Causes of Fatigue and Flu-Like Symptoms

Fatigue and flu-like symptoms are extremely unpleasant. The flu might be the most logical assumption when such signs appear. Typical symptoms can include fatigue, cough, runny nose, fever and nausea. However, these signs are indicative of anything from the common cold to a serious medical condition. Usually, you blame your recent sick day on bacterial or viral infections. Knowing other reasons why such symptoms occur can give you a better idea about how to treat them, or when to see a doctor.

Fatigue

• Fatigue can be brought on by a lot of problems. The simplest reason is normal fatigue. It happens after a certain amount of physical exercise or mental exertion. It can be chronic if you exert yourself on a regular basis. Fatigue is classified into different categories, depending on its origin. Metabolic fatigue indicates issues like anemia, diabetes and kidney disease. Infectious fatigue is brought on by mono, hepatitis, HIV, malaria and a myriad of other causes. Heart and lung fatigue is a sign of heart disease, heart failure, asthma, pneumonia and many more. Psychiatric fatigue results from problems that include depression, anxiety, grief and drug abuse. Sleep difficulties cause fatigue due to sleep apnea, insomnia, shift work, pregnancy and more. Medications, such as anti-depressants or sedatives can also lead to fatigue.

Cough

• Cough is a familiar symptom of flu, but there are many more causes. Irritants are a classic trigger. They are things in the environment that bother your lungs, such as smoking, air pollution, fumes or perfume. Allergens, which include dust, mold, dander and pollen, also bring on cough. Medical conditions characterized by cough include the common cold, respiratory infections, bronchitis, heart failure, lung cancer and more issues that damage or obstruct airways. Even some medicines cause cough, like ACE inhibitors used to handle high blood pressure, or beta-blockers that are used to alleviate migraines or glaucoma.

Runny Nose

• There are extensive reasons for a runny nose. More commonly, it can be attributed to benign things like the common cold or allergies. However, it does have serious causes as well. Some of the reasons include pneumonia, bronchitis, upper respiratory infection, sinusitis and strep throat. Certain injuries, like a skull fracture, can also be characterized by a runny nose.

Fever

• Fever generally occurs when the body is trying to fight an infection due to a massive list of bacteria or viruses. The fever's entire purpose is to increase body temperature to harm heat-sensitive organisms and give your immune system the upper-hand. However, the cause of fever is not limited to microorganisms. Drugs like amphetamines, as well as alcohol withdrawal, can trigger a fever. Environmental reasons should also be considered, such as heat stroke.

Nausea

• Nausea and vomiting are both flu-like symptoms. Vomiting is a very unpleasant and violent act, because your stomach is turning itself inside out in order to remove its contents. While this does indicate the flu, it has many other causes. Nausea can be brought on by many viral infections, including the flu. Stomach flu is another cause, not to be mistaken with regular flu. Stomach flu is a blanket term for vomiting brought on by a virus. Food poisoning can cause nausea due to the toxins released by bacteria. Other causes include irritants like alcohol, aspirin and ibuprofen. A serious reason can be peptic ulcer disease, creating a hole in the protective lining of the stomach called an ulcer.