Influenza

The flu is different than having the common cold. When someone gets the flu, it usually happens really fast and it usually lasts for almost a week.

The flu can cause a person to have respiratory problems such as trouble breathing, coughing, sneezing, fever and more.

Symptoms of the Flu

People that have the flu oftentimes have respiratory problems which means that they have problems with air going in or going out of the body.

Air travels from the nose and the mouth down to the lungs.

When someone has the flu, they might get congested, have a stuffy nose or have trouble breathing.

When the virus goes in to the body, it can damage the cells in the respiratory area and cause these symptoms to happen. A sore throat and a cough can also happen with the flu.

Other symptoms that happen oftentimes with the flu are fevers, chills, achy muscles, and being tired.

What Causes the Flu?

Flu is defined as a person who has a sore throat or a cough and must have a fever in order for it to be the flu.

The flu virus or the influenza virus is a respiratory illness that is caused by the virus and it affects the throat, lungs and the nose.

The flu causes many people to end up in the hospital and many people die from the flu.

Spreading the Flu

The flu gets spread by being close to someone that has the flu. If their nose is running, they sneeze, cough or any of the germs enter your nose, throat or eyes, the flu will spread.

Touching something that someone with the flu has touched and they have not washed their hands can cause the flu to spread. This is how flu spreads from person to person.

One important thing to note is that a person with the flu will not even show symptoms for at least a day before they get the flu. People that have weak immune systems can catch the flu easily.

Flu Prevention

Preventing the flu is very important to keep you and your family safe. In order to prevent the flu from affect you, it is important to get a flu vaccine each year.

With the flu vaccine, a small bit of the flu virus is injected into the body and the body learns to fight off this germ.

Washing hands and using hand sanitizer can help prevent the germ from spreading.

It is important to cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze and more important, stay home if you are sick.

Facts About the Flu

• Young children who get the flu are more at risk of dying from the virus.
• The flu can spread quickly to other people.
• A virus is a small, nonliving particle that goes inside the body’s cells and reproduces.
• Viruses can reproduce and they have DNA.
• All viruses have a protective coat made of protein and they have a genetic core that is in the middle of the virus.
• The outer coat of the virus helps the virus to lock on to cells.
• The flu is considered an active virus because an active virus continually affects the body.

What Did You Learn?

• Is the flu a virus or a bacterium? The flu is a virus.
• What part of the body does the flu virus affect? The flu virus affects the respiratory system.
• What is the respiratory system? The respiratory system is the nose, the lungs and the throat. Where the air goes in and out of the body is part of the respiratory system.
• Can the flu virus spread? The flu virus can spread and can spread quickly.
• What are two things that must be present for someone to have the flu? Someone must have either a sore throat or a cough and a fever in order to be diagnosed with the flu.

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