Doctors’ Science-Backed Tips for Getting Over the Flu Faster
Flu season is officially upon us and cases are expected to jump across the country any day now. With that, questions about how to recover from the flu faster are already popping up.
Right now, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that flu levels are low. However, they tend to spike—and peak—between December and February, making now the best time to prepare.
Meet the experts: Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York; Erin Muckey, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Adriana Glenn, Ph.D., assistant professor in the George Washington University School of Nursing; infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Whether you’ve been unlucky enough to get the flu early in the season or just want to be prepared for the just in case, here’s what doctors recommend to speed up recovery time from the flu.
How to recover from flu faster
It’s important to point out that there’s only so much you can do to speed up any viral illness, including the flu. But there are a few things that may help—and allow you to feel better while you’re recovering.
Rest
It sounds simple, but allowing your body time to rest while you’re battling the flu keeps your energy focused on where it needs to be right now—getting better, says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York.
While it might make you feel lousy if you’re up and moving with the flu, Dr. Russo says it’s not clear if that will make the course of your flu last longer. “If someone has a critical activity they need to do as opposed to laying around on the couch, it’s not clear if it will impact recovery time,” he says.
Stay hydrated
The flu can cause a fever, which can increase the odds of sweating. Replacing those fluids is important to keep your body functioning as best as possible while you’re sick, Dr. Russo says. “Generally, poor hydration can result in less-than-optimal blood flow to the organs, which is not good,” he explains.
Being well hydrated may also help you to feel better, Dr. Russo says.
Get the flu shot
If you already have the flu, this isn’t going to help you. But getting your flu shot before getting the flu will “absolutely” help shorten the length of your illness, Dr. Russo says.
“The key is that you need about two weeks for your body to build up immunity to the flu,” Erin Muckey, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “But that is the best way to get over the flu faster.”
“Our flu vaccines are imperfect at preventing infection but, if you do get infected, you’re more likely to have a shorter duration of symptoms,” he says. “You’ll also have a milder case and recover more quickly.”
William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, agrees. “The flu vaccine can turn your flu from wild to mild,” he says. “It will prevent the flu from becoming more serious.”
Talk to your doctor about antiviral medications
Antiviral medications can tamp down on your fever and other symptoms, and shorten the duration of your flu by about a day, according to the CDC. There is also a risk-benefit analysis to consider here, given that these medications can come with the risk of side effects like nausea and vomiting, Dr. Muckey says.
Still, the medications “are impactful, but not as impactful as we’d like,” Dr. Russo says. However, they can also lower the odds you’ll develop severe complications of the flu.
Doctors will usually prescribe oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or baloxavir (Xofluza) to treat the flu, although zanamivir (Relenza Diskhaler) is also an option.
Take OTC fever-reducing medication
OTC fever-reducing medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) “may alleviate aches and pains, and can be helpful for feeling better,” Dr. Schaffner says.
However, it’s not clear whether they will actually speed up your illness. “If you’re feeling miserable, though, certainly taking a medication like Tylenol is fine in that setting,” Dr. Russo says. (He just stresses that children and teens should not be given aspirin due to the risk of developing a complication called Reye’s syndrome.)
Consider supplements
These aren’t for everyone, and are really best used if you’re not eating well and need nutrients to boost your immune system, like zinc, vitamin C, and elderberry, says Adriana Glenn, Ph.D., assistant professor in the George Washington University School of Nursing. “Whenever adding supplements, please check with your provider or pharmacist to ensure there is no contraindications or interactions with other medications you might be taking,” she says.
Moisturize your air
This is another tip that may make you feel better, but won’t necessarily speed up the course of your illness. “Consider using steam inhalation or vaporizers—cool or warm—to help clear nasal passages and help to moisturize winter's dry air, which can aggravate symptoms,” Glenn says.
What are the stages of the flu?
The flu happens in different stages, per the CDC. Those include:
The incubation period. This is the period of time from when you’re exposed to the flu virus to when you develop symptoms. It usually lasts two days.
The contagious period. People with the flu are the most contagious during the first three to four days of having symptoms, per the CDC, although you could technically be contagious longer than that.
The recovery period. Most people will recover from the flu within a few days to a few weeks.
What kills the flu virus in the body?
Technically, you can’t kill the flu. “The flu virus, like all viruses, is not alive, so it can’t be killed,” says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Multiple different components of the immune system, however, act to neutralize the virus.”
When your body detects the flu, it mounts a cellular defense, Dr. Russo says. That prompts antibodies to attach to the virus and allow immune system-specific cells to kill the virus, he explains.
Antiviral medications won’t kill the flu virus, but they can help to stop it from replicating in your body if you take them early enough in your illness, Dr. Russo says.
How quickly can you get rid of the flu?
It really depends. “The flu varies in severity from very mild and having almost no symptoms to very severe,” Dr. Schaffner says. “But the average person’s flu lasts from five to seven days.” However, Dr. Muckey says that you may end up having a cough for two weeks or so afterward.
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