Many people confuse the terms "cold" and "flu" because the illnesses share some of the same features. Both are caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract, mainly during the winter, and both can cause symptoms such as coughing and sore throat. A cold is a minor viral infection of the nose and throat and can occur in any season. More than 200 viruses are known to cause the common cold.
It's important to know the difference between the cold and flu because each illness is treated differently. You know you have the flu when you feel as though you've been hit by a truck and experience symptoms such as fever, severe headache, muscle and body aches and extreme tiredness. A cold is less severe, and often includes a runny nose, sneezing and coughing. Unlike flu, colds typically don't cause fever.
Flu Symptoms
The flu causes muscle and joint pain, high fever, a deep cough, chills, fatigue and weakness that usually send you straight to bed for three to five days or longer. Afterward, cough and tiredness may persist for days or even weeks. Other symptoms include headache, eye pain and sometimes a stuffy nose and sore throat. Symptoms usually come on suddenly once you've been exposed to the virus.
While there is such a thing as "stomach flu," it is not caused by the influenza virus. Most people with stomach flu are infected with one of the many gastroenteritis viruses that cause temporary nausea and vomiting.
If you've been in contact with someone who has the flu and you begin to experience flu-like symptoms, chances are you have the virus. Only your health care professional can diagnose your symptoms accurately, so it's important to call for an appointment as soon as your symptoms develop to see if you're a candidate for prescription antiviral medication.
To be effective, antiviral medications should be taken within 12 to 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
Flu Complications
Flu often develops into acute bronchitis—an inflammation of the bronchi, the air passages or tubes to the lungs. Symptoms include:
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A slight fever, 100 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
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An irritating, dry, painful cough that starts to produce small amounts of white or light yellow sputum after two or three days; at this stage the fever often recedes, and the pain from coughing diminishes. If your sputum is yellow-green or green in color, you may have a bacterial infection.
Even after the condition improves, a slight cough commonly remains for another week or two. Most cases of acute bronchitis simply represent continued inflammation from viral infection, rather than a bacterial complication. Many people benefit from short-term use of an inhaled bronchodilator such as albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin, Xopenex or ProAire).
You usually don't need antibiotics, regardless of how long your cough has lasted. However, if you have a cough for three weeks or more, you should be carefully evaluated to rule out pneumonia. And if you are producing green secretions when you cough, you may have a bacterial infection and need antibiotics.
Pneumonia symptoms typically appear after you feel like you've just about recovered from the flu. Symptoms include:
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high fever
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shaking chills
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chest pain with each breath
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continuous hacking cough that produces thick, yellow-greenish-colored phlegm, or sputum, or sputum with blood in it
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extreme weakness and fatigue
The Flu in Children
Children are both highly likely to get the flu and the most likely to transmit it to others. In fact, studies find that:
- Children are two to three times more likely than adults to get the flu, with an average of one out of every three children in the United States affected by the flu each year.
- Families with school-age children experience more flu infections than those without because schools are ideal locations for viruses to attack and spread. On average, about one-third of family members of school-aged children are infected with the flu each year.
- Children do not have as much natural immunity to influenza as adults because they have had less lifetime exposure. Also, close contact with other children in school, home and day-care settings increases a child's risk of getting and spreading the virus.
For the rest of this article, questions to ask your health care professional, information on treatment, prevention and more, click here.
Author: Editorial Staff of the National Women's Health Resource Center