This season?s flu is not as severe as the average bout of influenza, but lasts much longer, doctors say, and still has parents around the region reaching for the medicine cabinet.

“It?s a little bit different than usual, in that it?s a milder illness, but longer lasting,” said Dr. Tyler Cymet, head of family medicine at Baltimore?s Sinai Hospital. “People are describing symptoms like the common cold, but the symptoms are staying around for two to three weeks.”