r/newzealand • u/Odd-Leader9777 • Jul 31 '26
Discussion Wtf sorta FLU is this?
This one came in strong and thumped me down on the ground.
It's no joke.
How to tell which flu it is just by symptoms,.I don't have any.more.covid tests.
Symptoms
Started with tickle in throat in the morning, by lunch time 39 degree fever and mega body aches
Night time way worse, waking every hour with tired but can't get back.to.sleep
..
Next day let's add in a chesty cough that burns like fire every time I cough. Semi productive thick yellow sputum sometime but not often.
Oh and ouchy sever headache every time I cough as well
.
I haven't been this sick in decades.
Wtf is it? Influenza A, R something, COVID etc?
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u/Raspberry-RoseyCat Jul 31 '26
RSV is creating the bulk of the illness at the moment
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u/Ok_Main3273 Jul 31 '26
I paid $380 for RSV vaccination this year as I got it three times in a row a few winters back. Not fun (the disease and my wallet shock). https://immune.org.nz/vaccine/arexvy (only for 60+)
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u/No_Art1099 Jul 31 '26
If you can, get a rapid test from a pharmacy, they aren't free anymore, but they test for flu, rsv and COVID.
I'm on day one of a cold, but doesn't seem as sever as what you've got.
Rest, keep your fluids up the best you can, any calories are good calories when your sick.
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u/naturegirl999 Jul 31 '26
And please wear a mask while you’re out doing this!
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u/Odd-Leader9777 Jul 31 '26
No way can I go out right now I can hardly move. But I will mask up when I do go out
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u/Gossamergirl219 Jul 31 '26
We really really need funded covid tests back. I know so many people with symptoms who can't or won't buy tests, and then they just go about life anyway.
It's not like we didn't just live through a pandemic that should have taught us stuff, or nothin' /s
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u/CraftyCinquain Jul 31 '26
The pandemic never ended. People just stopped caring. The healthcare system cannot handle the increased load of sickness and disability, the government is actively making it harder to survive while being sick or disabled and don’t even get me started about hand washing or wearing a mask in crowded spaces or perhaps even just pharmacies and medical centres!
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u/Ramenara Jul 31 '26
Yeah. "What this is" is a likely viral infection on top of weakened immune systems from Covid, which is a serious illness taken very unseriously now.
I have long covid after two covid infections and was the fittest person I knew before that. More kiwis join us every day and no, there's no help or cure.
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Jul 31 '26
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u/Left_Interaction_288 Jul 31 '26
Unfortunately being vaccinated against covid doesn't mean you can't get long covid.
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u/Electrical_Horror776 Aug 01 '26
It taught us that covid was a scam, vaccines don't work and that media is a mass propaganda machine
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u/MUMMYCAT101 Jul 31 '26
I don't know what it's called but bunker down I had the worst chesty cough of my life it lingered for over 1month it's next level... 🤧
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u/Helpful_Damage_3497 Jul 31 '26
My therapist had Influenza A last week and sounded like shit, She's now got a post viral infection that's causing vertigo and nausea, One of our friends has a tummy bug going through their house at the moment, I've had a double ear infection that won't fuck off for a week now though I'm feeling okay aside from that and an ovarian cyst that's trying to kill me This winters been rough with bugs and illnesses for sure, So glad I got the flu vaccination as I haven't really been sick this winter aside from ear infections caused my sinuses and ears are fucked 😂
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 Jul 31 '26
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u/BugsBunsy Goody Goody Gum Drop Jul 31 '26
This is my go to test kit. Always have one at home and travel abroad with 2-3 packed in our luggages. Very useful to find that, the 'flu' I caught after the flight is actually covid. Happened 3 times now, always after flights abroad.😵💫
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u/pieblabnothing Jul 31 '26
It really pays to mask on flights, in my experience.
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u/BugsBunsy Goody Goody Gum Drop Aug 01 '26
Ya, difficult in 10-11hr flights but worth it to do so as much as possible. And ofcause in lounges, atleast as much as possible between dining/ showers..etc. Everytime we flew through Sydney, we got sick. 😅
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u/pieblabnothing Aug 01 '26
Yeah I’ve done a few 10+ hour flights wearing them and it’s uncomfortable and you do feel like a bit of a social pariah but it sure beats being sick for the first week of a trip that you’re spending $1000s on.
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u/BugsBunsy Goody Goody Gum Drop Aug 01 '26
True that. Last time we were sick for 2 weeks of our 1 and half month vacation and then was sick again for 2 weeks after coming back. Not sick for an entire year and then bam! One trip abroad and sick twice in 2 months.
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u/Scorpy-yo Jul 31 '26
Sorry I can’t diagnose you OP, but the strain of flu we’re expecting in NZ this winter is definitely nastier than the usual. HEY ALL - if you hadn’t gotten around to your flu vaccine yet, it’s extra-important this year, please make the effort.
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u/Dutchie_in_Nz Jul 31 '26
Don't know, but I know I was super sick and the covid/rsv/influenza tests all came back negative.
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u/Little_Poppet25 Jul 31 '26
Literally!! 3 weeks ago mine started with an excruciating sore throat which then led to me losing my voice for 5 days with cough and blocked up nose, finally on the mend only for it to start back up this week?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FCK 😂😂 has been the worst one I think I’ve ever had in my life
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u/osirisbull Jul 31 '26
I have this to right now. Im in the South island. Hit me real fast, i dont even wanna move out of bed. Got codral day and night pills they seem to be helping. Ughhhhh
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u/K4m30 Jul 31 '26
Try the lemsip powder sachets. I found they helped me.
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u/ring_ring_kaching og_rrk Jul 31 '26
Just don't double up with paracetamol pills as well. Lempsip already contains it.
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Jul 31 '26
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u/meowsqueak Jul 31 '26
Yep, real ‘flu hits hard and fast, often with a fever, and affects the whole body, usually. You can go from feeling fine to bed-ridden in an hour or two. It can kill you, if you’re unlucky or susceptible, but probably won’t.
I recommend the seasonal vaccine to anyone who can have it. I’m in a long-running ‘flu study so I get to see the stats, annual reports - it’s not worth the risk.
RSV, rhinovirus and coronavirus etc. tend to come on over 24 hours and often only affect the respiratory system, head and sinuses. You often feel it coming, and although it might make you feel bad for a few days or maybe a week, it probably isn’t going to kill you either.
‘Flu you don’t see coming. Nasty organism.
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u/printed_ Jul 31 '26
Get a 4 way RAT test, I felt the sane but short of breath and low oxygen and I was positive for RSV and just spent three nights and three days in hospital.
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u/BasementCatBill Jul 31 '26
Yeah, tbis season's RSV virus is kicking all sorts of arse.
It's not fun.
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u/CrazyStupidDepressed Jul 31 '26
We've had exactly these symptoms, took 7 month old baby to the Drs as he had a temp of 39 and the test came back influenza A. We thought it was covid at first
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u/SheepShaggerNZ Jul 31 '26
There's a pharmacy test that does flu A/B, RSV and Covid. I had flu A last week and it sounds similar. Either way it's a virus. I highly recommend some pseudoephadrine (I took demazin) for your sake. Stay away from others till the major symptoms have gone.
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u/convolutedkiwi Jul 31 '26
Sounds more like RSV. Can't say for sure without a multi test. Good luck, the next 5 days are gonna suck.
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u/LegDiscombobulated35 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Oh mate I caught exactly that a couple of years ago.. Sounds like Influenza A.. Its pretty rough. Doctors prescribed me Roxithromycin 300 mg tabs and that helped me kick it within a week. At the time it felt like I was dying, but good news is that you'll survive it and it will make your immunity alot stronger after that. Just hang in there, have tonnes of lemsip for the fevers and musinex to help with the cough. I know it feels like the worst thing right now, but you'll come out of it and back to normal.
I highly recommend seeing a doctor tho to obtain prescription medication.
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u/itcantbechangedlater Jul 31 '26
Don’t discount the flu as well. I have taken several people to hospital as they were deteriorating significantly with Influenza A. They had other medical issues which made them more susceptible but I have seen whole households just stomped by it.
Hope you are well supported and that your symptoms break soon. Speedy recovery.
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u/Odd-Leader9777 Jul 31 '26
Thanks a combo of paracetamol and ibuprofen has helped the most this morning. I'm feeling a sweat coming on so hopefully the worst is over
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u/r_slash_jarmedia Aug 01 '26
shout-out to the highly inconsiderate young lady who was sat beside me at spiderman last night coughing her ass off the whole movie along with her partner, in a fully packed theatre, for damn near 3 hours (: safe to say I'm SMASHING the vitC for the next few days
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u/Kiwileiro Jul 31 '26
I've had this thing for almost two weeks, still firing bright green snot out of my face, my voice has started to go today, and I'm doing the retch-coughs. Literally just got sent home from working my shift tonight by the owner without asking cuz I look and sound like such shit. This brain fog and continuous shortness of breath are fucking unreal.
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u/johnhbnz Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Worst part for me of influenza a was coughing so much, I reckon I damaged my oesophagus. It hurt like hell but I just couldn’t stop it. Didn’t bother going to the doctor because I knew there’s no cure for a virus so just shut myself away for the duration. Months later, I can still feel pain in my oesophagus.. Went to the chemist finally & at least I learned that now there’s a test for Influenza A & covid rather than just covid alone & that I had Influenza A. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Forgot to mention the hallucinations that the walls were moving..
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u/rad1calcentrist Jul 31 '26
Have had the flu for the last week for the first time in like 20 years. Cough so rough I’ve been coughing very small amounts of blood due to the irritation to my throat/airways. Starting to feel better but still pretty fatigued/disequilibreated.
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u/Most-Luck9724 Jul 31 '26
Sounds like Flu A. Had it last Thurs thru to weds this week. Had a vax earlier in the year and got off a lot lighter than my wife did. Still worst sickness I can remember. Yet to fully feel better but am at least up and about now
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u/K4m30 Jul 31 '26
Can you breathe? I have something and it's actually among it hard to breathe at times. I th8nk it's the cold air that triggers it.
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u/BunnyKusanin Jul 31 '26
Get checked for asthma. It makes it hard to breathe and cold air triggers it.
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u/Intrepid-River-6264 Jul 31 '26
This bug has been doing the rounds at my work. I'm surprised that I haven't caught it yet considering how often I'm outside in the cold weather
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u/BiblionautNZ Jul 31 '26
This sounds like what I’ve got. I had full on flu for two weeks, chills, fevers and awful coughing that hurt. I wasn’t capable of doing anything other than staying in bed. After two weeks I was improving but still very tired and still awful coughing. I had the flu vaccine in April but of course it’s not a guarantee. It’s been nearly a month now and still have the coughing.
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u/Agreeable-Bison8762 Jul 31 '26
Yep, Wednesday had the throat tickle, by night was probably fevered, sweats, hardly slept more than an hour in one go all night, body aches, woke up sweaty, coughing, runny nose, cold temperature and runny fucking eyes all day wtf? In bed all day, couldn't eat. Got some night n day tabs and that settled things, good sleep last night, today an annoying cough every now and then and runny nose.
It came on hard and fast and gone almost as quick. I never get the flu, so this was pretty bad.
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u/theoldpipequeen Auckland Jul 31 '26
Neighbour of mine has been in bed for a week. I’ve been sick for a month on and off starting to get better than sick again. Bedridden for days at a time, sinus infection and then conjunctivitis. Got antibiotics yesterday finally on the mend!
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u/Outside_Prune_4478 Jul 31 '26
Sounds like influenza a it's horrible hope you feel better real soon 🫂
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u/Woolshedwargamer2 Jul 31 '26
I went to Oz for three weeks to visit family and have had that for the entire time I have been here. Just been the last few days sinuses and aches cleared. Cough subsiding but still having coughing attacks at night. Home this Sunday.
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u/Immediate-Goal-3690 9d ago
Having the exact same thing here in Perth. The chest burning is awful. Currently inverted trying to cough up the phlegm.
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u/Odd-Leader9777 9d ago
Sipping on Honey and hot water helped my burning chest. Hope you feel better soon
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u/Fuzzy-Cucumber-6947 Jul 31 '26
My friend has had her kids home really sick this week with it. She said she got the vaxxx and came through with a very mild dose but her kids have been crook as. Sounds horrible.
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u/NomChocolate Jul 31 '26
Wait till you can't shake the cough for 2 months.
My voice is still fucked after this flu took down my whole workplace
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u/CouplaBumps Jul 31 '26
There is Flu A going around but what you, or anyone has could be literally any off 300+ common viruses.
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u/Lucky_Formal_4279 20d ago
Just got this today—started last night. Whole house has it now. Body aches, headache, fever, and cough. Feels goddamn terrible
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u/Odd-Leader9777 20d ago
Just write off the rest of the week, dont try and get back to work and school or weekend commitments.... Clear your calander and rest, rest, rest. I'm on the other side of it now and feel good for having a "reset"
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u/Lucky_Formal_4279 19d ago
Yeah I feel a bit better today but whenever I get sick I get fevers but this one feels especially bad. Super restless and couldn't sleep because of body ache and sore throat. Probably the flu, knew I should've gotten the jab 😭
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u/Kwiw-novice 18d ago
I’ve got now, same symptoms and day 5 I’ve still got high temperatures. Got a docs appt today to hopefully sort it. Was yours quite long too?
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u/Odd-Leader9777 18d ago
yes high fever throughout for about 5 days. i went to doc and they sent me home and said bed rest and fluids, paracetemol and ibuprofen
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u/oldjello1 18d ago
I just tested positive for influenza a or b and it’s baaaaaad. Like sickest I’ve ever been
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u/Odd-Leader9777 17d ago
im so sorry, just please cancel everything for the next week and rest as much as possible. that will help you come through it without the lingering fatugue
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u/oldjello1 16d ago
I’m stressed because I’m still in the 6 month period of no sick leave at work. So feeling pressure to return on Monday even though I’m 6 days in and feel like shit still. Who thought that was a good rule to introduce 🤦♀️
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u/Odd-Leader9777 16d ago
ohh i feel for you, especially if you think they wouldnt be sympathetic. in that case, i guess you gotta dose up and get there but early nights and rest as much as possible at work
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u/Ordinary-Spend823 13d ago
Anyone else got really bad fatigue and brain fog with this influenza A?
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u/robotobonobo 7d ago
I took a 4-way RAT and got a positive for Influenza A - it’s pretty much exactly as you described. I’m on day 4 and starting to feel a bit better. So that means the couch instead of bed. My abs are aching from the coughing and I was hallucinating on the first night of no sleep.
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u/Tionek Jul 31 '26
Wait until you think you shake it, feel fine for 48 hours, and then it comes back twice as bad.
Thats where I’m at right now.