![\"flu](\"http:\/\/img.webmd.com\/dtmcms\/live\/webmd\/consumer_assets\/site_images\/articles\/health_tools\/flu_overview_slideshow\/getty_rf_photo_of_flu_tem_and_sick_man.jpg\")
<\/div>\nCold and flu season is in full swing, and many like Hutchinson have reported illnesses that seem to be the flu but may not be. Bad colds and viruses can mimic the flu, and cases of \u201cinfluenza-like illness\u201d are being reported all across the country.<\/p>\n
Although CDC statistics for the week ending March 11\u00a0show that flu activity decreased, the number of people seeing health care providers for influenza-like illness, or ILI, was high for the 13th\u00a0straight week, particularly in parts of the South and Southeast.<\/p>\n
Infectious disease expert William Schaffner, MD, calls this year\u2019s season \u201cmoderately severe\u201d and continuing in most parts of the country. \u201cFlu and ILI will be with us through March and likely into April,\u201d says Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville.<\/p>\n
But what exactly is \u201cflu-like illness\u201d?<\/p>\n
Flu vs. Influenza-Like Illness (ILI)<\/h2>\n
The CDC defines the flu as\u00a0 \u201ca contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs\u201d and says symptoms include some or all of the following:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Fever<\/li>\n
- Cough and sore throat<\/li>\n
- Runny or stuffy nose<\/li>\n
- Muscle or body aches and chills<\/li>\n
- Headaches<\/li>\n
- Fatigue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The flu is diagnosed with a test — a swab of your nose or throat. The CDC says that with ILI, you have a fever (temperature of 100\u00b0F or higher) and a cough or sore throat without a known cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo say someone has influenza requires they be tested and have a positive result. In the absence of testing, ILI is what we call a clinical definition. You can make the diagnosis by talking to someone or examining them. It\u2019s easier to do and free because it requires no testing,\u201d explains Ephraim Tsalik MD, PhD, an infectious disease doctor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.<\/p>\n
So \u201cflu-like illness\u201d is a wide-ranging category that may involve other viruses with similar symptoms or patients who probably have the flu but didn\u2019t get a flu test.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know exactly what the diagnosis is, and a test hasn\u2019t been done that explains (it),\u201d adds Schaffner.<\/p>\n
Flu tests and a definitive diagnosis can give some peace of mind and could be important for seniors, pregnant women, or people who have chronic conditions that may call for more oversight and treatment. Test results also help officials figure out if there is a flu outbreak in the area.<\/p>\n
\nBut many patients are said to have a flu-like illness when they and their doctors decide not to bother with a test. Some opt out if symptoms have been present for several days, since antiviral medications like Tamiflu only minimize symptoms when taken in the first 48 hours.Other times, people decide to skip the time and expense of a test since treatment is generally the same regardless — rest, fluids, over-the-counter medication to manage fever and other symptoms, and time to let the illness run its course.<\/p>\n Protect Yourself<\/h2>\n
Although it’s late in the season, the CDC says getting a flu vaccine can give you some protection. The vaccine takes 10 days to 2 weeks to be effective, and it cuts your odds of getting the flu by about half (48%).<\/p>\n
![\"Cold](\"http:\/\/img.webmd.com\/dtmcms\/live\/webmd\/consumer_assets\/site_images\/articles\/health_tools\/cold_or_flu_slideshow\/webmd_rm_photo_of_cold_and_flu_virus_composite.jpg\")
<\/div>\nIf you do still get sick this season, seek immediate medical help if you get dehydrated or have trouble breathing. Flu can cause pneumonia, and that can be severe.<\/p>\n
If it is more of a typical case, the No. 1 tip from doctors is stay home so you don\u2019t spread it around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe generally say people should self-quarantine and stay out of the public for at least 24 hours after they stop having a fever without fever-lowering medicine,\u201d Tsalik suggests.<\/p>\n
Susan Eller, who lives near Atlanta, followed that advice when a flu-like illness swept through her house in late February, afflicting her kids first, and then her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never get sick. This was the first time I\u2019ve ever called in sick after 2 years on the job,\u201d the paralegal says. \u201cIt just felt like a cold at first. I was exhausted. I had a mild fever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eller was better in a few days. And while she\u2019s had a lingering cough, she\u2019s ready to move on to spring.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m hoping that was it. I\u2019m hoping we don\u2019t get anything else gnarly,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n