when are you contagious with cold and flu?
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The contagious period for the flu begins about 1 day before symptoms start and can last as long as 5-7 days from when you first felt sick. You're generally contagious with a cold 1-2 days before your symptoms start, and you could be contagious as long as your symptoms are present—in rare cases, up to 2 weeks.
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You are most contagious soon after you are infected. Adults who are otherwise healthy are no longer contagious two weeks after the illness begins. Children and people with weak immune systems may be contagious for up to six months.
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For colds, most individuals become contagious about a day before cold symptoms develop and remain contagious for about five to seven days. Some children may pass the flu viruses for longer than seven days (occasionally for two weeks).
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If you have the flu, you'll be contagious one day before developing symptoms and up to five to seven days after becoming ill. Younger children or people with a weakened immune system may be contagious for longer. The influenza virus can also survive on surfaces, such as doorknobs and tables, for up to 24 hours.
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Those first few days of a runny nose, coughing, and sneezing are when she's most likely to get others sick. But you'll still want to keep her away from friends for 4-5 days after that. In fact, she will be contagious as long as her cold symptoms last -- which could be up to 3 weeks.
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If you catch the flu, you're contagious for one to two days before you start to show symptoms and for five to seven days after becoming sick.
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People with the virus are likely contagious from the day or so before symptoms first appear until about five days after symptoms begin, though sometimes people are contagious for as long as 10 days after symptoms appear. Children and people with weakened immune systems may be contagious for a slightly longer time.
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Mumps is spread in the same way as colds and flu: through infected droplets of saliva that can be inhaled or picked up from surfaces and transferred into the mouth or nose. A person is most contagious a few days before the symptoms develop and for a few days afterwards.
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The common cold is infectious from a few days before your symptoms appear until all of the symptoms are gone. Most people will be infectious for around 2 weeks. Symptoms are usually worse during the first 2 to 3 days, and this is when you're most likely to spread the virus.
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Period of Contagiousness People with flu are most contagious in the first 3-4 days after their illness begins. Some otherwise healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick.
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The common cold is a contagious viral infection with an incubation period of one to three days. This means it could take up to three days for you to notice symptoms after being exposed to the virus.
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Sneezing, fever, and a hacking cough are all signs that you could be contagious. Even if you feel all right, your symptoms — or lack thereof — could be deceiving. Even with mild illnesses, you can spread germs, too. Here's how to tell whether you're contagious and if you need to stay home.
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The takeaway You're typically contagious one to two days before symptoms develop and may remain contagious until your symptoms go away. If you or your child is diagnosed with bacterial tonsillitis, you're usually not contagious when your fever is gone and you have been on antibiotics for 24 hours.
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Unfortunately, fever & contagiousness are unrelated. Some contagious illnesses - such as the common cold - may never cause a fever, while others will take a while for a fever to show up. Viruses, with or without a fever, tend to be contagious.
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It may take one to four days after exposure to the influenza virus for symptoms to develop. If you have the flu, you'll be contagious one day before developing symptoms and up to five to seven days after becoming ill. Younger children or people with a weakened immune system may be contagious for longer.
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Swine flu is contagious about one day before symptoms develop to about five to seven days after symptoms develop; some patients may be contagious for a longer time span. The disease lasts about three to seven days with more serious infections lasting about nine to 10 days.
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Other common symptoms include a sore throat, sneezing, and a runny nose. URIs are highly contagious and spread through coughing, hand contact, and even by touching objects an infected person has touched. Kids in childcare and grade school get the most colds. Infections like this are most widespread in winter months.