{"id":741900,"date":"2026-08-18T13:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/741900\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:58:14","slug":"brits-say-why-have-i-got-lurgy-in-summer-as-nation-hit-by-wave-of-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/741900\/","title":{"rendered":"Brits say \u2018why have I got lurgy in summer\u2019 as nation hit by wave of illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

People are complaining that a \u2018summer lurgy\u2019 is sweeping the UK – and fear there\u2019s been a summer surge of Covid. People have taken to social media to complain of coughs, sniffles, sore throats and headaches<\/a> – and wonder how it can happen in a heatwave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Google<\/a> Trends has reported that over the past week, \u201ccan you get the flu in summer?\u201d is a \u2018breakout\u2019 term, signifying a growth of over 5,000% in search interest. The NHS<\/a> is under pressure this summer with high attendances in A&E caused probably by the weather<\/a> which has brought an increase in existing conditions worsening.<\/p>\n

During the May and June 2026 heat events the UK Health Security Agency reported<\/a> an estimated total of 2,877 heat-associated deaths – already near the highest levels ever recorded for a whole year. Respiratory conditions are known to be worstened by the heat.<\/p>\n

It’s not what you eat but when you eat, keep an eye on your belly not BMI, using the internet makes you grumpy, and cutting your run short is dangerous = all this and more in our science newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Heatwaves also cause people to be more exposed as air conditioning and staying indoors to get out the heat can caused increase spreading.<\/p>\n

In California and America reports suggest the summer peak of Covid-19 is in fact<\/a> higher now than the winter. Dr. Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health<\/a> said: \u201c\u201cAnyone who hasn\u2019t received a 2025-26 dose, or is due for the second dose, is encouraged to get vaccinated now, before the next COVID-19 surge,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDisease is on the rise in California, where we\u2019re seeing increasing cases, increasing test positivity, increasing in our wastewater. This is a good time, actually, to protect yourselves or your family,\u201d Pan told The Times in an interview, \u201cbecause we anticipate, based on the last couple of years at least, that this may be the larger peak than the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

On social media people complained at the cold surge. One said: \u201dI have that \u2018summer flu\u2019 that everybody\u2019s going on about and I can confirm that it\u2019s definitely Covid.\u201d Another added: \u201chow does someone get nasopharyngitis in the summer? how is this even possible!! i\u2019m dying from the heat and now i have to deal with this inflammation and the flu?”<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ryanair has witty 12-word response to travellers who missed their flight<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Early symptoms NHS emergency list as people told ‘never too early to call 999’<\/a><\/p>\n

One speculated: \u201cI\u2019m suspecting we\u2019re in the midst of a summer surge. A suspicious number of colleagues had headaches that went on for days. I\u2019m getting over a ear infection and a relative has shingles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frosty said: \u201cI\u2019m sick of having the flu in the middle of summer lol\u201d. River added: \u201cCurrently under the weather and praying I don\u2019t have the flu \u2026. Summer sickness is the absolute worst! Have a good night folks it\u2019s cold meds and sleep for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Londoner posted on social media: \u201cMe and all my friends have gotten individually ill in the last week. Seems there is some gross summer cold travelling around at the moment. Haven\u2019t left the house since last weekend, and seems my cold is just getting worse by each day!<\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling very sorry for myself, the heat is not helping, both in the sense of it\u2019s too hot to be ill, and can\u2019t go out in the cool mornings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another added: \u201cMy team at work has had it this week, passed on at an event we attended.\u201d Another person said: \u201cYes!!! Took out my entire family for a week!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Dominic Greenyer, a private doctor at the Health Suite, said: \u201cThroughout the year, there are multiple viruses that come and go, and often, there can be clusters. So certain viruses may cause a cluster of cases, which we may be seeing at the moment in London. COVID is one of many viruses that circulate through the natural population every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these viruses, you can\u2019t tell initially what it is because there\u2019s a lot of crossover with symptoms. Most viruses cause symptoms such as muscle aches, high temperatures, and fever; these are just symptoms of feeling unwell. It\u2019s hard to pin down a particular virus without getting tested but as most patients get better with no treatment, they don\u2019t get tested. It\u2019s usually only the patients who are very unwell and are admitted to the hospital who get tested.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2020, we had a particularly severe strain that obviously caused a lot of health problems across the nation. However, is there something specific we should worry about with summer colds? No, not specifically. It could be viruses like COVID, among other things.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeneral medical advice would be good self-care, get plenty of rest, fluids, a balanced diet, because all these things help the body to heal, regardless of what the cause is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Greenyer also noted that most people tend to get better within 10-14 days and require \u2018no intervention from medical services\u2019. A pharmacist can give treatment advice and recommend flu remedies.<\/p>\n

The NHS is urging millions of people to book their flu jab from today as the health service starts winter preparations earlier than ever.<\/p>\n

As of yesterday (August 17), the national booking system is open so eligible people, including pregnant women and children, can pre-book their flu vaccinations when vaccinations start on September 1.<\/p>\n

The NHS said it wants to do everything it can to ease winter demand after back-to-back heatwaves have seen staff treat record numbers this summer.<\/p>\n

A&E attendances hit a record 2.5 million attendances in July \u2013 and staff experienced the 3 busiest months ever recorded between May and July in emergency departments.<\/p>\n

Despite the record pressure, more patients were seen, treated or discharged within 4 hours than in June, with performance improving to 75.4%.<\/p>\n

Flu season usually peaks in December and January, so the NHS is starting vaccinations in autumn, to ensure those at risk are protected and fewer people are hospitalised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People are complaining that a \u2018summer lurgy\u2019 is sweeping the UK – and fear there\u2019s been a summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-741900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}