The Flu and You: Everything You Never Wanted to Know (But Need To)

The Flu and You: Everything You Never Wanted to Know (But Need To)
It’s not the flu virus that makes you feel sick, rather, it’s your body’s reaction to it – inflammation. Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock
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Flu season runs from October to May and each year it impacts millions of Americans. The flu virus attacks the respiratory system and its symptoms include headache, sore throat, fever, chills, vomiting, dry cough, and muscle aches. But what does it do to your body? What does your body look like on the flu?

A sick person sneezes, coughs, or just expels thousands of droplets of the flu virus and for the unlucky victim, inhaling them up the nasal passages can mean the beginning of infection. The flu virus can embed within the cells of your airways and while colds attack your nose and throat, the flu virus travels to your lungs. The outside of each virus is covered with what amounts to keys, and if these keys fit into the locks that blanket your cells, it’s allowed to enter the cell. Once inside the cell, the virus begins to multiply, starting from one and multiplying into millions.

Sara Novak
Sara Novak
Author
Sara Novak specializes in health and food policy writing for Discovery Health. Her work has also been featured on TreeHugger, HowStuffWorks.com, TLC Cooking, and Animal Planet. After graduating from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, Sara headed up the communication efforts for a national scholarship program in Washington, D.C. She loves fiddling with healthful recipes, traveling, and exploring life atop her yoga mat.
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