How Long Does the Flu Last in Adults and Children ?
If you think you have influenza the first question you’ll want an answer for is how long does the flu last for whether it be swine flu, stomach flu and if it is different in children or adults ?
We have covered articles such as common cold remedies and relief and information about the swine flu incubation period but just how long does the flu last once you have caught the virus ? Let’s start to look at the following:
What is the flu ?
The flu or influenza is a virus people catch from others via airborne particles or from touching something that already has the virus because someone else has sneezed and once you have it on your hands and touch your mouth you’ll likely pick it up. It’s a respiratory illness that’s most common in the winter months because of the dry air and spreads through the body’s respiratory tract.
A common cold is less severe although the symptoms can often feel the same. The flu will keep you bedridden for a few days and you’ll likely not want to eat or do much at all. The main difference people notice is that with the flu you’ll also have a high temperature (so if you don’t have this then you’ll likely have a cold – but if you are in any doubt then speak with your doctor).
Other symptoms include fatigue, sore throat, chills and shivering and they come on suddenly as the incubation period once you have contracted the virus can be as little as 2 days.
Stomach flu is a common term but not a medical term and it is often used to describe gastroenteritis which is common with food poisoning and you will likely get nausea (a feeling of wanting to be sick) as well as abdominal cramps.
Preventing the flu
You may not be able to completely prevent having the flu and some groups of people such as young children and the elderly are more likely to contract it as their immune systems are not as strong as healthy adults and perhaps their environment leads to being more likely to contract it.
Washing your hands often with soap and water before touching your mouth is the best prevention and some people also have a vaccination each year which increases immunity to the flu virus.
What happens when I have the flu ?
You’ll of course have all the symptoms mentioned above including the high fever – just ensure you don’t have the common cold as the symptoms are similar but flu makes you feel a lot worse.
If you really have the flu it’s best to tell others so they don’t become infected as well and make sure your personal hygiene routine is improved for yourself and others, especially if there are children or elderly relatives in your family as flu is highly contagious.
In children there are 2 types – type a and type b flu viruses and are more likely to spread in classrooms as they generally share pencils and toys which they will put into their mouths. The symptoms are more severe with very high temperatures and it will come on very quickly once they have caught the virus.
For anyone in high risk groups all government advisers suggest getting the annual flu vaccine.
Treating Flu
There are some anti-viral drugs which may be able to help reduce the length of the symptoms by a couple of days if they are taken within 48 hours of getting the virus in the first place. Over the counter medicines will not reduce the length of time you have the flu but may just make you feel a little better.
If you think you have the flu then speak with your doctor but generally all you can do is go to bed and get as much rest as you can and drink plenty of water.
Just how long does flu last ?
So getting to the question on how long does flu last it can be from around 4 days to 10 days in total depending on how you rest and recover. If you still are active and/ or continue to work it will continue for longer although it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do much at all in the first few days. Rest until you have fully recovered.
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My 12 year old son is on his 6th day of the flu.
This is day 5 of the flu for me, and I still feel very bad. I haven’t felt this badly since I got mono over 15 years ago!
This is by far the worst I have ever felt and so far it has been going on for 5 days.
I originally caught the flu which developed into a sinus infection. When this happens, the infected person has another added disease to fight off, and it prolongs sickness. I have been in bed now for five days.
I’m a otherwise healthy 28 year old female, and I’m on day number 11 of the flu and no improvement is forseeable for day 12
I have been ill with the flu for 3 weeks now, its just like cold symptoms now but then it was i i couldnt get out of bed, i spent 5 days in bed and was being sick too. The doctor says ive just got to let it pass so we will see what happens. Getting fed up of it now though and especially over christmas
hope this helps, im 18 and its lasting a longggg timeeee. Also doctors suspected it being swine flu.
i am on my 11th day of flu and still i am suffering sickness, no appetite, tiredness, headaches and aches and pains, it seems to be lasting forever
I’m almost over my flu and it’s the 3rd day since symptoms started. When i had swine it took a little over a week (it was horrible)
Been ill for past eight days. I’m forty one.
I am 45yrs old and have never experienced anything like this ‘flu’ before….I’m on day 8 now and still feel extremely tired, achy and totally off food, my head still feels a little woozy and my ribs ache with all the coughing!! The shivering and sweating have finally gone…but I have to say its certainly made me feel really poorly
(
I got the flu and couldn’t do any thing on the second day:(
My 5 yr old got the flu and was pretty much better by day 7. Her father and I caught it from her, and we are on day 7 and still feeling sick, though a fair bit better than in the first 4 days.
I’m 38 and am on day 6 of the flu.
Adult Mid 50′s, Asthma sufferer, now in 7th day of flu but is starting to notice that i now feel a little better.
I am 18 years old, and I have had the flu for almost 5 days now. the last three days I’ve been in bed or at least in the house. Should I be better by this week or will the flu last longer for me?
I am 13 years old an I’m on 3rd day , not nice at all:(
I’m on my 8th day…all I have now is a nasty cough and feel rundown.
My 6 1/2 yr old daughter is on day 5 today. Important Note: She has gotten the vaccine every year since she was old enough, we all have but she got sick this year with strain B. It started on a Saturday morning very suddenly with a high fever and a cough, she’d went to bed the night before w/o any symptoms. So today is day 5 as I said, fever is not running as high as it was, usually in the 99 to 100.something range. Not having to treat it as aggresively w/ ibuprofen as before. Cough still there, stuffy snotty nose might be a bit better but still there. She mostly hangs out on the couch laying around, playing Nintendo DS or Wii, she gets up and walks around some but not like her normal. A trip outside to walk around the house and swing on the swing set (yesterday & today) seems to wear her out. I’m surprised the “tiredness” is lasting this long, it usually takes a lot to keep her down she loves to skip and jump and those type of girly things, not this week.
I am on my 5th day and still feel like I am going to die. I thought I had the flu in the past but now I know I only had a cold and this is what the flu feels like. Make sure you get the flu shot. It is worth it.
I am 54 and am just getting over the flu. Temperatures mainly run 101 ti 102 and fluctuate alot. Headache, not eating much, muscles hurt, and very tired all the time. After 6 days I finally lost the temp and am on a slow mend.
I’m 18 and I’m on day 11 of the flu. This sickness is absolutely awful. I thought I was out of the woods, and then I began to feel nauseated and ultimately ended up vomiting after about 4 hours of increasingly intense nausea. I tried to go back to school after being out for an entire week, but I couldn’t handle it. I can’t move; I can’t eat; I can’t do anything. When will this end???
I am on day 6 of the flu. Influenza B was confimed on Friday, and some anit-flu meds started. They make me dizzy. But I do feel better overall, body aches are gone, but still tired and chest is tight. Only 4 more days max right?
Last Saturday I was headed to the gym (I work out every day) but decided that I was feeling off so I stayed home. I haven’t left the house since and it is now Sunday of the following week. I did see the doctor on Friday (it took all I had). He gave me antibiotics and suggested a chest x-ray. I no longer have chills, and haven’t had fever in days, but my head feels like it wants to burst open. Headache pills are not helping at all. I never get sick. This is awful!
Today is my 5th day, and it’s terrible. I am glad I read the previous comments because I was starting to panic about being sick for this long. I don’t believe I have ever been this sick before–at least in the last 15 years, and I am 23. I used Afrin yesterday just for some ‘termporary’ relief, and it made my nose worse! Do not use Afrin–it will make you feel like you are inhaling through your nose underwater and it will give you a sore throat.
I wish I went to the doctor the first day I was sick and got antivirals. I really regret that.
day 4, my fever finally broke last night, but my energy level is very low. Like Leanne said – I agree-I haven’t felt as bad since having mono in 1980! the doc said i could go back to work 24 hours after no fever but don’t know if I will have the energy!
I’m 13 yrs old. Started with a fever for 3 days, dizziness, headaches, tiredness. Now on Day 6, feels like a bad cold with coughing and tiredness. Thought I would be better by now.
I am on day 8 now. Being treated for a sinus infection, but I think it’s mostly the flu. Started out Day 1 I felt a chest cold coming on, Day 2 I felt sick to my stomach, then the next day, good…. Day 4 I had a crazy runny nose and couldn’t stop sneezing.. Day 5 I began the aches/shakes, I couldn’t get warm even in bed. Day 7 I went to the Dr. and he prescribed sinus medication. It’s a strong drug, makes my mouth taste awful, and like I said, not sure if they’re helping or not…. I too am tired of this, I have no energy, and I so want to get back to my 54 healthy self….
My daughter is 6 she has been sick for 6 days.high fever coughing,runny nose,just has been in bed,not eating,but i have been pushing fluids as much as she can take,My poor girl
I am 32 and tested positive for Influenza A. I am on day 6 and for the past 3 days I have been somewhat better, (like can get up and do dishes) but am wiped out pretty easily. I keep thinking I am getting better, but every morning I wake up nauseous and with a terrible headache. I have to keep up with ibuprophen or else the headache will linger and I still have an elevated/low temp. The first few days were TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have the flu for the second time in 3 months….this time i took tamaflu on the onset since I knew what it was I was coming down with…going on day 15….feel alittle better as long as i dont do anything and just sit….still achy from time to time…legs feel tingly off and on…chills….taking lots of vitamins….this isnt fun.
i am on day day 16 of the flu…legs have been tingling and feet cold..like i have restless leg ..i feel better if i just sit and dont do a thing ….once i get up to do something even small…i get all rubbery sickly feeling….my dr. says it could take 3 to 4 weeks to be completely better….and i have done nothing but stay in the house for the most part this is the second time in 3 months i got the flu and i got a flu shot…….
I am 37 and on day 5. Every night so far, body aches and fever. Today I had a fever of 100 with painful chest congestion, aches, and coughing. I haven’t felt this sick in at least 15 years. Both of my kids missed a week of school each with this last month. I tried to go back to work yesterday and could barely talk to people because it took too much energy….now back to bed again.
I am on day six of the flu. Type A was confirmed, possibly H1N1, at the doctor’s office. I’ve never been this ill. Terrible muscle and joint paint, sore throat, coughing and congestion. Fever: 101.4. I did not take the tamiflu because I was worried about the side effects, but now I wish I had tried it. Very hard to sleep, but so tired. Can’t eat, difficult to even drink. It’s so awful.
I am 45 yrs. old and I have had the flu for 7 days now with no promicing end in sight. I just hang onto “maybe tommorrow things will be better.”
We took our 4 year old son to the ER 10 days ago for a 104.7 degree fever. Two days later, found out it was the flu. We got him the antiviral prescription and Children’s Advil. He had extremely high fevers (103-104 range) from Saturday until Thursday. Advil wasn’t much help; had to use cool washcloths, make him drink cool water, and put him in a lukewarm tub at one point. No fever between Thursday night and Monday morning. He seemed much better over the weekend; wanted to play with his toys, wrestle with Daddy, etc. but we still kept him in the house (he hasn’t been outside since we took him to the ER 10 days ago). I thought he was well enough to go to preschool today, he even said he wanted to. Two hours after I dropped him off, his teacher called and said he was very lethargic, had his head on the desk, didn’t want to play, said his stomach hurt, etc. so I went to pick him up. When I got there, he was crying and the teacher was holding him because he said he didn’t feel good. I brought him home and he is now laying on the couch watching TV/dozing in and out of sleep. He’s lost a bit of weight since he doesn’t want to eat much. I tried to get him to each some lunch, but he kept crying that he wasn’t hungry so I just let him be. I REALLLLY wish this darn virus would go far far away and never come back….