When you wake up sneezing, coughing, and have that achy,
feverish, can't move a muscle feeling, how do you know whether you have cold
symptoms or the flu?
It's important to know the difference between flu and cold
symptoms. A cold is a milder respiratory illness than the flu. While cold
symptoms can make you feel bad for a few days, flu symptoms can make you feel
quite ill for a few days to weeks. The flu can also result in serious health
problems such as pneumonia and hospitalizations.
What are common cold
symptoms?
Cold symptoms usually begin with a sore throat, which
usually goes away after a day or two. Nasal symptoms, runny nose, and
congestion follow, along with a cough by the fourth and fifth days. Fever is
uncommon in adults, but a slight fever is possible. Children are more likely to
have a fever with a cold.
With cold symptoms, the nose teems with watery nasal
secretions for the first few days. Later, these become thicker and darker. Dark
mucus is natural and does not usually mean you have developed a bacterial
infection, such as a sinus infection.
Several hundred different viruses may cause your cold
symptoms.
How long do cold
symptoms last?
Cold symptoms usually last for about a week. During the
first three days that you have cold symptoms, you are contagious. This means
you can pass the cold to others, so stay home and get some much-needed rest.
If cold symptoms do not seem to be improving after a week,
you may have a bacterial infection, which means you may need antibiotics.
Sometimes you may mistake cold symptoms for allergic
rhinitis (hay fever) or a sinus infection. If cold symptoms begin quickly and
are improving after a week, then it is usually a cold, not allergy. If your
cold symptoms do not seem to be getting better after a week, check with your
doctor to see if you have developed an allergy or sinusitis.
What are common flu
symptoms?
Flu symptoms are usually more severe than cold symptoms and
come on quickly. Symptoms of flu include sore throat, fever, headache, muscle
aches and soreness, congestion, and cough. Swine flu in particular is also
associated with vomiting and diarrhea.
