About Respiratory Illnesses

At a glance

  • Respiratory illnesses affect your lungs and airways, making it hard to breathe.
  • These illnesses share common symptoms, risk factors, and prevention strategies.
  • In the United States, we have more tools than ever before to help people protect themselves, their families, and communities from severe respiratory illnesses.
A woman lies in bed while taking her temperature.

Overview

Even healthy people can get very sick from respiratory illnesses. In fact, last year, CDC estimated that at least 1 million people were hospitalized and more than 70,000 people died from respiratory virus illnesses.1

Common respiratory illnesses

Viral

Bacterial

Symptoms

Respiratory viruses may affect both the upper respiratory tract (the vocal cords and above) and the lower respiratory tract (below the vocal cords). Some viruses that affect the nose and throat can progress to cause serious lung infections, such as pneumonia.

Examples of symptoms affecting the respiratory tract:

  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Cough

Other possible symptoms:

  • Headache
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Fatigue (tiredness)
  • Weakness
  • Decrease in appetite
  • Vomiting or diarrhea

What to do when you are sick

Stay home and away from others until all of your symptoms are getting better and you have not had a fever (without fever-reducing medication), for at least 24 hours. Resume normal activities and take extra precautions over the next five days.
Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You're Sick

Risk factors

Respiratory illnesses can make anyone sick. However, some people have risk factors that can increase their chances of getting very sick (severe illness).

Age: Adults who are 65 years and older and children younger than 2 years old are usually at higher risk for getting very sick from respiratory illnesses.

Underlying conditions: Having medical conditions (for example, chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease), a weakened immune system, disability, and/or being pregnant are conditions that might increase your risk.

Prevention

There are actions you can take to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by respiratory illnesses.

Core prevention strategies

CDC recommends that all people use these core measures to protect themselves and others from respiratory illnesses.

  • Stay up-to-date with immunizations, which are available for all three major fall and winter respiratory virus illnesses – flu, COVID-19, and RSV (for eligible groups). Talk to your doctor or trusted healthcare provider about what may be recommended for you and your family.
  • Practice good hygiene, like washing your hands and cleaning commonly touched surfaces.
  • Take steps for cleaner air— bringing in fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors—as possible in the places where people live and work.
  • When sick, use precautions to prevent the spread of illness and seek healthcare promptly for treatment if you are at higher risk for getting very sick from respiratory illnesses.

Additional prevention strategies

Additional actions can provide an extra layer of protection.

  • Actions like masking and physical distancing can help prevent being exposed to an illness or help reduce the spread if you're sick.
  • Tests are available that can quickly detect these respiratory viruses, so patients don't delay treatment and other actions that can protect their family, friends, and coworkers.

Treatment

Treatment with antiviral medication can reduce severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Flu and COVID-19 treatments are widely available and are recommended for those at higher risk for severe illness. Treatments for flu and COVID-19 work best when taken as soon as possible.

Did you know?

Antivirals are taken for viral infections like flu and COVID-19. Antibiotics are taken for bacterial infections. Antiviral medications and antibiotics are not sold over the counter in the United States. You can only get these medications if you have a prescription from a health care provider.

When to seek emergency care

When to seek emergency care

If you or your child have an emergency warning sign, seek emergency medical care immediately. Emergency warning signs of respiratory virus complications can be different for children and adults.

Adults

Emergency warning signs in adults can include the following:

  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
  • Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse
  • Seizures
  • Not urinating
  • Severe muscle pain
  • Severe weakness or unsteadiness
  • Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen

Seek medical care immediately if you experience these warning signs.

Children

Emergency warning signs of respiratory virus complications can be different in children. Seek immediate medical care for any of the following:

  • Fast breathing or trouble breathing
  • Bluish lips or face
  • Ribs that pull in with each breath
  • Chest pain
  • Severe muscle pain (for example, child refuses to walk)
  • Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
  • Lack of alertness or interacting when awake
  • Seizures
  • Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine
  • In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above)
  • Fever or cough that improves but then returns or worsens
Print
Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
  1. These estimates are based on the lower bounds of the ranges of burden estimates for flu, COVID-19, and RSV during 2024-2025 in the United States.