You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms: Fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, chills, fatigue, sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.
Most people with the flu have a mild illness and do not need medical care. If you get sick with flu symptoms, in most cases, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care. If, however, you have symptoms of flu and are in a high risk group, or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider.
The CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or other necessities. Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol® or Ibuprofen. You should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings; avoid others as much as possible to keep from infecting them. If you must leave home, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and wash your hands often to keep from spreading flu to others.
If you did not get a flu shot, it’s late, but it is not too late according to health experts. While thousands have been ill with the flu, the influenza season is just reaching its peak. The CDC recommends the flu shot for everyone over the age of 6 months – infants and older people should especially be inoculated, according to the agency. After receiving the vaccine, your body can take up to two weeks to build up defenses against the flu virus.