“Can I catch the flu again after JUST having it?”
If I already have the flu can I be around someone who has it?
Female | 17 years old
7 Answers
Ear,NoseandThroatDoctor(ENT)Ear,NoseandThroat(ENT)
Yes, you can if you are exposed to a different strain
There are different strains of the flu that circulate each season. Therefore, you can get one strain and later on, get the other one However, if you are sick with the flu and recuperate, but in the process, passed it on to someone else in your home, then you should not get reinfected as you will be immune to the same strain.
Unlikely. Flu is seasonal. It varies year to year but usually only one strain per year.
Albert Kim
Family Practitioner
Only if you both had the same viral strain. We change the flu vaccine every year because we do not know the one that will affect us until about August and that's when we make the vaccine for that year. You both can have flu but with different strain meaning you can potentially infect each other although severity should be less.
As we are seeing with COVID, there are variants of the flu virus. So, you should avoid anyone else to avoid co-infecting yourself or the other person.
If you just had an episode of flu and you had fully recovered, you cannot actually catch that same exact strain of flu again. However, unfortunately there are usually more than one strain of flu out at any particular time. So in answer to your question yes you can catch the flu shortly after having had it before but it would be a different strain of the same virus.
Dr. Hamm
Dr. Hamm
If you have the flu & feel well enough, you can safely be around someone who has it. NOTE: if you catch the flu, i.e. have tested (+) for Influenza type A, you do become immune but only to this strain of the virus. Influenza type B is a mildly form. Of interest, in the 'flu season' there are other viruses (rhinovirus, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, human parainfluenza virus, et al) that cause 'common cold' symptoms - ALSO coronavirus strains which is the same group as COVID-19). Getting both the annual Flu shot as well as COVID vaccines & wearing a mask, social distancing, washing hands often and sanitizing things we touch (countertops, doorknobs, etc) can minimize our risk of getting sick from all these respiratory illnesses.
