Flu Season in Belfast: A Student’s Guide to Surviving the Flu

By Iosif Alhendi

The season is upon us folks, the annual flu season. Over a 1000 cases of flu were diagnosed in Belfast between Christmas and New Year’s Day [1], and still there is a significant number of people who are still catching the virus every day. This spike in flu cases put an ever increasing amount of pressure on the health system, which is already suffering post Covid era. With this, the waiting times in A&E has increased drastically from what was already ridiculously long. What do they say? Problems don’t come alone.

As prevention is better than cure; I will take you through some important tips and tricks about flu, so that you can avoid it or brave it. Flu or influenza is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus. This virus is highly contagious and spreads by air. It usually occurs during the winter months between December and March. Anyone can catch the disease. Group living settings such as student accommodations are breeding grounds for the flu, with so many people living in such close proximity it’s almost considered an inevitability that you will contract “Fresher’s Flu” upon moving out for University.

To diagnose the flu, we need to look out for these symptoms. Usually, they start to appear 2 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms and signs of flu include nasal discharge, dry cough, fever, headache, tiredness and sore throat [2]. Basically that signature dreadful feeling that we all contract at some stage during the winter. Although the feeling isn’t forever! Flu symptoms usually take between 5 to 8 days to get better.

It’s important to be able to differentiate between cold and flu as they are not the same yet so many of us confuse them. While flu symptoms tend to appear rapidly within few hours, the cold symptoms take some time and develop gradually. The cold affects mainly your throat and nose, unlike flu that goes beyond that to affect your stomach, muscles and your joints [3]. Adding to that, cold will make you feel unwell, but still you can continue what you are doing normally in your days such as studying and work. On the other hand, the flu makes you severely exhausted to the point that you don’t want to leave your bed or do anything, even if you have several assignments due to hand in.

It’s important to ask ourselves; what should I do if I get the flu? Most people will get mild symptoms that you can treat at home without the need to see a doctor. It is highly recommended to have plenty of fluids, rest and to stay off work or school until you pass the worst symptoms and start gaining back your normal energy level. This usually takes about one week. You can also take paracetamol or ibuprofen over the counter to help with controlling the symptoms, especially fever and the joints pain. However, if you develop a high fever that doesn’t resolve after using paracetamol, or if your symptoms last for more than a week, you should probably consider seeing your GP for extra help.

Whilst normally a flu is something you shake off with a little bit of time and complaining, don’t think you’re invincible! Low percentage of people develop severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing, cough with green phlegm that may indicate a chest infection (Pneumonia) or an exacerbation of a concomitant disease like type 1 diabetes or asthma. In this case, you should treat it seriously and seek medical attention to manage these severe symptoms.

Rather than dealing with getting sick, it’s much easier to avoid the pain in the first place, therefore it is advisable to avoid any close contact with someone who has flu. Moreover, it is recommended that people who have flu should use tissues to cover their nose and mouth when they cough or sneeze, to avoid transmitting the virus to someone else, specifically to people at high risk. I know that many of us like partying and having a beer with our friends after a long week of lectures and work, but if you have any symptoms of flu, it is wise of you to drop this time from meeting your folks and do a favour for them by protecting them from catching the flu. You can make up for the missed out nights out the next week instead! The same applies for attending your lectures and labs, and I think you will like this part more.

Whilst COVID seems like a distant memory (or nightmare) to us now, if COVID-19 is suspected, you should arrange a PCR test to rule it out before just assuming its a flu. As the way we deal with it is naturally different.

At the end of the day, influenza usually is a mild disease that doesn’t cause any life-threatening conditions. However, it is generally unpleasant, and even in some circumstances dangerous, so let’s save ourselves the hassle and try to avoid it in the first place!

Sources:

[1] Bagot, Martin, and Lauren Harte. 2025. Belfast Live. https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-health-chiefs-issue-30752485.

[2] NHS. 2022. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/.

[3] CDC. 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/coldflu.html.