Parker A. Small, Jr., M.D. & Bradley S. Bender, M.D., University of Florida
Flu shots keep many people from getting very sick from the flu. They are especially recommended for people over age 65 and people who have heart, lung or kidney diseases or diabetes.
If you do get the flu, here are some tips for getting well.
Rest. In your busy world you may laugh at this common advice from doctors. However, do rest as often and as much as possible. Moving around makes you need to breathe more often. This causes two things to happen: (1) deep breathing may "suck" the flu virus down the throat into the lungs; and (2) deep breathing cools down the lining of the breathing or respiratory tract and helps the flu virus multiply, for it grows best on the lining of your wind pipes if they are cooled down.
Stay in a warm place. This is different from putting on a sweater to "stay warm." Again, this has to do with keeping the virus out of the lungs by keeping the temperature of the respiratory tract as high as possible. The only death in the famous 1976 Swine Flu outbreak at Fort Dix, New Jersey occurred in a soldier who was on a difficult march on a very cold night. He likely "sucked" the virus down into his lungs while his respiratory tract was cooled to below the normal body temperature (98.6 degrees F, 37 degrees C).
Drink lots of fluids. Keeping the lining of your respiratory tract of your throat wet helps you swallow the mucous your lungs produce (about a cup a day), and this mucous flow helps protect the lungs.
Take an aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol) for pain, but not for a low-grade fever. A fever actually helps the body fight infection. Of course, high fevers (over 102 degrees F or fevers in children who are known to have convulsions) should be treated with acetaminophen. If you are worried about when to give a child medication for a fever, a quick call to your doctor's office for advice can put your mind at ease. Because of the risk of a rare disease called Reye's syndrome, children should not take aspirin except on the advice of a physician.
Some doctors recommend cough medicine that decreases coughing (bottles marked "DM"), especially for help in getting to sleep at night. Cold medicines help many people, and most have similar ingredients so you don't need to buy the most expensive brand.
It may take 1-2 weeks or even longer to completely recover from the flu. You should start feeling better in 3-5 days. Call your doctor if you are not getting better; get very sick such as having breathing problems or your cough produces yellow/green thick sputum (this could be pneumonia), or are concerned about how you are responding. Although antibiotics won't help a simple flu, they do help cure bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotics are not over-the-counter drugs and require a medical prescription.
Your doctor can also give you a prescription for amantadine, rimantadine, or zanamivir. When these are taken within the first 48 hours of getting ill, it can help people get back on their feet faster.