Flu Symptoms: When Should You Go to the Doctor?
Who hasn’t had flu symptoms before? Most of us have at one point in our lives. Although the flu is not generally considered an urgent matter, flu season can still be scary for many people. This article will help you decide when to go to the doctor and when it’s safe to wait out your flu symptoms at home so that you don’t waste any time or money unnecessarily.
The flu is a virus that spreads from person to person through coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include fever, chills, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. The flu can’t be treated with antibiotics because it’s a viral illness. In the very young and the very old, flu symptoms can sometimes lead to serious health complications like pneumonia or dehydration.
Most people will recover fully within two weeks without needing any medical attention. But if your symptoms are more severe, such as difficulty breathing and vomiting, you might need to see the doctor immediately.
1. If You Still Have Flu Symptoms After Two Weeks
If flu symptoms haven’t gone away in 14 days or if they worsen, this can be a sign of flu complications. If flu symptoms last longer than two weeks, you could also have bacterial pneumonia (more on that below) or another flu complication like bronchitis. Both require medical treatment.
If the flu isn’t going away, you will likely need to go to an urgent care center, where doctors can test for flu and other viruses and treat flu complications with antibiotics if required. You may also be given a steroid shot that can immediately lessen your body’s immune response to the virus so that it doesn’t cause as many complications. Fluids through an IV may be recommended, too.
2. If You Have These Flu Complications
If flu symptoms are accompanied by the flu complications below, you should see your doctor:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath: This is a sign of pneumonia caused by flu. Pneumonia requires immediate medical treatment with antibiotics.
A flu complication that can be treated at home is bronchitis, which you get if the flu virus irritates your bronchi (the tubes that carry air into your lungs). Bronchitis symptoms include fever, tightness in the chest, dry cough, fatigue, and sometimes even wheezing. If these flu symptoms persist for more than three weeks without abating in any way or if they worsen after two weeks in any respect (like becoming worse at coughing in the case of flu symptoms and bronchitis), you will likely need to see your doctor.
Severe vomiting or diarrhea: This is a flu complication called gastroenteritis that means flu has irritated your stomach and intestines. Dehydration can also be a flu complication that causes severe dry mouth, increased thirst, confusion, drowsiness, and finally reduced consciousness as it becomes more severe. If stomach flu symptoms don’t go away in a week, the doctor should see this flu complication because the ill person may need IV fluids to re-hydrate his body.
3. If You Have a Fever Above 102°
Fever occurs when the body’s temperature rises above the normal 98.6° F (37° C) to fight flu viruses. The flu typically lasts about two weeks, but it may be accompanied by flu symptoms such as fever for up to three weeks. If your fever continues after this time without breaking even once during that period, you will likely need treatment from your doctor. A flu complication that can lead to a high fever is called Rheumatic Fever, which comes with joint pain and swelling, carditis (inflammation of the heart), and rheumatological disorders like arthritis.
Try These Cold and Flu Remedies at Home: Drink plenty of fluids like water or chicken soup; rest; and get plenty of bed rest. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and smoking.
4. If You Have Prolonged Symptoms From Any Flu Complication
The flu complications mentioned above can cause flu symptoms to last longer than two weeks. But flu-like symptoms may also persist in some people for more than two weeks after returning home from the hospital, even if they don’t have any flu complications. This is called post-influenza fatigue syndrome (PIFS), which comes with fatigue that lasts longer than three months. It doesn’t necessarily mean flu has caused lasting health problems such as heart disease or diabetes. But it can be an indicator of things like depression when flu hijacks your immune system and makes you feel lousy when you should feel healthy.
Flu symptoms are flu-like illnesses that either influenza or other flu viruses can cause. If you have flu symptoms, go to an urgent care center immediately if they’re accompanied by the flu complications above. Otherwise, drink plenty of fluids and rest for a few days at home because flu usually lasts only two weeks in most cases.
