# Has Anybody Had The Flu Yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089 "2004-11-29T04:06:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/1 "2004-11-29T04:06:58Z")
This season, that is. I haven’t heard much about it. Along with most others, I haven’t had a Flu shot, but my work is getting some FluMist nasal spray vaccine for us in a couple of weeks. Since Friday I’ve had body aches, a major cough and chest congestion, fever, and some very minor head congestion (not much different than my ever-present allergy symptoms). I’m wondering if I have the flu, which would be weird because it’s not that bad at all. When I think Flu, I think death’s door, I think ‘can’t get out of bed’, misery. Do I just have a little cold, or do I have the Flu? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/2 "2004-11-29T07:04:53Z")
The reason that nobody is getting sick while there was a convenient “flu vaccine shortage” is that the US government engineered the shortage with the purpose of testing the effectiveness of their mass inoculation programme (Blackop Designation: SLIP MICKEY). The special aerosol flu vaccine has been delivered nationwide as an emittant in aircraft contrails. SERIOUSLY… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/3 "2004-11-29T07:22:26Z")
It nearly killed me mum a couple of weeks ago, and when I went over to take care of her, it me pretty hard, too. A couple of days of vomiting/dry heaves, and a few days of fever, aches, nausea, and not being able to be upright for more than a few minutes at a time. It ran its course in about six days, for me. Stuck with my mum for over a week-and-a-half. (She’s sixty-three.) ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/4 "2004-11-29T15:29:01Z")
I am not sure. A few weeks ago I had a sudden onset of symptoms, fever over 102, body aches, chills, etc. All the signs. Except I got over it in about 2-3 days, which supposedly does not happen with the flu, so either I got a minor case or a bad cold or something, but the high fever makes me think ‘flu.’ If it was the flu it wasn’t that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ninja\_Pizza\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f04885/32.png) [@Ninja\_Pizza\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ninja_Pizza_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/5 "2004-11-29T20:29:38Z")
Nope. Pretty much stopped getting the flu when I stopped getting flu shots. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/6 "2004-11-29T20:53:21Z")
I had something, but I don’t know if it was the flu. Stuffy, scratchy throat that got better but turned into a cough. Then I had a hard time breathing for a really long time. None of this was enough to keep me home, but I felt kind crappy for a while. The whole thing lasted about 6 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/7 "2004-11-29T23:01:25Z")
I had it a week ago. I wasn’t showing much in the way of symptoms except all I wanted to do from about Sunday to Tuesday was sleep. Would you believe I was trying to doze off during choir practice! :eek: I went to work on Tuesday, but I realized I was weak, feverish, and nauseous and had no business being there, so about 10:00 I gave up and went home. The nausea continued, and I got hit by chills as well. Things sorted themselves out that afternoon, and by Wednesday morning, I was feeling downright perky. However, I’ve now got a scratchy throat and some congestion, which I’m putting down to the cold that was going around the office. I’ve never bothered with a flu shot, but I’ve had some nasty bouts with it during the past few years which have led me to consider getting one. Not this year, though! CJ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-had-the-flu-yet/277089/8 "2004-11-29T23:15:13Z")
Ok, I’ll save \*\*Quadop \*\*from posting it again: if you aren’t sure, if you “think you might”, if you felt crummy for three days, you most definitely did not have influenza. The classic influenza test: If someone left an open suitcase of $100 bills outside your bedroom window, would you go outside and get them? If so, you don’t have influenza. It makes you feel that bad. [Here’s](http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease.htm) the signs and symptoms of influenza. Note that they last for one to two weeks, not a few days. Vomiting, nausea and dry heaves are not symptoms of influenza, despite what we called “the flu” as children.