The word "flu"

[plain jane]

I'm realizing that "flu" means different things to different people so I'm curious how the Hive weighs in on this.

 

When YOU say the word "flu" do you mean Influenza or stomach virus (gastroenteritis)?

What about when you hear someone say that they have the "flu"- do you assume they mean Influenza or stomach virus?

 

I've had several people tell me there is a nasty "flu" going around. I assume Influenza but I'm starting to think others think it means stomach virus.

[Pawz4me]

To me it means influenza. But I know a LOT of people don't really understand what it means and incorrectly use it to refer to a stomach bug or any respiratory thing that seems worse than a normal cold.

[SunnyDays]

It means influenza to me. It kind of irritates me when people use it for other things. I had influenza a few years back, and upon hearing that, a family member asked, have you been throwing up a lot? Sigh...

[nmoira]

I mean influenza, but I hear stomach virus (absent other clues).

[BlueTaelon]

Flu means influenza, stomach flu is living in the bath room.

[Jayne J]

Around here, gastroenteritis is generally called stomach flu, and chills, fever, aches (so possibly Influenza, or maybe any of a number of other illnesses) is called flu.

[Mommyof4ks]

I mean influenza, and stomach issues are a stomach bug. Many people just say they have the flu no matter what illness they have. Most people don't care it seems. It does make it hard to know wheni would not mind being around sick people. A cold, fine, but most anything else, not really.

[HomeschoolMamaOfTwo]

When I say flu I mean influenza - fever, chills, achy, worse than a cold, etc. A stomach thing, I call "stomach virus" so I never equate that with the flu but in reading stuff I am thinking some people do use the word flu in that sense as well. Very confusing!

[Forget-Me-Not]

#1 and #7

[mytwomonkeys]

if i hear someone say it, or if i am referring to it, i assume it is influenza. i call the stomach flu a stomach bug. i call colds, well.. colds.

[catz]

I say stomach bug for stomach issues. After having influenza for the first time, I knew solidly what that was all about.

 

3 out of 4 of us have the REAL FLU here. We're on day 5 of fevers, hacking, sore throat, lethargy. SO OLD! I have had it worse, but ugh, over the holidays.

 

ETA - I admit, I get a little annoyed when someone calls a stomach bug the flu. Stomach bugs around here are rarely longer than 2 days, don't involve scary, unrelenting fevers, etc.

[QueenCat]

I mean influenza if I say flu.... unless I put the word "stomach" in front of it. Influenza is a specific diagnosis, not just anything worse than a cold. There are many strains of it but it is not just being super sick. At least not technically......

[Lacie]

I use the word flu for influenza. But I grew up with people who would say "stomach flu", they never just used the word flu for a stomach issue.

[jenangelcat]

I mean influenza but I assume others means stomach virus.

[Sameera]

Stomach bug is stomach flu, but flu or influenza is neither a stomach bug or a cold.

 

To make things more complicated, see this:

 

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/coldsandflu/Pages/Isitacoldorflu.aspx

 

I think, most of us who have multiple symptoms like fever, chills, headaches, exhaustion, nasal congestion, vomiting or diarrhea, coughing (like whooping cough), sore throats, etc are going through a bout of flu.

[windmillmarie]

 

 

ETA - I admit, I get a little annoyed when someone calls a stomach bug the flu. Stomach bugs around here are rarely longer than 2 days, don't involve scary, unrelenting fevers, etc.

 

 

Huge pet peeve of mine because it's usually accompanied by some assumption that getting the flu shot will prevent you from catching a gastro type stomach bug. I do say stomach flu at times, but I have been trying not to because soooo many people around me think flu=throwing up and diarrhea.

[Kathryn]

To me it's influenza, but I know that most people use it to mean anytime they have a cold with a fever kind of symptoms.

[MiniBlondes]

I always mean influenza when I say it. I had real influenza once, and I swore that I'd never misuse the term again. A cold is a cold. The flu is the FLU.

 

Whenever someone else uses it, I always ask for clarification. It's surprising how many people use the term 'flu' as a blanket for any illness they have.

[goldberry]

I use "flu" to refer only to influenza, and "stomach bug" to refer to the, uh, stomach bug!

 

It reminds me, though, of people who use "migraine" to refer to "a bad headache". I hate that and always look at them funny.

[Guest]

When I say "the flu," I mean influenza or something that is most likely influenza - high fever, chills, pain, severe illness for a week or more, with or without cold symptoms and digestive symptoms.

 

I am aware, though, that a lot of people use "the flu" casually and may actually have food poisoning, a severe head cold or they may actually have influenza.

 

ETA: Now that I'm reading the replies, I have to laugh, because I also don't misuse this term now because I did have the actual flu a few years ago on Easter. I was SO unbearably sick for such a long time! I don't think I've ever (in adulthood) had a high fever for more than five days before. I dragged myself to the doctor and he said I had the flu. This is why I don't use that term casually any more!

[GailV]

When I say "flu" I mean influenza.

 

I have no clue whatsoever what other people mean. Basis comments on symptoms, some seem to mean a stomach bug, and others a really bad cold. I've noticed that lately fewer people use "flu" for something that just involves digestive upset and no other symptoms.

[sassenach]

I think many people have no idea that the flu isn't a stomach virus. Or that the flu shot doesn't prevent a stomach virus. Or that antibiotics don't help with the flu....

[Spy Car]

I had a little bird,

It's name was Enza,

I opened up the window,

And in flew Enza.

 

Bill

[SquirrellyMama]

I mean influenza when I say flu. Like others, I have also had influenza and know the difference. When I see people posting on FB that say they have the flu I wonder how they can even move to type. When I had the FLU I laid on the floor wanting to die. I will sometimes say stomach flu (meaning vomiting for hours on end) but I try to mainly use the term stomach bug instead.

[PrairieSong]

My dad is a retired family practice MD, and always said that when someone would tell him, "I have the flu," it told him nothing other than the fact that they were sick. He would have to get more information through questioning them and doing an exam to find out what they meant by "flu".

[Rose in BC]

I have had the real flu "influenza" twice. Two years in a row when I had a very compromised immune system.

 

Once you've had influenza, you never mix it up with just being extra sick.

 

I was bed ridden for two weeks and in one of the instances I contracted post influenza myalgia ..which meant my joints were inflamed, I could barely walk or use my hands.

 

That was the flu. :)

[Melissa in Australia]

I say flue for influenza like symptoms.

clod for a head cold,

wog or gastro for a tummy bug

[Jen in PA]

The last time I had influenza I was 6 months pregnant, most of those months involving horrible nausea and dizziness, and I had an active toddler. It was miserable, I was in pain and terribly weak. Since then I have been seriously annoyed when I hear anyone with a bad cold or a tummy bug claim they have the flu. I also think it confuses people who think that flu shots are ineffective every time they get gastroenteritis.

[Word Nerd]

I know the difference and have had the flu, but I think most people use the term loosely and it doesn't bother me. Influenza can also include vomiting and nausea, BTW. I don't expect others to say gastroenteritis instead of stomach flu.

[Woodhaven]

Around here, gastroenteritis is generally called stomach flu, and chills, fever, aches (so possibly Influenza, or maybe any of a number of other illnesses) is called flu.

 

I'm getting old, but this is how I grew up hearing it used. I never thought of it as referring to a mild illness, but something violent, horrible, and something very much to be taken seriously.

 

It doesn't bother me to hear others use it differently, or to not be referring only to influenza when sing the word "flu".

[Guest]

I had a little bird,

It's name was Enza,

I opened up the window,

And in flew Enza.

 

Bill

 

 

My 9th grade biology teacher used to say this. He also had a dehydrated tree frog he used to put on the overhead projector. He was very zany.

[AndyJoy]

I always mean influenza when I say it. I had real influenza once, and I swore that I'd never misuse the term again. A cold is a cold. The flu is the FLU.

 

Whenever someone else uses it, I always ask for clarification. It's surprising how many people use the term 'flu' as a blanket for any illness they have.

 

Exactly! The only time I know of that I've actually had influenza was when I was pregnant with DS. OH MY, I FELT LIKE I WOULD DIE for a while. I spent a week in bed completely miserable but grateful that my child was still inside me!

 

A month later I just about killed my sister when she greeted me at the airport with a big hug then told me a few minutes later, "I think I have swine flu." (which she did!) Fortunately I avoided all physical contact after that and didn't catch it.

[Arcadia]

We grew up using flu for influenza and stomach flu for stomach virus. To the teachers when we come back to school after a sick day, flu equals possibility of fever while stomach flu is "camping" in the school toilet.

[Lisa in SC]

When I say flu, I mean influenza. I do say stomach flu or stomach virus if ut's gastrointestinal. When others say flu, it could mean any number of things. Regardless, I know I need to stay away until they've recovered. Unless, of course, I drop off some homemade chicken soup but stay on the doorstep. :D

[chepyl]

Around here, gastroenteritis is generally called stomach flu, and chills, fever, aches (so possibly Influenza, or maybe any of a number of other illnesses) is called flu.

 

 

This is what people around here say. Flu is aches, chills, fever; stomach flu or stomach bug refers to throwing up.

[-M-]

Flu means influenza, which has afflicted our family twice in the past twenty years. To say that I'd rather undergo abdominal surgery again than have the flu pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.

 

*shiver*

 

I come from a long line of people who call every cold "bronchitis," though, and every stomach upset "stomach flu," every headache "migraine," and everything else "flu," so I do understand that some folks are just that way.

 

But I'm not. Flu is flu.

[MiniBlondes]

I think many people have no idea that the flu isn't a stomach virus. Or that the flu shot doesn't prevent a stomach virus. Or that antibiotics don't help with the flu....

 

 

 

Or that antibiotics won't cure a stomach virus.

[-M-]

OH MY, I FELT LIKE I WOULD DIE for a while. I spent a week in bed completely miserable ....

 

Yeah, I'm the b**ch who will reply to someone who has just asserted that she thinks she has the flu, "Really? Do you feel like death is actually a possibility? Because *that's* what the flu feels like. Not a really bad cold. Not a terrible headache. Like IMMINENT DEATH."

[Mergath]

I only use "flu" to mean influenza. I also grew up with people who called gastroenteritis "stomach flu," but they did know it wasn't the same thing. I don't hear that so much anymore. Now, everyone I know that has gastroenteritis calls it "the virus that's been going around," with a pained look. :p

[Amy in NH]

I say "stomach flu" if I mean a stomach virus. I say "flu" if I mean influenza.

[kitten18]

When I say flu I mean influenza.

 

When other people say flu, I have no idea what they mean.

 

 

For stomach virus, I usually say "stomach bug" especially if I'm talking to my kids.

[Mrs_JWM]

I always say that you know you have the flu - the REAL flu, not some stomach bug - when you know you're going to die, but you're so happy that you're going to die because at least you'll feel better. I've had the flu once, gastroenteritis once, and food poisoning once. They were all not fun - but the flu was the absolute worst, worst, worst! Plus, it lasts much longer than any of the others!

[somo_chickenlady]

Flu is influenza. Vomiting, etc, is a stomach bug. I voted that I have no clue what other people mean when they say it, b/c it could be either. It's a big pet peeve of mine, though.

[JFSinIL]

Here plain flu means influenza - we say stomach flu if that is part of it, too.

[myfunnybunch]

In the community where I grew up, the adults would say "flu" or "stomach flu" interchangeably to mean any illness that involved vomiting (except food poisoning). After we moved, people used "flu" to mean "influenza." It took me a while to adjust.

 

I only use "flu" for actual influenza.

 

Cat

[Parrothead]

I never knew people used " flu" for gastro problems until reading this thread. Around here flu means influenza. I don't get us tested, so someone in the family could have had a severe cold and it passed for flu.

[lailasmum]

I mean influenza when I say flu most other stuff I call a bug or a virus. I have had flu quite a few times but I wouldn't say it's as bad as some viruses I have had. I had what I think was probably NoroVirus about 3 weeks ago and boy did I feel like I wanted to curl up and die so I can understand people getting them mixed up especially if they haven't had proper flu in a while.