In the wake of flu season, it is really important to know the difference between having the flu and a simple viral cold. A lot of the time, people pay unneeded visits to doctors and spend money they don’t need too because they misinterpret their cold- which has to run its own course- for the flu, which antibiotics will probably be needed to take care of.
Cold
Although cold symptoms and flu symptoms can be nearly identical, it is important to figure out the difference in order to take the next step in getting well again. There are a few steps you can take to be able to tell them apart, which first starts with the symptoms. Cold symptoms can include a runny nose, a sore throat, which typically goes away after only a day or two, and a cough that usually starts on the fourth or fifth day. For the first few days, any snot that is stored in the nose seems to be almost watery, but after a few days it becomes thicker. There are literally thousands of different viruses that can find their way into your body and cause your cold, so telling which virus you have obtained isn’t necessarily possible.
Cold symptoms can last for about a week. If they stay for a few days longer it could mean your simple cold is a bacterial infection, otherwise known as a sinus infection. Colds are highly contagious, which means they pass from person to person during any contact. They stop being contagious after three days.
Flu
Symptoms of the flu differ from symptoms of a cold greatly, but the easiest way to tell the difference is probably how much tougher and quicker the flu comes on. With the flu, there is no gradual increase of symptoms, but more so you wake up one morning with everything. Symptoms of the flu can be fever, sore throat, tender muscles, a cough, a runny nose, and even diarrhea and puking. It is more common for there to be a fever with the flu than a cold, however it is possible for children to attract a fever even just with a cold. Although a lot of symptoms improve from two to five days into your flu, it is not completely unusual to still feel tired and week after a week. The flu is an infection that really does attack your body, so it takes time to regain your strength.
The easiest way to differ between the flu or a common cold if the symptoms are too closely related in your case is to take your temperature. If it is over 101 degrees it is most likely the flu, and in the same way, if your body aches, it is probably the flu as well.
In a sense, if your symptoms are moderate, it is probably a cold, but if your symptoms are extreme, it is probably the flu.