• A high fever (often reaching >39 degrees Celsius) with chills. The fever is highest in children and least marked in the elderly (see below).
• Dry cough
• Sweating
• Muscle aches & pains (the "I've been run over by a bus" feeling)
• Malaise (a general feeling of being unwell)
• Fatigue (wanting to sleep all day)
• Nasal congestion (maybe)
• Sore throat (maybe)

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These symptoms can occur abruptly. It's sometimes possible to pinpoint the exact hour of the day that symptoms began!

Symptoms usually last 3 - 4 days, though the cough often lingers.

The traditional symptoms - such as a high fever - are not as prominent in the elderly. The doctor may detect an increased pulse rate in an older person, even if they do not have a high fever.

In children, vomiting and diarrhoea often occur in flu, but these symptoms are infrequent in adults. Gastroenteritis with a fever which is sometimes labelled "gastric flu" is not caused by influenza but may well be caused by a gastroenteritis virus.

See the differences of flu and colds at a glance in our (chart: Do you have a cold or flu?)

Reviewed (2006) by Dr Jane Yeats MBChB, BSc(Med)(Hons)Biochem, FCPathSA(Virology).

Read more:
Do I have the flu?
Flu and your child
Consulting your doctor

 

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