Okay, let's start with the definition of "flu".
A lot of people use the term for a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) to a bronchitis illness with cough and fever.
Influenza, as a specific disease, is a primarily respiratory illness characterized by cough, fever, and joint and muscle aches. A small group of viruses cause the true "flu", and we can generally diagnose them. Influenza can be a severe illness, with major respiratory symptoms of cough, bronchospasm, and sputum production, and generally people who contract the actual "flu" are ill for several weeks to a month, or more. Complications of the flu are not uncommon, and include bacterial pneumonia. Flu can be a dangerous illness, and must be treated with respect.
On the other hand, a respiratory illness with nasal congestion, sore throat and cough is common termed "flu" by laymen, even though the illness is not caused by a influenza virus. This type of illness can last a week to a month or more, but is generally shorter-lived than influenza. It is not prone to complications in the same way flu is. People with underlying reactive airways disease can get asthma-type symptoms with such an illness, and those symptoms really preclude diving until they are resolved.
The short answer (and I'm never given to those
) is that you should be completely asymptomatic -- no cough, no wheeze, no fever, no body aches, no excessive fatigue -- before you resume diving after influenza. After a simple upper respiratory infection, one might be able to be a bit more liberal.
A lot of people use the term for a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) to a bronchitis illness with cough and fever.
Influenza, as a specific disease, is a primarily respiratory illness characterized by cough, fever, and joint and muscle aches. A small group of viruses cause the true "flu", and we can generally diagnose them. Influenza can be a severe illness, with major respiratory symptoms of cough, bronchospasm, and sputum production, and generally people who contract the actual "flu" are ill for several weeks to a month, or more. Complications of the flu are not uncommon, and include bacterial pneumonia. Flu can be a dangerous illness, and must be treated with respect.
On the other hand, a respiratory illness with nasal congestion, sore throat and cough is common termed "flu" by laymen, even though the illness is not caused by a influenza virus. This type of illness can last a week to a month or more, but is generally shorter-lived than influenza. It is not prone to complications in the same way flu is. People with underlying reactive airways disease can get asthma-type symptoms with such an illness, and those symptoms really preclude diving until they are resolved.
The short answer (and I'm never given to those
) is that you should be completely asymptomatic -- no cough, no wheeze, no fever, no body aches, no excessive fatigue -- before you resume diving after influenza. After a simple upper respiratory infection, one might be able to be a bit more liberal.
