The non-alarmist guide to the flu

Flu season is here and it’s horrible. Jennifer Cain at Kicker has written a No-Nonsense, Non-Alarmist, Essential Guide to the Flu. The sections on how to tell the flu from other illnesses and what to do to avoid the flu are especially helpful.

There are four big telltale signs that can help you distinguish among a cold, a flu, norovirus and whooping cough:

#1. Fever equals flu. You might get a slight temperature from a cold, but if you’re really heating up, it’s probably the flu.

#2. Colds are mild and long lasting. Colds usually start with a sore throat, then progress to symptoms like a runny nose and congestion, followed by a cough that won’t go away. And they don’t usually cause fevers. Sometimes it can take up to 3 weeks to get rid of a cold entirely. The flu, though, tends to come on quickly all at once and be more intense, but it doesn’t linger. If you’re running a fever and your body aches and you can’t get out of bed and don’t feel like eating anything, it’s flu time.

• influenza
• Jennifer Cain
• medicine