by Betty Carew

Created on: January 16, 2011

Perhaps there has never been another word bantered around as much the words cold and flu without realizing the difference between the two. Although both are common there is a distinct difference in how they act in the human body and the symptoms they produce. While the common cold can be annoying the flu can turn deadly if the symptoms are left untreated or if the virus is aggressive enough. Here are some ways to tell the difference between a cold and the flu.

The flu may start out the same way as a cold but it does not take long for the effects of the flu to show its true colors. The flu is a viral infection that is caused by an influenza virus and usually attacks the respiratory system which makes it different than the common cold. Influenza infects the lungs causing illness such as pneumonia or weakens the lungs so badly that it can lead to death without treatment of the symptoms or sometimes in spite of it. The flu is much more contagious than a cold and can turn into a epidemics and pandemics. A cold is just annoying for the human race and can be treated quite well most times without medical help.

While there is no cure for a cold or the flu, the flu can be stopped with a vaccination every year but there is no vaccination for a cold. Flu may also attacks the joints of the body and cause extreme discomfort for the patient that suffers from it. A cold just leaves the person with a stuffy nose and sometimes a low grade fever and a little washed out.

To help identify the flu keep in mind that the flu is at its best from early November until March with the more severe times being between November and January. A colds best time is during the winter months.  Another way to identify the flu is by noting the duration of the infection. There are times when both cold and flu will last for a week to ten days but depending of the severity of the flu it could go well into three to four weeks. The virus dies out before this but the symptoms will stay for the duration of this time.  

Allergies crop up at the same time which may make the symptoms a little confusing at first but allergies can go on for months just causing discomfort. Allergies will not produce a fever, a cold could possibly produce a low grade fever and flu can make a person very ill and produce high fevers and chills.

When a flu strain enters the body it starts reproducing immediately. Within forty eight hours the virus has done its job. There are medications on the market that when taken within

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