How to distinguish the flu from a cold?
Some people also refer to a cold as the flu, but this is a misnomer because there is a difference between the flu and a cold. Influenza is an acute viral infection, and compared to other respiratory diseases, it is much more severe, and it is also characterized by sharp seasonality.
Symptoms of a cold are:
- Runny nose, discharge from the nose;
- Suffocation of the nasal cavity;
- Sore throat;
- Sneezing;
- Cough.
In some clinical cases, during a cold, the patient has a mild fever, ear pain, fatigue and headache.
Symptoms develop within 1 or 2 days and the condition improves, symptoms begin to resolve within a few days.
A cold is contagious in the early stages, when the sufferer has a runny nose and a sore throat.
Flu symptoms:
Compared to a cold, the flu develops much faster.
The following symptoms are characteristic of the flu:
- Sudden fever (38-40);
- Muscle pain
- Sweating
- Dry cough, wet cough (also known as productive cough);
- Severe fatigue, exhaustion - due to weakness, the patient wants to lie down.
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