difference whether you wash with a normal soap or an antibacterial one. It is the friction from soaping up and washing off the suds under running water that is important for eradicating germs.
Wash between the fingers and around the thumbs.
Dry thoroughly
Damp hands attract germs. Make sure yours are dry. Opt for paper towels over communal cloth towels that can continue to harbour germs. An air dryer is the most hygienic option.
Protect your hands
Avoid cuts on your hands. Open cuts are a breeding ground for germs, but so is dry cracked skin. Look after your hands so they maintain a protective barrier against bugs.
Protect yourself
Use a paper towel to turn the tap on and off or to touch the door handle –health workers use this shortcut in hospitals to cut germ risk. If you are in a hospital or health environment – the long tap handles enable you to turn the taps on and off with your elbows!
Repeat, repeat, repeat
Repeat the hand washing every time you use the loo, touch your face, travel on public transport or before you eat.
Sanitiser saviour
If washing facilities aren’t available, use hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol content. Carry a bottle at all times.
Avoid touching
Eyes, nose and mouth and three key access points for germs so keep your hands away from your face. A contaminated surface alone won’t give you the flu. The virus needs to pass a mucous membrane in order to do that. It is usually us putting our contaminated hands near our mouth or nose that then transmits the infection.
Trains, planes and automobiles
After travelling on public transport – wash your hands. Door handles, revolving doors, escalator handrails, push-front bins, arm rests in waiting areas – all carry lots of bugs. These bugs can remain active for many hours.
Germ hot spots to actively avoid
Magazines in doctors or dentists waiting areas, the communal pens on the chemist counters for signing prescriptions, ATM keypads, buttons on pedestrian crossings and lifts. Escalator rails, poles on tube trains and buses – wear gloves if possible, or use your hand sanitiser after touching these communal areas.
You can also download our free ebook, 6 vital first aid skills every family should know to feel more confident dealing with other everyday emergencies at home.
About us
Written by Emma Hammett for First Aid for Life
It is strongly advised that you attend a fully regulated Practical or Online First Aid course to understand what to do in a medical emergency. Please visit First Aid For Life or call 0208 675 4036 for more information about our courses.
First Aid for Life is a multi-award-winning, fully regulated first aid training provider. Our trainers are highly experienced medical, health and emergency services professionals who will tailor the training to your needs. Courses for groups or individuals at our venue or yours.
First Aid for life provides this information for guidance and it is not in any way a substitute for medical advice. First Aid for Life is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made, or actions taken based on this information.
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