Feeling like you’re starting to get a cold or flu and not sure how to stop it? First of all, you should pay attention to the symptoms. It is important to be able to distinguish between conditions when your body can handle with a little help and remote medical advice and when you should definitely see a specialist. The danger of the flu, a bad cold, or, for example, the coronavirus lies in complications that can even cost you your life. Therefore, it is important to recognize the disease in time and decide on the necessary treatment.
How to recognize the symptoms of colds and flu
The common cold begins gradually. You may feel weak or have a slight fever for a few days. We recommend immediately ruling out the possibility of coronavirus. The FlowFlex rapid test, which can quickly detect the disease, will help you. At the same time, flu symptoms develop sharply, almost instantly, with high fever, eye pain, muscle aches, or chills. You can usually tell when the illness began. Influenza is characterized by a high fever of 38 degrees or higher. This symptom occurs right from the beginning of the disease. During a cold, most often, there is a feeling of weakness and “brokenness.” And the flu, from the very beginning of the disease, is accompanied by a feeling of aches, chills, headache, and muscle pain.
Additional symptoms
If you are severely bothered by the cough, try again to be checked for coronavirus, it is better to read about FlowFlex antigen test for this. It is what doctors recommend as the most accurate means of determining the disease in its early stages. Since the cough is not very pronounced for a cold, it can occur along with a sore throat.
At the same time, the cough is a characteristic sign of the flu. In this case, it may cause chest pain. The cold is characteristic of a sore throat, which has a pronounced character. But for the flu, it is not a characteristic and may appear only on days 3-4 of the disease. During a cold, discomfort in the eyes occurs infrequently. Lacrimation, red eyes, and photophobia are characteristic of the flu. During a cold, shortness of breath can be felt, but primarily due to nasal congestion. Such a symptom during the flu is associated with respiratory failure. If you feel it – you should definitely go to the doctor.
A few basic rules that you should remember
An ordinary cold with slight symptoms can only be treated by bed rest and plenty of drinking for 3-5 days. The body can cope with the virus on its own. To treat flu or a cold with severe symptoms, use medicines prescribed by your doctor. Adults need to lower their temperature only when it is over 38.5 degrees. It is better to use paracetamol or ibuprofen and not to exceed the dose of this medicine. Viral infections are not treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotics are prescribed only for bacterial diseases when the causative agent is bacteria, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. But these medicines are prescribed only after blood tests and examination by a doctor. Some symptoms are signals that it is life-threatening to stay at home.
Call an ambulance immediately if there is shortness of breath, skin rash, hemoptysis, blue shade of skin, vomiting and diarrhea, chest pain, decreased blood pressure, slow heart rate, arrhythmia, impaired consciousness, or seizures. In any case, consult your doctor about your symptoms. They will help to determine the next course of action.