7 flu facts: Test your know-how with this true-false quiz

What you don’t know about the flu can be enough to make you sick — literally! See whether you’ve got the know-how to fight influenza by taking this true-or-false quiz.

1. True or False? Since flu season runs from November to April, it’s useless getting vaccinated after the season begins.

2. True or False? Once you get a flu shot, you’ve done all you can to prevent flu.

3. True or False? Flu is most often spread by intimate contact, like kissing.

4. True or False? Antibiotic medications aren’t helpful in treating flu symptoms.

5. True or False? The flu shot can actually cause you to get the flu.

6. True or False? If you got a flu shot last year, you don’t need to get one this year.

7. True or False? Not everyone should get a flu shot.

Answer Key

1. False. While it’s best to get vaccinated in the fall, a shot in January can still help keep you healthy, especially during the flu’s peak in February.
2. False. You can also eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, exercise moderately, manage stress and avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
3. False. Flu is generally spread when people cough or sneeze virus-infected droplets into the air.
4. True. Influenza is a viral infection, so it can’t be treated with antibacterial antibiotics.
5. False. However, you may have minor side effects like a runny nose, headache, sore throat or cough.
6. False. The flu vaccine is updated annually to include the most current strains of the flu.
7. True. The flu shot is not safe for people with a fever, who have egg allergies, who’ve had past severe reactions to flu shots or who have Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nervous- and immune-system disorder.

True. Ask your doctor about getting a flu shot.

Augusta University Care Centers are right in your community with teams of skilled primary care and specialty care doctors. Make an appointment at our Family Medicine clinic or at one of our care centers today, visit augustahealth.org, or call 706-721-2273 (CARE).