Keeping the body healthy is the most important thing in today’s time. Recently, the problems of the people have been increasing due to the increasing epidemic. A lot of attention is needed to protect the body from all kinds of bad viruses. Similarly, many viral infections affect our respiratory, digestive, and other parts of the body. Influenza disease, which is a viral infection, affects the respiratory system, nose, throat, and lungs with its attack. Influenza is also known as flu, but the two have some differences.
Key Takeaways
- Flu is a colloquial term for the influenza virus, which causes respiratory infections.
- Influenza is a viral infection with three main types: A, B, and C.
- The flu and influenza symptoms are similar, as they are the same illness, but the severity can vary based on the strain.
Flu vs Influenza
Flu and Influenza differ because flu is a broad representation word related to the respiratory passage while influenza is a narrow representation word for intrathoracic infection. Flu is a type of infectious disease that causes cold, headache, and fever, whereas influenza is also a viral infection caused by the influenza virus.
Flu is a continuous disease with lower intrathoracic infection associated with diarrhea. Flu is transmitted through droplet infection from an infected person or through contaminated objects. The period of infection is 4 to 9 days. Antihistamines and decongestants are used to treat the flu. At this time, doctors recommend full bed rest and fluid intake. Nowadays, vaccines are also available to treat the flu.
Influenza is commonly referred to as the flu, which is itself caused by infection with the influenza virus. It is so deadly that sometimes it even causes death. The viruses are transmitted through the inhalation of droplets from an infected person or through contaminated objects (droplet infection). The incubation period of the infection is 1-4 days.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Flu | Influenza |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Flu is a continuous disease with lower intrathoracic infection associated with diarrhea. | Influenza is an upper respiratory tract disease caused by Influenza Virus. |
| Symptoms | The symptoms are high fever, chills, headache, dizziness, sore throat, running nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, trouble breathing. | The general symptoms are sore throat, headache, fever, sneezing, pain all over the body, nasal discharge. |
| Recovery | The recovery period may be large in the flu. | The recovery period is short in influenza. |
| Treatment | Antihistamines and decongestants are used to treat flu. | Influenza is treated with Paracetamol. |
| Incubation period | The period of the infection is 4 to 9 days. | The period of the infection is 1-4 days. |
What is Flu?
Flu is a continuous disease with lower intrathoracic infection associated with diarrhea. Flu is transmitted through droplet infection from an infected person or through contaminated objects. The period for this infection is 4 to 9 days.
The symptoms are high fever, chills, headache, dizziness, sore throat, running nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and trouble breathing. Paracetamol and Metrogyl are given to reduce fever and diarrhea. At this time, doctors recommend full bed rest and fluid intake. Nowadays, vaccines are also available to treat the flu.
There are a few things to keep in mind when treating the flu. Mainly in this condition, the doctor recommends rest. It is also advised to consume fluids so the body can fight and survive the infection. In such a situation, taking paracetamol improves its symptoms. But avoid taking NSAIDs. To prevent the flu, a vaccine is also given annually, which limits the problems caused by it and prevents it.
T cells are present in our bodies. When any virus invades our body, then these cells recognize them. And thus, it starts spreading in the throat and lungs to fight them. This causes swelling in the area, which gives a feeling of pain. After some time, these cells kill and eliminate those viruses from the lungs. This is why the flu hurts so much.
What is Influenza?
Influenza is an upper respiratory tract disease caused by viral infections. Influenza is an upper airway infection caused by Influenza Virus. The infected area is the nose and respiratory passage. The viruses are transmitted through the inhalation of droplets from an infected person or through contaminated objects (droplet infection). The incubation period of the infection is 1-4 days. The general symptoms are sore throat, headache, fever, sneezing, pain all over the body, and nasal discharge.
Generally treated with Paracetamol. Antihistamines and decongestants are used to treat the flu. Nowadays, vaccines are available to treat it annually. Influenza is a narrow representation word for intrathoracic infection.
Before getting influenza, some symptoms emerge from which it is known that you have influenza. These symptoms come suddenly and make the body weak day by day. The body feels tired at this time. This fatigue can last up to three weeks. Symptoms of its worsening are known when the fever starts increasing rapidly in the body and difficulty in breathing is felt. In this way, the body becomes weak.
Influenza is fatal for people over 65 years of age. Their body is unable to protect themselves from this infection. This time is considered difficult for them. If influenza occurs in older people, they can also become a victim of pneumonia, leading to their death.
Main Differences Between Flu and Influenza
- In general, flu is a broad representation word related to the respiratory passage, while influenza is a narrow representation word for intrathoracic infection.
- The symptoms of the flu are worse than influenza. Symptoms in flu are more intense and begin more abruptly, while influenza has less association with symptoms.
- Flu may result in serious health problems, while influenza is not known for such.
- The dominant symptom of flu is diarrhea which is not seen in influenza cases that is why electrolytes replenishers are preferred for flu.
- The recovery period may be large in the flu, while it is very short in the case of influenza.
- Flu is treated with medicinal care, while influenza may or may not.
- https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/D11-1145.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074937970900806X
- https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-10-99
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