Flu Immune 500

Knowing the difference between the cold and the flu is not only interesting but also helpful in learning how to prevent them. Droplets passed by sneezing or coughing spread both viruses but they can also be spread by touching contaminated surfaces such as door handles, paper money, or shaking someone’s hand. There is an annual immunization available against the flu but none against a cold. Antibiotics don’t help the cold or the flu since neither infection is bacterial.

The Cold

The common cold, also called an upper respiratory infection (URI) is the name of the combination of viruses which might spread this infection. There is no immunity to the common cold. Everyone “catches a cold” and young children must go through some 250 viruses, colds, almost as a rite of human passage. Anyone who hasn’t had a cold simply hasn’t been exposed. or lived in a “bubble”.

The Flu

Influenza is usually seasonal and highly contagious. It too spreads from human to human, but has been noted to pass from mammal to human (avian flu). It can become an epidemic. It can also become serious for certain individuals who develop pneumonia, bacterial infections, and end up hospitalized. Not everyone has had the flu nor has to have influenza. Unlike the common cold there is a vaccination to prevent or lessen your reaction to the influenza virus.

Unfortunately, having the flu or the flu shot one year doesn’t confer immunity to not catch it again the next year (unlike say, measles, which is a one time viral infection).

Comparing the following symptoms between the two viruses shows some significant differences in how they first present and how long they last and the after effects:

Fever: rare with the cold, usually present with the flu (over 100.4 degrees F)

Chills: uncommon in the cold, fairly common with the flu

Onset of symptoms: slower onset with the common cold but come on quickly with the flu

Aches, tiredness, and general malaise: infrequent with a cold, common with the flu.

Chest discomfort: mild to moderate with a cold but can be severe with the flu

Headache: uncommon with the cold, often present in the flu.

Sneezing: common with the cold and uncommon with the flu

Sore throat: common with a cold, not so common with a flu

Cough: wet productive cough with a cold but a dry hacking cough with the flu

Tiredness: disappears once the cold has passed but can linger for 2 weeks after other flu symptoms disappear

If you suspect you have the flu, you can be tested with an in-office rapid flu test, which determines if you have type A or Type B influenza. There are antiviral flu medicines for each type, which are only effective if given in the first 48 hours. This medication will lessen the severity and duration of your illness but wont cure it.

Both the flu and the common cold require rest, fluids, comfort measures, and time to get better. Take care of yourself and others around you by covering your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands after touching contaminated surfaces or coughing or sneezing. Check the location of this years influenza on a site like flustar or at the “Center for Disease Control.