This year the viruses typical of autumn and winter have returned with force. However, it is not always easy to differentiate between pathogens. And it is that the symptoms of Covid, flu and other viruses that cause colds, such as rhinovirus or other coronaviruses, They look more alike than ever.
Thanks to vaccines, the immunization of the population and the evolution of SARSCoV2, today, probably, a person with cold symptoms can test positive for Covid or a flu test, especially in patients who have a competent immune system.
different symptoms
However, these three infections They still have certain symptoms of their own that differentiate them, especially in moderate cases, and that can help to make an early diagnosis, especially if you belong to a group at risk.
There are some manifestations that give clues as to whether we are before a cold, flu or Covid.
For example, in the flu there are more likely to appear muscle aches, fever or chills, while in certain colds these symptoms are less frequent.
The flu specialist, Raúl Lejarazu, assured on his Twitter account: “The flu is not forgotten. If they ask for the differences between the flu and a cold, the patient remembers exactly the moment when they began to feel bad, what they were doing, how long it lasted, how they felt afterwards, even one in three patients identifies the contagion,” he pointed out.
However, in the case of Covid, the differences with the flu are more subtle. For this reason tests have become so popular pharmacies that measure the presence of these two pathogens and indicate the type of infection.
Therefore, in these cases, it is best to resort to a self-diagnosis or consult a doctor and let him decide if it is worth taking a test to determine what type of pathogen is being fought against.
Truths 🦠 like 👊🏻:
“The flu is not forgotten”If they ask differences between #gripe and cold:
The patient remembers exactly the moment when he began to feel bad
what i was doing
how long did it last
How did you feel afterwards?
Even 1/3 of the patients identify the contagion— R Ortiz de Lejarazu🦠🤧💉🧬🏉 (@DrLejarazu) March 4, 2023
Next, 65 AND OVER lists the most common symptoms in these three infections, according to the website Center for Disease Control (CDC) from United States:
Gripe:
- Fever/low fever
- Tos.
- Sore throat.
- snot.
- Dolor muscular.
- Headache.
- Fatigue.
- Vomiting, diarrhea, especially in children.
Covid:
- Fever.
- Tos.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Dolor Muscular.
- Fatigue.
- Headache.
- Sore throat.
- Loss of smell (in certain cases).
Cold:
- Sore throat.
- snot.
- Tos.
- Headache.
- Body ache.
