You have a fever, chills and an itchy, sore throat. Your body aches, your nose is running and you can’t get out of bed. Flu viruses are germs you don’t want to mess with.
READ MORE: 7 steps to surviving the cold and flu season without getting sick
“It’s just the worst, it’s so bad. It knocks you on your back and you feel terrible, lying on the couch feeling sorry for yourself,” Jason Tetro, microbiologist and author of The Germ Files, told Global News.
There’s a hallmark sign of the flu so you’ll know you’ve caught it, said Dr. Gerald Evans, chief of infectious diseases at Kingston General Hospital.
“It’s a classic thing. Patients always say, ‘I was feeling fine but I remember at 9 p.m. I suddenly felt sick.’ It’s a rapid onset with sudden symptoms,” Evans explained.
READ MORE: What Canadians should expect from the 2016-17 flu season
Step by step, here are the different stages the flu virus takes you through:
(Infographic designed by Janet Cordahi/Global News)
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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