Important Questions: How Long Does The Flu Last?
Seasonal flu, which is medically referred to as influenza, is a highly infectious illness. It is spread through the flu virus. Affecting the upper airways and the lungs, it manifests itself by a sudden increase in bodily temperature and a feeling of pain and aching throughout the entire body. But how long does the flu last, and who is most at risk from it?
Those experiencing symptoms can expect then to last for anything from twenty four hours up to a seven or even a ten day period. Depending on the length of infection and the severity of the strain of flu that they have caught, sufferers can start to feel better within five days.
So how long do people remain infectious? The period of time you are infectious does not necessarily correlate to the time frame in which the symptoms are felt. A person can spread the virus a day before any symptoms are felt, whilst the virus can still be present a few days after symptoms have ended.
This is the case with a healthy adult of child bearing age. However for groups such as the young or elderly, infection can last longer and be more severe.
It is the young, the elderly and those with preexisting respiratory conditions that are most vulnerable. However, it is not so much that they are more vulnerable to infection, but more with the severity of the symptoms.
In such vulnerable groups, there is a risk that further complications may arise, resulting in serious chest infections which can in turn result in more serious illnesses and even death.
The flu virus can spread alarmingly quickly through the populous, as it is passed through the transfer of saliva, or simply through close bodily contact, no matter how brief. A handshake can be all it takes for example.
In essence then, one of the most often asked questions across the world, “How long does the flu last”, cannot succinctly be answered. But to do everybody around you a favor, be hygienic and only come into contact with those people that it is vital for you to.
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