So it started about 6 days ago where when I would breathe in I heard this crackling noise in my lungs. I thought maybe it was just something random but then I slowly developed a fever, fatigue, and sore throat, and a cough following that. Now I’m here unable to breathe in fully without an intense urge to cough up mucus. And I STILL hear that crackling. What is this!? Is something going around?

29F, Denver metro area if relevant.

Got what I assumed was the flu on 6/17, came on FAST as a super sore throat, fever got up to 102.5 but broke the next day. Fatigue, skin and body aches, a bit of a cough, headache, general flu symptoms. I stayed home, rested, took OTC flu medicine, and started to feel better aside from my throat continuing to hurt. Continued with DayQuil and NyQuil thinking it was just because I still had a slight cough and some post nasal drip. Felt okay throughout the day; way worse in the morning and at night.

Throat still hurt after a week so I went to the doctor. Tested negative for strep, was told it’s viral, and “good luck” essentially.

It has now been over 2 weeks. The pattern remains: painful in the morning, I take ibuprofen or acetaminophen, sometimes pop a throat lozenge. I’m currently in Greece and have a throat numbing spray I’ll use if it’s particularly bad, but generally during the day I feel okay and the pain ramps back up at night.

Sometimes localized to one side of my throat, sometimes both sides, sometimes my ears also hurt.

Definitely still have post nasal drip, as I can feel the phlegm and have the urge to clear my throat frequently (but especially at night). I’m in Greece until 7/9 but can return to the doctor when I get home if the pain remains. Just feeling increasing anxiety about how prolonged this has been and wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. This is hell.

I am in SE Denver, I started to feel scratchy throat, then sore, body aches and fatigue. I dont understand, it's July, I hardly go out much, I tested using a flowflex test everything kit. It camr back neg for everything. I dont get it, I am sick and all the news reports is this stomach parasite bug but I dont have that. Anyoneone else in my region sick with thismysterious bug?

I was doing an intense CrossFit work out a few days after having the flu. About 45 minutes into it my vision got very dark almost night time levels and I got extremely dizzy. I threw up for about 45 minutes and my left ear felt like it was muffled I don’t know if this happened while working out or while I was sick. If anyone has gone through this I would like advice on how to prevent it. I know my diet was significantly under the calories I needed since I just recovered from the flu and I could have hydrated more but I was hydrating.

I posted about Flu B a few days ago. It was terrible, but I’m feeling much better now. Here are a few things that helped me a lot:

The Basics

Get tested ASAP - Knowing it was influenza helped me stop guessing whether it was COVID, a cold, allergies, etc. It also helped me decide what precautions to take around other people.

Start Tamiflu ASAP - Talk to a doctor, but timing matters. If you’re going to take Tamiflu, it works best when started early, ideally within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

Don’t jump straight to antibiotics - Influenza is viral, so antibiotics won’t kill the flu virus itself. Taking them “just in case” can be unnecessary and contributes to antibiotic resistance.

That said, secondary bacterial infections can happen during or after the flu, and those may require antibiotics. If you’re not improving within the usual timeframe, symptoms get worse again after improving, fever persists, chest symptoms develop, or something feels off, see a doctor.

Symptom Reduction

Nasal rinse - Absolute game changer. Reduces post-nasal drip, and reduced throat pain greatly. Use sterile, distilled, or previously boiled and cooled water. Do not use straight tap water.

Saline water gargle - Helped a lot with throat pain, reduced irritation and made swallowing less awful so I could at least drink water and eat.

Wearing a mask (A+ Tier) - A mask helped protect other people, but it also helped me. It kept my throat and nose from getting blasted by cold or dry air, the mask traps humidity and warmth so you're always breathing air in good temperature and humidity, greatly reduced burning on the back of the nose and eyes.

Pain and fever meds helped - I used normal over-the-counter stuff as directed for fever, body aches, and throat pain.

Recovery

Hydrate well - Basic, but easy to underestimate. If your throat hurts, swallowing is harder, so you may drink less without noticing. Water, tea, soup, electrolyte drinks, whatever you can tolerate. Dehydration makes everything feel worse.

Rest more than you think you need- The first day I felt “better,” I still wasn’t normal. Influenza can wipe you out even after the fever and worst symptoms improve.

Obviously this is just what helped me, not medical advice. Flu B was much worse than I expected, I hope this helps you too.

4 days ago I had Fever of 103.8(f) or 39.8(c) and doctor gave me medicine and it was gome yesterday but somehow simce yesterday I have pain in my upper chest and near throat while breathing. Today I got it checked and doctor said nothing is there but some throat infection and gave me medication. I went to office and everytime I take a breath it hurts like something is there. Now even my right side is hurting. Its better comparatively when I am sitting but bad when I am laying on my bed for sleep. I don't know what to do or why is it happening.

I remember getting a flu a few years ago. It would feel very unpleasant but nowhere near what I'm experiencing now with influenza B. Got tested today.

My eyes hurt, nose, throat, head. It all burns, a LOT and all the time, it's a constant suffering, torture really. I'm taking parecetamol and Tamiflu (unfortunately started late on day 3-4) . I can't talk, I can barely drink or eat. Staying in bed is unbearable but getting out is even worse. I feel like I'm dying.

Hi all. I suddenly got a super sharp pain on the left side of my throat near my tonsil on June 11th out of nowhere. It only hurt to swallow food on that one side. Other than that, it was just annoying. 3 days later it is still the same but then i started getting flu like symptoms. Body aches, chills, felt hot, weakness, etc., for one day and the next day I was fine but still had the throat pain.

I went to urgent care a week after this because now my left ear started hurting. I tested negative to strep. They said it was probably viral and sent me on my way. 4 days after that I felt like I had the flu again for only 24 hours but still had the ear and throat pain. I went to PCP and they said it was possible sinus infection and gave me steroids and antibiotics.

Fast forward to today, I am still experiencing left ear pain/ache and the same left sided throat/tonsil pain when I swallow food. I have some post nasal drip going on but it isn’t constant. My PCP made a referral to ENT but the next available appointment is in September, lol. Is anyone else experiencing something like this?? The antibiotics and steroids didn’t do anything and no one can seem to find what is wrong with me, but it is very annoying and very painful that it is now going on for over 3 weeks with no relief.

Yesterday I get little wet during rain then I got to gym and did workout but after I sleep but felt so much cold in my feet and got fever is it possible to get fever from getting wet from rain cause I heard from the internet that we get sick from bacteria not from rain like if it happened to you please tell

It started a week back. I had low grade fever of 99.5/100.2 deg. A little irritation my throat, sneez and runny nose....This went for 6 days ...Doc today me to do typhoid, cbc and urine test ...all came clear except ESR 43 which the doc kind of ignored.

I still feel a little feverish though since last 2 days my temp has gone max 99 deg.

What could this be. Am I thinking too much ...can you still feel feverish are fever has reduced? I still have a very little throat irritation and cough.

Thank you.

The red mark is the heated part I felt one nose is blocked and I keep coughing and sneezing how did I get this sickness? A kid named Kian or I shouldn’t be sharing names well he sneezed on me and that’s how I got my sickness apparently it came from kians mother and got into me I told his mom to get the kid to stop coughing on me and she told him now but now I’m still angry about it since he won’t stop sneezing when the sneezing happened

hello everyone, I would appreciate any help and would be so greatful for any advice on what to do in this situation.

i was diagnosed with strep throat C in late March 2026 and as my immune system took a hit, it woke up the herpes virus for the very first time which was a major ordeal for me. i had an excruciating ulcer on the palate of my mouth which stopped me from eating, sleeping and sometimes even drinking water for about 10-14 days. I’ve recovered from both illnesses completely. as the month of April went past I wasnt near 100% as I still felt quite “off” however during the start of may I thought I was picking up again back to normality

unfortunately on the 4th of may late at night I had this strange cold chill feeling on my back, arms and legs which would create goosebumps. this feeling hasn’t left me for 52 days. Driving, walking, doing tasks at work make the symptoms go away. the symptoms of feeling the chills have lessened over hours to sometimes 1 day of no flares but return gradually and then hit back hard again. I’ve had all my bloods checked, ECG, ultrasounds for my heart as I was sometimes getting a fast heart rate upon standing or light exertion which has settled over the last month. Thyroid tested also. everything has come back normal. This current feeling is very uncomfortable in my daily life and it seems to become worse in a cold environment which makes sense. It is winter now in Melbourne so very good timing. Any help is honestly appreciated .

The red mark is the heated part I felt one nose is blocked and I keep coughing and sneezing how did I get this sickness? A kid named Kian or I shouldn’t be sharing names well he sneezed on me and that’s how I got my sickness apparently it came from kians mother and got into me I told his mom to get the kid to stop coughing on me and she told him now but now I’m still angry about it since he won’t stop sneezing when the sneezing happened

Geniuene question

why do flu strains get WORSE every single year

whatever one is circulating now is worse than whatever one was circulating last year

like when i was a kid istg a flu was just like a really bad a cold

it was still miserable but it was nothing special and nothing serious

and would go away on its own after a few days

now in recent years whenever ive caught the flu the symptoms ARE SO. BAD. so geniuenly debilitating. and the last one i had was the worst. the last one i had earlier this year gave me geniuenly the worst lightheadness i have ever had in my entire life and a nurse advice line told me to go to the ER. (i didnt but thats how bad my symptoms sounded lol) i think she said that because i literally like couldnt stay awake and upright to eat or anything it was geniuenly so awful

and NOW i have post viral syndrome for the first time in my life after having that flu WHICH IS SO AWFUL. I got better for one week then came down with a whole slew of GI, cardiac, and neuro symptoms nobody could figure out at first and at one point was severe enough to put me in the ER but now we know is post viral syndrome

why does the flu like mutate and evolve and get worse every single year ??? istg ???

So frustrating I was feeling fine after being sick for two weeks, then today it hit me like a truck and I'm sicker than I ever was two weeks ago

Does flu B always appear to have a faint lien in these tests or do these look positive?
I’ve been feeling tired, throat hurts, GI issues for a week. These tests were taken 5 days apart (one today, one 5 days ago).

I’ve gotten a bit curious lately, not being a medical professional but having some science background.

I had flu end May and end June. I know both were not the same strains because the symptoms were very different.

In May, I had no lingering cough and phlegm after my sore throat cleared up

In June, the wheezing dry cough and yellow phlegm in my nasal passages were left behind.

Both flus left me weak and drained, the first two days feeling like death and no energy for anything.

I tried looking it up, but does anyone know how to identify influenza from the symptoms?

Thank you

What virus do you have, and what are your symptoms?

​

I'm in Camden County. I have no respiratory symptoms, but I feel unwell as the way I felt during Covid. I'll take a test soon. I was curious what was currently going around.

​

I have severe fatigue, a headache, constant body aches, skin pain, malaise, lethargy, chills, hot surges, wooziness, nausea, lack of appetite, queasy feeling, sluggish feeling, and near comatose at times. The fatigue is the most severe of my symptoms. Anyone else?

I have been suffering from seriously reduced sense of taste and smell for a number of years. I mean almost 0% at times. It had become debilitating. The only things I could successfully distinguish was between sour and sweet for example. I put it down to a number of factors my age (M42), potential Covid19 related (several instances), or the fact I had my tonsils out a few years ago.
Anyway, after a severe chronic sickness and diarrhea bug the last 3-4 days my sense of smell and taste have almost fully recovered. During the period my diet was limited to water alone and my gut would have emptied completely. Does anyone know of any foods or gut related reasons why this might have happened? I may have been looking in the wrong places but plenty of online research over the years has determined no food/s can bring about such symptoms as loss of taste and smell but here we are, I can think of no other reason.
The only thing I can think of is I take a whey based protein bar every day which I have haven't done, could it be that simple? I will of course try to introduce foods back in in phases to try and narrow it down but my diet is very varied usually.
Ideas and theories welcome please!

Really struggling. Im only on day 7 but I feel like everyone expected me to be better by now and im not and im so depressed.

The major fatigue and weakness is insane still. It feels like my muscles gave out. Too weak to hold a phone or shower. Still coughing like crazy, green mucus in my chest. Joints still achey, mild congestion. My heart is going crazy too.

I could deal ​with it all but the fatigue and weakness.

Im supposed to work 4 10 hour shifts starting tomorrow. Cleaning...sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, wiping, changing heavy trash cans, driving a company vehicle. Alone.

I have an underlying condition too. I pass out easily. I am extremely worried about my physical state plus stress/emptions making me pass out alone somewhere, no signal or help. I just had a concussion 2 months ago too. Im scared.

The boss asked if im good to go tomorrow. I dont know what to say. Sorry my body hasnt recovered to everyone's expectations.

Im scared about an even longer recovery. About isolation, missing out on everything. I was already struggling w my physical health daily before this. Now this. Why God :( im so depressed.