# Do you know anyone that died due to the flu? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2022, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347 "2022-02-12T04:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/41 "2022-02-15T05:11:23Z")
My cousin died of the flu 4 years ago. He was 47. He lived alone and was pretty overweight. It just got worse and worse and by that time he had no way of getting himself to the hospital. Died in his own bed. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/42 "2022-02-15T08:59:41Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why would she not want you to know a particularly vital piece of information? The siblings of one of my parents were apoplectic that a genetic issue was being discussed by our family. They wore concerned that if word got out, members of our generation would find it difficult or be less willing to get married and have children for fear of: 1. Passing the “gift” down another generation. 2. Suffering the disability that comes with it ourselves. They have denied, denied, denied to the grave. It’s just coincidence that \>50% of a large group of cousins all develop a rare condition in their 30s or 40s. Or it was shared environmental issues. Our generation was born and raised in four different continents! They wanted grandchildren damnit, and not the phony [adopted] kind. No talking about genetic abnormalities that might discourage people. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/43 "2022-02-15T17:58:00Z")
A couple of years before the pandemic my 1st cousin died from the flu. She was a healthy in shape 52 year old. She rapidly turned septic and collapsed a few days after starting to feel ill. She was dead the next day. No splitting hairs. The flu caused her death. She is the only one I know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/44 "2022-02-15T23:27:52Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why would she not want you to know a particularly vital piece of information? You could ask her but she died of cancer a couple of years later. She had a lot on her plate, that woman. I think she didn’t want us to worry about it. Too late. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/45 "2022-02-16T00:52:51Z")
In January of 2017, right after I had driven from Florida to Denver, Colorado, I was diagnosed with the flu. When I got up to try to open a box (we had just had literally just moved), I threw up. I was sweating profusely and shivering under the covers. My bones ached. My lower back was especially pained - my mom suggested (I don’t know if it’s true) that it was my kidneys. My wife finally ordered me to the doctor when my fever got to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why I can confirm that I indeed had influenza. That shit sucks. And I can definitely imagine it killing a person. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/46 "2022-02-16T02:05:33Z")
I don’t know anyone who died of influenza but I did have a first cousin die of Covid. Also, I’m old enough to have known 3 relatives who had Spanish flu (all survived). One was my maternal grandfather the other two were two great uncles who got sick on a troop ship returning to the US from WW1. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/47 "2022-02-17T00:15:47Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > That shit sucks. And I can definitely imagine it killing a person. Yeah, the last time I had the flu, it was terrible. And I thought: geez, no wonder grandpa died if it was anything like this one. Fingers crossed I never get it again because now I’m 10 years older. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/48 "2022-02-17T03:56:22Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > When people say COVID is “no worse than the flu,” I shudder. Why would anyone in their right mind risk getting the flu or anything like it? That’s my thinking as well. I’ve had honest-to-God influenza five times that I can think of where I was tested, etc… I was vaccinated for 3 out of those 5, and only in one did that seem to make it less severe. I got tamiflu for one, amantadine for another (it was 1986 or so while it was still effective). Helped a little but still miserable. And the ones without vaccination or any sort of treatment? Super miserable. Like NEVER want to do that again if I can help it. The body aches alone were horrible, and Tylenol or Advil just damped them down without getting rid of them. So I’m also baffled when people blow COVID off as “just another flu” like it’s not a big deal because most people are _likely_ to live through it. I keep thinking “Yeah, but getting the flu SUUUCKS. I’ll wear a mask to keep from catching something that is likely going to make me sicker than the flu, even if it doesn’t kill me.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/49 "2022-02-17T13:29:19Z")
What baffles me is that people equate masks with hard restrictions that are truly costly. Would i wear a mask to reduce my odds of catching flu? Absofuckinglutely. Do i think it’s worth shutting down schools and restaurants, and not letting customers into retail stores to reduce the risk of flu during a regular flu season? No. But people talk about mask mandates, and even guidelines encouraging masking, as if they are lobbying to sit down the economy ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/50 "2022-02-17T18:16:42Z")
I agree. I think that masks are a fantastic way to actually lower the transmission of disease, whether it’s COVID or influenza, especially if YOU are the person who suspects you may have it. I imagine that in the future when I get a cough, I’ll preemptively wear a mask, just like if I start noticing that people in my office are getting sick, or if I hear/read about it in the news. But the fact is that the flu is not very lethal, even to the unvaccinated, so there’s not really the need or urgency to mandate anything or shut anything down. COVID, on the other hand, is considerably more lethal. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/51 "2022-02-17T18:55:41Z")
I had the flu three times when I was much younger, and each time I _felt_ like I was going to die. I’m just embarrassed to admit it took three times before I became religiously consistent about getting my flu shot every year. Haven’t had the flu since. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/52 "2022-02-17T18:59:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So I’m also baffled when people blow COVID off as “just another flu” like it’s not a big deal because most people are _likely_ to live through it. I suspect that people who say that likely have never had a severe case of flu – when they think of “the flu,” they think of running a mild fever, being achy or stuffed up in the head, and staying home, under a blanket, for a couple of days, after which you’re fine. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/53 "2022-02-17T19:16:49Z")
Seriously. As I said above, I’ve more than once felt like I was going to die. DIE. These people don’t know what they’re messing with. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/54 "2022-02-17T19:28:59Z")
I had a hell of a flu in 2005 or so, and I truly felt like I was going to die. I remember lying in bed feeling like I was slowly passing out, inch by inch, and I wanted to get up and call 911, but I couldn’t move. I never want to feel that sick again, so I get my flu shot every year. Even so, I still got the flu three or four years ago, but it wasn’t nearly as horrible as that previous one. If this Covid plague were to magically vanish tomorrow, I think I’d still wear my mask in crowded indoor situations in the wintertime. Last year’s nonexistent flu season convinced me of that. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/55 "2022-02-18T03:06:41Z")
No, the vast majority of them think the flu is 24-48 hours of puking and/or diarrhea. Ask them and those will be the first 2 symptoms they all mention. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/56 "2022-02-18T15:04:34Z")
I don’t really hear the “stomach flu” being conflated with the “flu” all that often, if at all, these days. Typically, when somebody tells me they have the flu, it’s fever, body pains, and upper respiratory symptoms. I may or may not have had the flu once (my doctor thinks I have; I don’t as I don’t feel it was anywhere near bad enough – but these things exist on a continuum, I suppose; nobody took a swab in any case), but vomiting was not at all a symptom for me. Most people I know think the flu is a really bad cold, if anything. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/57 "2022-02-18T18:11:03Z")
Which is more than likely gastroenteritis, not the flu. The flu is basically a lot like a super-cold to me. Higher fever, chills, more congestion, worse body aches, worse fatigue, and so forth. I’m not even sure that GI issues are part of the typical symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/58 "2022-02-18T18:13:36Z")
Neighbor was 49 when he died from the flu. IIRC, the fact that he had had his spleen removed meant that delaying medical treatment was fatal. I know two people who died from pneumonia, but I don’t know what triggered the pneumonia. One was already in the hospital, after having surgery for a prolapsed uterus (late 70s), the other had recently beat breast cancer (40s). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/59 "2022-02-18T18:19:01Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Which is more than likely gastroenteritis, not the flu. > > The flu is basically a lot like a super-cold to me. Higher fever, chills, more congestion, worse body aches, worse fatigue, and so forth. I’m not even sure that GI issues are part of the typical symptoms. You’re correct, though “the stomach flu” is a common (if inaccurate) term that’s used, at least in the U.S., for the sort of symptoms that are more properly called gastoenteritis. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347/60 "2022-02-18T18:26:54Z")
Sure, but that usage totally muddies and confuses people. I’ve heard particularly clueless co-workers gripe that their flu shots didn’t get them from catching the stomach flu, and questioning the utility of the vaccine. And it probably makes people complacent against the flu in general, if they think it’s just getting the shits for a few days or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-that-died-due-to-the-flu/959347.md?page=4)