You feel a lot better after the flu. Does that mean you can reunite with people, or are you still contagious?
The symptoms of a flu or cold usually last a week to ten days. You are most contagious one day before symptoms start, and up to five days to a week after. But in some cases you can even be contagious for a week.
Getting sick is important, good for yourself, but it also prevents you from infecting others. If you must or want to leave the house anyway, it is best to wait until you are fever-free for 24 hours.
Children are contagious for longer
Children can be contagious a few days before they have symptoms themselves.
Ensure good hygiene
Sneeze into a tissue or into your elbow. You wash your hands regularly and you do not share food with others.
With a sick person in a room
Perhaps the situation is the other way around and you are in a room with someone who has just been sick. This person can still be contagious, but it doesn't have to be. The incubation period is usually two or three days to a week. So it can take a while before you get sick yourself. Are you sick before? Then there is a good chance that you picked up the flu from someone else earlier in the week.
