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Home / Health News / Common cold or flu? Here’s how to tell the difference!

Common cold or flu? Here’s how to tell the difference!

When you wake up in the morning sneezing, coughing, and have that achy and feverish feeling, how do you tell if you have cold or flu? Here’s the difference between the two.

By: Sudhakar Jha   | | Published: September 17, 2018 7:21 am
Tags: Common cold  Cough  Flu  Flu symptoms  High fever  Sneezing  
cold or flu
Want to tackle flu? Maintain a good hand hygiene. © Shutterstock

Common cold and flu are very similar yet very different type of diseases which have signs and symptoms that could be misleading. While you might be taking medication for flu, you might be suffering from a common cold, or vice versa. A cold is a milder respiratory illness than the flu. While cold symptoms can lead to a few uncomfortable days, flu can keep you on the bed for weeks. The flu can also result in serious health problems such as pneumonia and hospitalizations. It’s important to know the difference between the symptoms. We break it down for you here. Also Read - How to Make Kadha to Fight Cough, Cold and Covid: Watch Yasmin Karachiwala’s Video

Common cold symptoms
The symptoms usually begin with a sore throat, which generally fades in a day or two. Nasal symptoms, runny nose, and congestion follow, with cough, by the fourth and fifth days. You might also et fever, which is not very common in adult, but children are at higher risk. During cold the nose becomes full of watery nasal secretions, which become thicker and darker and mucus follows. Also Read - British doctors say common cold is a sign of COVID-19, AIIMS President disagrees



Flu symptoms
The symptoms of flu are more severe than cold. The symptoms include sore throat, fever, headache, muscle aches and soreness, congestion, and cough. Most of them gradually improve over two to five days, but it’s not uncommon to feel run down for a week or even more. A common complication is pneumonia, particularly in the young, elderly, or people with lung or heart problems. Also Read - Common cold may not be enough to identify COVID infection in India: Experts

Symptoms Cold Flu
Fever Sometimes, usually mild Usual; higher (100F-102F; occasionally higher, lasts 3 to 4 days
Headache Occasionally Common
General Aches, Pains Slight Usual; often severe
Fatigue, Weakness Sometimes Usual; can last 2 to 3 weeks
Extreme Exhaustion Never Usual; at the beginning of the illness
Stuffy Nose Common Sometimes
Sneezing Usual Sometimes
Sore Throat Common Sometimes
Chest Discomfort, Cough Mild to moderate; hacking cough Common; can become severe

Published : September 17, 2018 7:21 am
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