The flu is one of the most common diseases of winter, although it can also be caught in autumn, depending on the strain of each year and different factors such as temperature, which cause its arrival to be advanced or delayed.
This disease is one of the most discomforts produced by the picture of fever and generalized pain in the body. They are symptoms whose duration can vary from one person to another depending on their health and age. But really, how long does the flu last in adults? In we give you the answer.
How long a strong flu lasts
The flu is a disease that, as we have mentioned before, has a variable duration, since various factors influence such as the initial state of health of the person, their age and the strain of the virus that has caused the pathology, because there are some that are more virulent than others.
In general, it can be said that a flu lasts at least a week, although the most common is that the person recovers completely after fifteen days. In those cases, in which you start from a weaker state of health or there is previously a disease in the respiratory tract, this duration can be extended to a month and even more, because the process can be considerably complicated.
Types of flu
The longest duration is also produced by the different types of flu, depending on the strain that is spread each year. One of the most virulent is known as influenza A, which also causes epidemics, as well as B. In these cases, the flu tends to last longer and recovery is also slower. The least virulent is influenza C, which in general is the most common, although in recent years new strains have been detected that are a combination of several types of influenza.
Incubation of influenza in adults
When talking about the flu, you always tend to think about the days when symptoms appear. However, it is a mistake because there is a period of contagion and incubation. Most people are infected a day before the first symptoms appear, although sometimes there have also been cases in which the discomfort begins after 48 hours or 72 hours.
In that period, the disease is incubated without us realizing that we have been infected. A fact for which it is very difficult to carry out an effective prevention one hundred percent even if we are careful not to catch it and try not to spread it.
How and when you get the flu
The flu is a disease that spreads very easily. Normally, the adult can spread it to another person in the first week after the manifestation of the first symptoms.
However, in the event that you have a worse state of health or a weakened immune system, this period of contagion can be much longer and last until the person notices a greater improvement.
What long flu symptoms last
After contagion, symptoms appear quickly, although the time in which they are noticed varies in duration. There are people who in five days stop feeling them and go on to a recovery process, while in others this period is extended up to a week or ten days.
The situation is complicated when you have lung or airway problems because, sometimes, the symptoms can be confused and think that they are from the flu when, in fact, they respond or are related to other pathologies that you have. Here, the duration of the manifestation of symptoms will depend on the clinical picture of the patient.
How long the flu fever lasts
The flu recovery process also varies in duration, depending on the person. And, there are those who begin to notice much better as soon as the fever drops (which usually lasts three or four days), while on other occasions the recovery does not begin until after a week.
There are also people who even need two weeks to feel totally well and say goodbye to the virus. However, fully recovering may take longer. In fact, although you no longer have the symptoms, it is possible to notice a greater fatigue derived from the flu process in later days. This generalized feeling of tiredness can last, even if there have been no health complications, even three weeks or a month at least.
With this explanation, we hope at we have answered your question of how long the flu lasts in adults. We recommend you go to the doctor for any symptoms, since the treatments do not shorten the process, but they can make you feel better. You may also be interested in How to Treat the Flu.
