> Actual flu always lasted weeks, just lots of people call bad colds "the flu" until they experience the flu for the first time.
People don’t take the flu seriously enough. It’s a major illness and kills plenty of people each year. However, the duration can vary quite a bit.
Other than lingering coughs, neither of my two cases of the flu lasted significantly over a week. Both were confirmed as the flu by tests since both were severe enough to require PCP or hospital visits.
One was when I was in elementary school. I think I was pulled out of school for a little over a week, and knowing my parents I assume that was about how long symptoms lasted. I had terrible sinus/throat symptoms and a fever. The fever reached 104 °F. I remember lying on my mother’s lap, moaning, and at one point asked her if I was dying.
The other was during the 2009-2010 swine flu outbreak. This one was notable because it lasted almost exactly three days. I felt basically back to normal on the fourth, but prior to that I spent three days in absolute misery. My joints felt like they were creaking and were extremely painful. I remember thinking “this must be how Pak Protectors feel”. I spent 24 hours doing nothing but sleeping for an hour, waking up to use the bathroom and drink some fluids, then went back to sleep for another hour. On the fourth day I suddenly felt almost completely fine. From what I recall a very short duration of intense symptoms with a sharp boundary was fairly normal for that outbreak.
Actual flu always lasted weeks, just lots of people call bad colds "the flu" until they experience the flu for the first time.