Influenza: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Influenza is an infectious disease caused by viruses. We’ll explain how you can tell the flu from a cold and what helps.

What’s the flu?

Influenza is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by viruses. Although the terms “flu” and “cold” are often used synonymously in the vernacular, they are not the same clinical picture: the “real” flu is much more severe than a simple cold and can cause, among other things, high fever and chills, and later complications are also possible. In most cases, the symptoms of influenza are treated rather than the flu itself.

Flu or cold?

It is actually quite easy to determine whether a cold or a flu is present on the basis of the symptoms:

• Flu: Starts suddenly and with a high fever of at least 38.5 degrees, which usually lasts for more than three days. Affected people experience a strong feeling of illness, the flu is often associated with nausea, vomiting and chills. Patients are usually not fit again until after more than two weeks.
• Cold: In the case of a flu-like infection, the symptoms begin insidiously and often “only” cause a short-term increase in body temperature, one feels tired and weak, but rarely seriously ill. There is no chills or gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, after a few days you usually feel much better.

Typical symptoms of influenza

These flu symptoms can occur:

• High fever from 38.5 degrees
• Strong feeling of illness
• Chills
• Nausea / vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Lassitude
• Headache
• Limb pain
• Dry irritable cough, sometimes coughing with sputum (bloody)
• Sniffles / nose congested
• Sore throat
• Light sensitivity
• Conjunctivitis
• Pharyngitis

Children can also suffer from earache or middle ear infection, and infants suffer more frequently from croup cough. It is also important to know that the influenza viruses do not cause typical symptoms of influenza in all patients. For example, those who only suffer from severe fatigue may be more likely to blame this on their stressful everyday life. The fever often lasts for up to a week. If the illness is generally over, those affected usually feel weak for another week or two and suffer from circulatory problems, for example.

Why you should never carry the flu?

In addition, if you do not recover sufficiently, you can carry the flu away – which can lead to serious complications such as heart or meningitis. But there are also general risk groups where complications are more likely:

• People with weakened immune systems
• Old people
• Pregnant women
• Children
• People with chronic diseases, for example asthma

The immune system is generally weakened during a viral infection – and thus more susceptible to additional colonization of bacteria. In this case we speak of a so-called superinfection. It becomes noticeable, for example, by a sudden rise in fever and renewed fatigue. The following complications can result from the bacterial infestation:

• Sinusitis
• Pneumonia
• Heart inflammation
• Middle ear infection
• Meningitis

Treatment: What helps against the real flu?

There are drugs that can block the reproduction of the viruses, which reduces the duration of the flu. However, these only work if they are taken quickly, namely in the first two days after the symptoms start. They are also not effective against all viruses and can lead to side effects. If there is a superinfection, antibiotics are used. Otherwise, influenza is primarily treated on the basis of the symptoms. Besides pain and fever-reducing medication, household remedies are also useful. These include:

• Inhale: Inhalation helps against coughs and colds – for example with camomile or peppermint.
• Calf compresses: Calf compresses are a popular household remedy for lowering fever. A damp cloth is wrapped around the calves and a dry cloth is placed over them. This creates evaporative cooling, which cools the whole body.
• Drink a lot: As we also sweat a lot when we have a fever and thus lose moisture, we must drink a lot of fluids. Water and herbal teas, such as camomile, sage or peppermint tea, are best.
• Chicken soup: Granny’s classic for all kinds of infections is chicken soup. It provides us with liquid and salts, so-called electrolytes, which the body needs. Chicken soup also has an antibacterial effect.

How can I prevent the flu?

A good, though not complete protection against the flu is provided by vaccination – which is best done in autumn. The recommended quadruple vaccine against different virus strains is now paid for by health insurance companies and considerably reduces the risk of infection. Apart from the vaccination, the classic measures that can also be used to prevent colds apply:

• Wash your hands frequently
• Regularly disinfect surfaces such as door handles, telephones etc.
• Avoid crowds
• Avoid the sick if possible
• Ventilate regularly to keep the room air moist – this makes it harder for viruses to settle

The summer flu

Although influenza tends to occur during the cold season, some people also suffer from at least one form of the disease during the summer months: The so-called summer flu is usually less severe because it is not caused by influenza viruses but by enteroviruses. In general, the symptoms of summer flu are more similar to those of a normal cold.