(ARA) -- As the temperature drops and flu season arrives, people like you are starting to worry about getting sick -- with good reason! With this year’s major flu vaccine shortage more people may come down with the flu and it is important to get the facts about fighting flu symptoms.

If you do get the flu this year, you won’t be alone. Experts say the flu, which is caused by a contagious respiratory virus, afflicts millions of people each year and it has already begun to take its toll this season. In an average year, 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, and this season 28 states have already reported flu activity.

As luck would have it, the holidays fall right in the middle of flu season, which can begin as early as October and end as late as May. If you get sick over the holidays, knowing how to treat your symptoms early can prevent the spread of illness to friends and family.

The first step to effectively treating symptoms is to distinguish between flu and cold symptoms since they can easily be confused. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) with the flu, symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and coughing are more common and severe. Colds, however, are milder and more likely to cause a runny or stuffy nose. Those who do come down with the flu may suffer from a range of symptoms, including high fever, headache, extreme tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches and even nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Now that you know what the flu symptoms are, the second step is to be aware of how and when the virus can be spread. Droplets from coughing and sneezing spread the flu by person-to-person contact or by touching your nose or mouth after coming in contact with a surface that had the virus on it.

People can pass the flu along even before they realize they’re sick. “Once symptoms start, it is important to treat them with over-the-counter medications -- they make you feel better and can help to prevent the spread of the flu," says Dr. Holly Atkinson. Advil Flu and Body Ache, for example, relieves body aches and pains, fever, headache and nasal congestion associated with the flu. To help prevent the spread of the flu, Robitussin DM helps people with coughs that are more frequent and non-productive stop coughing. If you have a cough plus other flu symptoms, Robitussin Flu treats the cough and symptoms like headache, fever and body aches.

In addition to over-the-counter medications, the following tips may help you fight the flu this year:

• Get lots of rest and avoid physical exertion
• Drink plenty of liquids
• Avoid using alcohol and tobacco
• Rub ointment on and around a nose that is red and raw from sniffling
• Use a humidifier in your bedroom and take hot showers to clear a stuffy nose
• Have some chicken soup -- it has been proved to have a clinical benefit
• Dress in layers; when you feel warm remove a layer or two, and when you feel chilly, layers can be easily added
• Stay home and treat your symptoms to prevent spreading the flu to others
  

To find out when cough, cold and flu are in your area, sign up for Cough, Cold & Flu Alerts at www.robitussin.com and get $1 off any Robitussin product. For more information on Advil and Robitussin or the flu, talk to a doctor or pharmacist, or visit www.advil.com and www.robitussin.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content