Up-to-Date Information from the Centers for Disease Control.
Printable Fact Sheets About Flu
- Flu Handout from the Student Health Center
- Flu Information from NC State University’s Emergency Information website
Causes of Flu
Various strains of the viruses Influenza A or Influenza B cause influenza (sometimes called flu). There can be more than one strain of flu virus circulating and causing illness at one time. “Flu season” runs from late fall into winter, but you might get the flu at any time of year.
Symptoms of Flu
If you have a fever above 100, a sore throat, cough, stuffy or runny nose, fatigue, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, you may have the flu.
How Flu Spreads
Flu spreads from person to person by direct contact with respiratory droplets. You might contract the flu from kissing or sharing a drink with someone, or by coming in contact with an infected person’s cough or sneeze. Coughing and sneezing send respiratory droplets into the air. The droplets can contact someone’s mouth or nose as near as ten feet away. Flu virus may survive on non-porous surfaces, such as plastic or metal, for up to 48 hours, and on porous surfaces, such as fabric or paper, for up to 12 hours. If you touch an object with flu droplets on it, and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes with your contaminated hands, you may get the flu.
Incubation Period
If you are exposed to the flu virus, you will usually develop symptoms within 7 days.
Contagious Period
If you have the flu, you can spread your infection to others one day before symptoms develop and for seven or more days after symptoms develop. You are most contagious when you have a fever.
Self-Isolation
The National Institutes of Health’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2009) recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after their temperatures drop below 100 degrees or they have no fever symptoms without the use of fever-reducing medication.
If You are Ill
If your symptoms are mild, you may wish to treat yourself. If you develop moderate to severe flu symptoms and you have certain medical conditions such as pregnancy, low immunity, diabetes, heart, lung, or kidney disease, you have an increased risk of complications from the flu, such as pneumonia. If you have any of the above medical conditions, or if you are unsure of your diagnosis, make an appointment at the Student Health Center online or by calling 919-515-7107.
Testing and Diagnosis
Student Health Center providers might not test you but diagnose you based on the CDC definition of “influenza-like illness.” However, we may also test you for flu. We offer a rapid flu test that can distinguish Influenza A from Influenza B. The rapid flu test may be positive when there is flu infection, but there is no guarantee that the rapid flu test will be positive even if a person has the flu. We may order specialized testing to determine the specific influenza strain for patients who are hospitalized or in certain other special situations. Remember that there are many illnesses with symptoms similar to influenza that are not influenza at all. For example, a common cold or allergies can cause nasal symptoms and cough. If you have questions about your symptoms or feel you need to be seen because of symptoms, contact your healthcare provider.
Treatment
Monitor temperature and treat fever and body aches with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Use over-the-counter throat lozenges, decongestants or cough products to manage upper-respiratory symptoms. Rest and get plenty of fluids. We can prescribe antibiotics for bacterial complications, such as pneumonia or ear infection. We will sometimes prescribe cough medication for severe coughs. The anti-viral medications Tamiflu and Relenza are effective against some cases of if you take them within 48 hours of the onset of your symptoms. However, we reserve anti-viral medication for those who are hospitalized or who are at higher risk for influenza complications. We recommend that patients with uncomplicated illness not be treated with anti-viral medications.
How to Keep from Spreading Flu if You Are Ill
The CDC recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after their temperatures drop below 100 degrees or they have no fever symptoms without the use of fever-reducing medication.
How to Notify Contacts
If we tell you to isolate yourself, contact instructors by phone or email and let them know you will miss class. Find out how to keep up with your lectures and assignments. If you have the flu, you may be too ill to study or be academically productive. Contact your employer and let him or her know you will miss work. Your medical provider can advise you who else may need to know about your illness, such as your significant other, roommate, lab partner or office mate.
How to Keep From Getting Flu
Stay away from sick people. Wash hands or use hand sanitizer frequently, especially after being out in public (handling grocery cart, menu, money, using ATM machine, touching doors).Do not share personal items, such as drinks. If you have had known contact with a confirmed or suspected case of influenza, and are considered a person in a high-risk group for influenza-related complications, contact your healthcare provider to consider whether prophylactic anti-viral medication is warranted. During flu season, monitor yourself for flu symptoms and exercise precautions to prevent flu, regardless of whether you know someone with flu. Discontinue usual socializing, including church, parties, and visiting friends. Cover your coughs and sneezes, and discard used tissues. Wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, and consider wearing a mask. Remember that friends don’t cough on friends. Decontaminate shared items such as remote controls, refrigerator handles, and doorknobs periodically, and do not share personal items, such as drinks. Common household cleaners, such as bleach-containing cleaners, Lysol, or other cleaners, such as alcohol-based, should be effective in preventing the spread of flu.
Flu Vaccine
Vaccine is the most effective way to prevent influenza. Flu vaccine is available as a shot or nasal spray. Adults need only a single dose of vaccine. The vaccine will be effective within two weeks. The Student Health Center still has a limited supply of nasal and injectable flu vaccine. We administer shots by appointment. We administer nasal vaccine without appointments at the Student Health Pharmacy during weekday business hours. The flu vaccine costs $35. Check with your insurance carrier to see if your policy covers flu vaccine. Until you are vaccinated, avoid sick people and wash your hands frequently.
