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True influenza is divided into influenza A and influenza B, caused by separate viruses. Flu A is the more common and is the one associated with fatalities. They say the influenza A pandemic following WW1 killed more people than did the war. What made that flu special was that the viral surface antigens - the surface molecules that our immune system recognizes, underwent a major shift, so that nobody's immune system had seen that variation of the virus, and so pretty much everyone was susceptible. And soldiers going home after the war took the virus with them, so there was rapid spread. Nowadays, the avian flu viruses we see every year do not represent such a wholesale shift from previous versions, so most of us have seen something close to what is going around, and we don't get as sick. H1N1 is very new and comes to us from pigs, not birds, and apparently none of us have immunity. Fortunately, we aren't seeing the levels of mortality from H1N1 than were first seen in Mexico, when the first cases emerged.
The influenza viruses are respiratory viruses that cause whole-body symptoms. But respiratory symptoms are always present - cough, sore throat, runny nose. Typically, the fever is 103-104F or so, and there are what we call myalgias - muscle aches, which can occur anywhere in the body. Influenza B is known for more severe muscle aches than is influenza A, but the illness itself is not as severe.
Duration of influenza A illness is usually about 4 to 5 days, and then you can feel run down for another few days. Those with pre-existing respiratory disorders, like asthma, have a more severe course and can require hospitalization. Others are particular risk are the aged and very young, and those with chronic medical conditions. Gastrointestinal symptoms typically only occur in those with sensitive stomachs. My son, for example, vomits whenever he gets any fever, so he would vomit with influenza. What we call the stomach flu, gastroenteritis, is different, as you point out. This is caused by enteroviruses, which affect the tissue of the GI tract.
How do you distinguish influenza from a really bad cold? Typically, with a cold, you only get a fever on the first day, and then the nasal symptoms last a week. With influenza, you're still getting fevers on day 3, sometimes day 4. With a bad cold, you might feel run down and blah, but the muscle aches of influenza are easy to recognize, once you've had them.
Getting sick a week after the flu shot is probably not the flu shot. Typically, we're getting flu shots during the cold and flu season, when lots of different viruses are going around, so you're more likely to get sick that time of year, anyway.
posted by 96.61.4...
, Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:14:23
, Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:07:32, Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:15:56, Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:47:57
, Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:10:10
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