People Who Say They Have The Flu, When They Have A Cold

The BBQ Pit
1

:frowning: Ok, being sick SUCKS in a big way, no matter how you slice it.

But don’t go around saying you have “THE FLU” when you have a cold. It’s JUST not the same.

I’ve always said, “A cold is when you think you’re dying. A flu is when you wish you would, already.”

I’ve heard another quote (that I’m gonna get wrong but you’ll get the gist): “You’re sitting on the sofa, sick from work, and you see a $100 bill fall from the sky onto your frontyard. If you have a cold, you go get it. If you have the flu, you don’t give a shit.”

My last (and only memorable) flu was in October 1998. You see how that works? I remember the year. Not only that, I remember the MONTH. THAT is a flu. Coincidentally, I had ordered and received a new bed the first night it started. That bed cost a shitload of money. I woke up and felt like a Mack truck had hit me head on. I thought it was the bed and was about to return it to the store, until I realized: Oh shit, I’m REALLY sick. THAT is the flu.

Sniffles. Coughs. Feeling like shit. Sneezing. Blowing your nose til you’re raw. THAT is a cold.

Feeling like you’re dying, THAT is a flu.

I know it’s WAY more dramatic to tell people you have the flu; but you just look like a big baby if you’re still able to honour your concert tickets. Get over it. It’s a cold. Still sucks, but it’s a cold.

Just really pisses me off how often I’ve found the two interchangeable.

:smack:

PS: I’m sick as we speak, which is very audible in my voice. Friends and relatives tell me, “Well I hope you get over your flu real quick and feel better.” It’s NOT a flu. If it was, I wouldn’t give a shit if my phone was ringing, and I sure as shit wouldn’t answer it. If Ed McMahon was at my door with a bigger than life size cheque, and I had the flu, I’d tell him to come back NEXT week… This being said, I’ve got a runny nose Ed, but I’d be more than happy to open my door to you.

2

I know someone at work that just had a sore throat and the doctor told her she had the flu. Some kid had the flu, but only a sore throat and he died from it. Symptons are different for different people from what I hear.

3

In the same vein, I love people who mysteriously always get a “cold” every Spring or every Autumn. Uh, what you got there is an allergy, like hayfever - if it’s bad enough, it can lead to infected sinuses, a sore throat, and lung congestion, but it’s still not a “cold.”

4

I agree with the gist of your rant, but both of these examples are major hyperbole, at least in my experience. I had the flu (as in bona-fide verified by a test influenza) at the end of November, and while it was bad, I’ve had “colds” that were worse. At least with chills and a high temperature falling asleep isn’t a problem–I’d rather have had what I had then, say, a bad persistant cough. I had no problem driving to an urgent care center, getting an appointment pager, driving back, getting the prescription filled, etc. If I saw a $100 bill on the lawn, I sure as hell would have gone to get it.

5

i get colds due to drastic weather changes (usually when i travel) and amazingly enough those drastic changes happen most in spring and fall.

And i have allegies, so i know what they are.

6

I can’t say I felt like dying, but when I puked all over the bathroom a few years ago when I had the flu I sure didn’t feel great either.

7

Like others have said, I agree with the gist of your rant, but certainly not the content.

I get the flu at least once a year. Fever, chills, aches all over. It lasts from 4-7 days, and the secondary infections can last longer. I’d gladly pick up a $100 bill-if I ever left the house when I had the flu, and I wouldn’t have a problem doing so, either.

I get several colds during the year as well. Head stuffiness, bright red nose from sneezing and wiping, sinus infections Etc. Lasts about 2 weeks as well.

I also get Hayfever/allergies in just about every season except for Winter. Headaches, sneezing, wheezing, sinus infections, Etc. Sucks, but Benadryl is your friend.

Maybe the whole $100 bill analogy is for those of you out there who NEVER get the flu and when you DO get it are more likely to act like a corpse than some of the rest of us who get flus and colds more often?

Sam

8

OTOH, sometimes you have a bad cold, can’t get out of bed, phone in sick, and someone assumes because you said ‘cold’ you’re having a week off at their expense fully functional but sneezing every 45min.

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2 weeks ago or so, I had a really nasty case of that bronchitis. I know that bronchitis might be a common thing, but it’s the first time I ever got it and I was in a lot of pain and misery. And that was a type of cold.

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I should say more a result of a cold.
Carry on… I hope I never get the really bad strain of the flu.

11

Sorry, but a cold can be caused only by a rhinovirus. Drastic weather changes do not spontaneously produce viruses. Those weather changes may certainly be producing some effects on you, but unless you’re being exposed to a rhinovirus, carried by someone with whom you’ve come in contact, what you’ve got ain’t a cold.

12

Obviously the weather doesn’t make you sick directly, but I think it can have an effect on your immune system.

13

I love this “sicker than thou” shit. Like we should all carry around portable laboratories, so we can check and be absolutely sure whether it’s a cold or the flu or god knows what.

14

I’ve heard that the up and down day to day weather can create better conditions for viruses to BREED, though. Or do viruses breed?

At any rate, I don’t know if I’ve had the flu in a long time, but I can agree that it’s better just to tell the boss you have the flu rather than a nasty cold, because they’ll tell you to come in anyway-even if you’re puking or have a fever.

(Of course, then if you do come in, they send you home because you’re coughing all over the place and can’t get anything done!)

15

Sounds like you need to see your doctor every September or October and get a flu shot. I’m MUCH happier each winter since I’ve started doing that. Plus, some years ago, I got a pneumonia shot, as I used to get pneumonia several times a year. THOSE shots last for a decade or better. I know a lot of people are funny about not getting flu shots, but the side effects are so rare, and the benefits are so great, I don’t know why more people don’t get them EARLY in the year. It’s been a long time since I’ve had bronchitis, too. I’ll boost my immune system any way I can!

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I’m pretty sure I had the flu that time (5th October 2000 – I’m pretty sure that’s the date) that I couldn’t move - not even one metre to the computer to check my email in the middle of an election campaign. Thank gods the phone was in arm’s reach or I would have starved to death.

17

It really doesn’t make any difference when it comes to misplaced bragging rights, but knowing what you’ve got can make a big difference when it comes to treatment. Treating an allergy with cold remedies might help, but treating it with allergy remedies instead (like Benadryl) will help a whole lot more!

18

Anyone try to tough it out? Now bear with me. A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with the Flu that we in the US are familiar with. my wife cought it and she thought she would die. Me? Each day, I had a few beers and posted here (though I can’t offer sworn testimony to what was said). Illness is different for some, even when I get sick, I’m never really sick.

(Sorry to taunt)

19

Don’t know the difference.

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I am with Lynn on this one. As a health care employee, I get the flu shot as soon as it it offered. I was the first in line this year, and last year too.

I got a flu shot just before I left the Air Force in '88. That summer I visited family in Colorado. EVERY member of my extended family got the flu with the exception of myself and my one aunt who had also gotten the shot.

Gotten one when offered ever since, never had the flu since.