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tjoff · 2020-03-16 07:23:32

Agree, but that is not the takeaway people will take.

"See, told you, just a bad flu." would be the expected response.

7777fps | karma 741 | avg karma 6.33 · | 2020-03-09 17:10:25+00:00

Also a lot of people saying "It's just a flu" have clearly never actually had flu, they've had bad colds which they assume are the flu.

The flu deadly, and this is worse.

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reaperducer | karma 32854 | avg karma 3.56 · | 2020-03-11 17:36:34

For the most part, the only place I've seen people saying "this is just the flu" is on the internet, and especially in tech-heavy circles.

The only mass media where I've seen that was in a BBC television report from a soccer stadium, and that was only last night.

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lostlogin | karma 16171 | avg karma 1.72 · | 2020-06-09 01:24:03+00:00

>I think the public is simply unaware of how bad the "regular" flu can be.

It seems that everyone says they have the flu when they become unwell, until they actually get the flu. The difference is quite clear when you get it.

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jgwil2 | karma 2820 | avg karma 2.49 · | 2020-03-12 21:19:13+00:00

I really don't think I should be having to make this comment, but it's not the flu. You know it's not the flu, we all know it's not the flu. Please stop trolling.

tamaharbor | karma 550 | avg karma 0.5 · | 2020-05-28 23:53:06

For some reason, people get mad when you say, “It’s the flu”.

Djvacto | karma 495 | avg karma 2.78 · | 2019-01-07 17:41:09+00:00

Looking at his comment, he said 'Terrible illness' which implies something more severe than just the flu.

jghn | karma 4899 | avg karma 2.43 · | 2023-01-07 15:17:50

My favorite is "I caught the 24 hour flu". No, sorry, you had some stomach bug.

waynecochran | karma 2623 | avg karma 2.24 · | 2020-02-29 21:35:29

Statistically it is still far more likely that they had the flu. I think it is dangerous to overstate the problem because then when it really does become an issue it will be dismissed because of all the previous folks "crying wolf."

jboggan | karma 4818 | avg karma 6.04 · | 2017-02-28 05:49:50+00:00

Nasty flu this time of year, or so I've heard.

yourenotsmart | karma 307 | avg karma 3.45 · | 2021-07-24 06:35:03

> I think a serious person should be equally reluctant to join the "it's just a flu" camp either.

The long-term effects of flu are not studied that well, by the way. On the basis we're used to it from before such studies were possible.

None of those symptoms we hear about, getting our breath, unable to smell, brain fog etc., none of them are new. And they imply internal damage that lasts.

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sp332 | karma 55607 | avg karma 2.75 · | 2024-03-17 05:01:41

People do have bad reactions to the flu. I think it's time to stop downplaying those cases, but the Guardian thinks we should downplay everything.

dragonwriter | karma 118260 | avg karma 2.17 · | 2021-01-04 02:37:41+00:00

The most likely explanation for a pretty bad “flu” near the usual peak of flu season is that you don't need quotes around “flu”.

gnicholas | karma 26310 | avg karma 2.91 · | 2024-03-02 18:12:38

> In reality, most people have never even had the flu. They often mistake a severe common cold for the flu.

Really? My understanding is that high fever and body aches are the distinguishing factors between flu and other illnesses, and I distinctly remember having the flu a few times (including when I had it a few years ago and was given a test to confirm). I'd be very surprised if fewer than 50% of the population had ever had the flu.

I would agree that people sometimes use the word "flu" to refer to things that are not actually the flu, but I doubt that there are that many people out there who have been around for ~4 decades but never got the flu.

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