by Iris W

Created on: January 20, 2009

There was a time when I would use the term cold and flu interchangeably, unaware that they are actually two different illnesses. I'm sure a lot of you have done the same mistake as I, but hey, it's never too late to learn from it. This is especially important since the cold and the flu have quite similar symptoms, but the flu poses more danger to our health as opposed to a common cold.

The flu, otherwise known as influenza, is a respiratory infection caused by flu viruses. Most people recover from flu as easily as they contract it; however the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 100,000 cases of hospitalization and about 36,000 deaths from the flu and its complications every year in the United States alone.

Whereas a cold is a viral infection that is caused by a virus 99% of the time, and very rarely caused by bacteria. It usually affects the nose and the throat and unlike the flu, a common cold is usually harmless as it is a milder form of respiratory illness.

Both the cold and flu share common symptoms such as nasal congestion, scratchy throats, coughing, and sneezing and fatigue. These are a few pointers to help you distinguish the two illness:

1) Duration
A cold usually last for about 3 days to a week while the flu can last for much longer from a few days to a few weeks. If your 'cold' get better after a week or so, then it is likely to be a common cold. If it persists after a week, you should consult a doctor.

2) Types of Symptoms

A flu involves body aches, chills, dry cough (without producing any mucus), fever, headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, fatigue, mild to severe chest discomforts and chills.

A cold usually involves mucus buildup in your nose, difficulty breathing through your nose, swelling of your sinuses, sneezing, sore throat, cough, fatigue, body aches, and headache.

Although a cold would cause tiredness, you would experience a more severe case of tiredness or exhaustion with the flu, especially during the beginning of the symptoms.

A cold does not usually comes with fever, although sometimes it does. The occurrence of a fever would most likely indicate either an allergy or a flu.

3) Onset of Symptoms

The symptoms for cold usually begins 2 4 days after the infection while for flu, they would show 1 6 days after the infection. However, sometimes you might get a fever within a few hours after flu infections with other symptoms gradually showing up later.

4) Occurrence of Symptoms

A flu usually break out during cold seasons, like in late fall and winter. Since the flu is contagious, it is likely to create an epidemic, especially in schools.

Unfortunately, a cold also usually happens during cold seasons and it is also contagious.

You can check if you're having the flu or just a common cold by using home tests like home fever test, home ear infection test, or home flu test. The best way, however, is to see a doctor if you suspect a flu.

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