Antibiotics have no effect on viral illnesses like Influenza. The best defense is an annual vaccination every autumn, regular exercise, and a healthy diet. Flu sufferers can be bedridden for up to 10 days.
Influenza spreads rapidly from person to person by air-born droplets carried in a cough or a sneeze.
Infected individuals can be contagious for about a day before their symptoms appear, and up to a week afterwards. The annual North American influenza epidemic typically occurs between November and April when people tend to congregate, and infect each other indoors. Long before the flu virus starts to make people sick in the fall, experts with the World Health Organization predict which three strains will cause the most severe illness and develop the vaccine to prevent these three. Because the strains of the influenza virus can change from year to year, you need to get an annual vaccination that matches the strains that are circulating. Influenza vaccination is for people 6 months of age and older who want to protect themselves and those around them from influenza and it's complications.