Some flu varieties affect the respiratory tract more, causing nasal drainage, cough and sore throat. Other flu varieties cause more intestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting. The length of illness is usually 5 to 7 days. Because influenza can quite frequently lead to pneumonia, a cough and fever for more than 5 days should be investigated by a physician. Croup can also be associated with the flu in younger children.
Flu is often worse in children with chronic lung or heart diseases.
If you can catch it in the first 24 hours, there is a treatment for type A flu. Amantadine has gone generic and is cheaper, but has the more frequent side effect of hallucinations. Amantadine is not recommended in people who have epilepsy. Neither is effective against type B flu. If influenza A is diagnosed in a member of a family, either amantadine or rimantidine may be given to other household members as a prophylaxis.