How Doctors Take Care of Themselves When They Get the Flu

As the ancient proverb goes, we all have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé. The same sentiment applies to cold and flu season: Technically, you and your physician are working with the same options for fever-reducing medicines, electrolyte drink packets, and blankets to rest under when you get sick. Doctors and their loved ones get felled by the same seasonal flu we do, but the way the pros handle their business is — as always — instructive for the rest of us. We asked physicians for their best tips for recovering from the flu quickly and thoroughly, as well as when to seek medical treatment. Ahead, learn the healing hacks that the healers use themselves.

What are the signs and symptoms of the flu?

Unlike the gradual build of symptoms that can be associated with coronavirus, flu symptoms tend to descend on an infected person more quickly. “What is very commonly described when someone has the flu is a very rapid onset of symptoms. You go from feeling well to suddenly feeling unwell,” says Krystina Woods, M.D., the director of infection prevention at Mount Sinai West in New York City, and an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. When those symptoms do hit, you may feel fever, fatigue, chills, sweats, sore throat, body aches, and a runny or stuffy nose with a cough, says Dr. Woods. The symptoms generally last from seven to 10 days, though she points out that if you’ve had a flu vaccine, “duration is often shorter and symptoms milder.”

How do doctors treat care for themselves and their loved ones with the flu?

In the words of Mary Gover, M.D., a board-certified internal medicine physician at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care in New York City, her partner’s bout with the flu reminded her that the illness is “gnarly.” “The one thing I would most want to impart on everyone is that the flu is a real bummer of an infection,” she says. “You do not feel well with the flu! The fever wipes you out, so you are exhausted. The body aches hurt. And the other symptoms are just icing on the cake of not feeling well.” To help alleviate those gnarly symptoms, here are a few of the steps that Dr. Gover and Dr. Woods take when they or a loved one catches the flu.

Stock up immediately. “Flu is very contagious and will often spread to all members of a household,” says Dr. Woods, who saw this firsthand last flu season, when a close friend, her husband, and her kids all fell ill. “If one person in the household has flu, it’s a good idea for the still-healthy household member to get to the grocery store and pharmacy and purchase enough [supplies] to last for the week, for everyone at home, in case you all get sick,” says Dr. Woods. That only applies if you have one healthy family member on hand, however: If everybody is already sick, she suggests asking another loved one to shop for you (or consider placing an online grocery order). “Do your part to keep your friends and neighbors healthy by not going out or socializing when you’re sick with the flu,” she says.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. “The most important thing to remember when you have the flu is to stay hydrated. Eating is not as important as hydration when you have a fever and are sweating. “Replenishing your fluid stores, particularly with electrolytes, is important,” says Dr. Woods. She recommends coconut water, a natural source of electrolytes, when possible, as well as products like sports drinks, or electrolyte powders mixed in water. (For her part, Dr. Gover has used electrolyte tabs, powders, and drinks.) If you are caring for a child with the flu, Dr. Woods recommends using ice pops to “trick” children into staying hydrated.