Influenza test kit

Symptoms to look out for

Your respiratory illness might be influenza (flu) if you have fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and/or fatigue.

Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children. People may be sick with flu and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

Flu test at-home

Flu viruses usually cause the most illness during the colder months of the year. However, flu can also occur outside of the typical flu season. In addition, other viruses can also cause respiratory illness similar to flu. So, it is impossible to tell for sure if you have flu based on symptoms alone.

Can you test too early for flu

If your doctor needs to know for sure whether you are sick with flu, there are laboratory tests that can be done.

Different kinds of flu tests

A number of tests are available to detect flu viruses in respiratory specimens.

The most common are called "rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs)." RIDTs work by detecting the parts of the virus (antigens) that stimulate an immune response. These tests can provide results within appro

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