Influenza, sometimes also called “real” flu or viral flu, describes a disease that can be caused by certain groups of viruses. It is a very contagious disease that should not be confused with other viral diseases, which usually cause a normal cold. Influenza usually occurs in the cold seasons of the year, whereby especially elderly people and children, as well as people with an immune deficiency or previous illnesses are at risk from the disease. In recent years, there have been repeated mutations of the viruses, which have become known as “swine flu” or “bird flu“, among others. There is a vaccine against most relevant types of influenza viruses, which is the only prophylactic protection against the disease available and is usually paid for by public and private health insurance companies.
Symptoms
An illness with influenza viruses can have symptoms of varying severity. This depends especially on how the immune system of the sick person copes with the virus. People with a weak immune system, such as children, the elderly and people who have a weak immune system due to medication or illness, are particularly affected by severe symptoms of influenza.
However, even people who were completely healthy before the disease and have a healthy immune system can suffer greatly from the symptoms of influenza. All in all, weak courses of the disease can occur up to severe impairments of the body. Difficult for the diagnosis of the disease is that the symptoms of an illness with an influenza virus are very unspecific.
This means that an illness with such a virus cannot always be recognized as such immediately. However, there are some warning signs that, if interpreted correctly, give an indication of the presence of a real influenza. For example, an acute, sudden onset of illness is typical for an illness with the virus.
The disease and the symptoms associated with it can appear within a few hours. A usually longer course compared to a “normal cold” and thus a longer period of time in which the symptoms of the disease are noticeable, is another indication that the disease is a “real flu“, which was caused by an influenza virus. The relatively unspecific symptoms, which are usually felt during the course of the disease, are characterized by high fever (up to 40°C), an associated chill, headache and aching limbs, fatigue, tiredness and a general feeling of illness.
The symptoms are usually so severe that a normal daily rhythm has to be interrupted by them and most of the time the disease has to be rested. Other typical symptoms affecting the respiratory tract are swelling of the nasal mucous membranes and a dry cough. Symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract include a pronounced loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and the occurrence of severe diarrhea.
In most cases, the symptoms of influenza persist for 7-14 days before they subside. Since all of the above symptoms can also occur with a normal cold, it is not surprising that they are often called “flu-like infections”. However, by having a diagnosis performed by the treating physician, a “real flu” can be distinguished relatively reliably from a “flu-like infection”, i.e. a cold.
