Not everything that makes you feel crappy is the flu. Now that we’re in the cold-weather months and school is back in session, we are prone to getting colds as well as the flu. The flu is more than just a bad cold, since they are different critters; colds are separate critters called rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Also, there are different symptoms for colds and flues. Fever- You normally don’t get a fever with a cold, while a 100-degree-plus temperature is common with a flu bug. So, if you get out your trusty thermometer and it doesn’t crack triple-digits, you probably have a cold. Aches and Pains- The flu is marked by headaches and other bad aches around the body; colds tend not to have as many aches. Chills-Chills are more of a symptom of the flu. Phlegm Fatale- A cold will produce a lot of mucus, producing chest congestion and stuffed-up ...

There was a lot of hysteria over the H1N1 flu when it first hit; while it is a bad virus, it isn’t as bad as feared. H1N1 tends to affect younger people more than older people, since many folks over 55 have been exposed to a cousin of the current H1N1 virus back in 1957. Also, this flu isn’t as lethal as many viruses of the recent past, like the bird flu that hit Asia or SARS that hit Canada and China earlier in the decade. That being said, people have died from this bug, including 4 people in Kentucky. You don’t get swine flu from eating pork products. Pigs and humans have similar cardiovascular systems and thus are prone to the same diseases, but proper cooking will kill off the virus; lunch meats are already cooked, so any bugs they have aren’t generally from the animals providing the meat. That’s ...