Posted on 01/14/2022 8:14:57 AM PST by Red Badger
How do I know if I have a cold, the flu or COVID-19?
Experts say testing is the best way to determine what you have since symptoms of the illnesses can overlap.
The viruses that cause colds, the flu and COVID-19 are spread the same way — through droplets from the nose and mouth of infected people. And they can all be spread before a person realizes they’re infected.
The time varies for when someone with any of the illnesses will start feeling sick. Some people infected with the coronavirus don’t experience any symptoms, but it’s still possible for them to spread it.
Cough, fever, tiredness and muscle aches are common to both the flu and COVID-19, says Kristen Coleman, as assistant research professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Symptoms specific to COVID-19 include the loss of taste or smell.
Common colds, meanwhile, tend to be milder, with symptoms including a stuffy nose and sore throat. Fevers are more common with the flu.
Despite some false portrayals online, the viruses have not merged to create a new illness. But it’s possible to get the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, which some are calling “flurona.”
“A co-infection of any kind can be severe or worsen your symptoms altogether,” says Coleman. “If influenza cases continue to rise, we can expect to see more of these types of viral co-infections in the coming weeks or months.”
With many similar symptoms caused by the three virus types, testing remains the best option to determine which one you may have. At-home tests for flu aren’t as widely available as those for COVID-19, but some pharmacies offer testing for both viruses at the same time, Coleman notes. This can help doctors prescribe the right treatment.
Laboratories might also be able to screen samples for various respiratory viruses, including common cold viruses. But most do not have the capacity to routinely do this, especially during a COVID-19 surge, Coleman says.
Getting vaccinated helps reduce the spread of the viruses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is safe to get a flu and COVID-19 shot or booster at the same time.
500 words that essentially contain no information except get vaccinated
Does it even matter? None are curable, all are transmissable, so stay away from others and do what is needed to mitigate the symptoms and boost your immune system. If whatever you have becomes life threatening, seek medical attention.
The real answer is you can’t. Treat Covid like the flu, the flu like Covid.
Take NAC, Zinc with Quercetin, and vitamins C and D3.
Get plenty of rest but some fresh air also. Treat your fever and pain with Tylenol.
Take it easy, don’t panic. You’ve been down this road before. 7-14 days max.
Should have had one more beer (20) to get the proper number of trials for statistical significance. That’s how CDC does it !
Yeh, get that vaxx. 🙄
OMG if you can’t breath go to a doctor otherwise take of yourself just like you would at any other time in your life this is just getting to be ridiculous people just can’t be this stupid!!
so, hard to distinguish between cold, flu or rona??
seems like a blanket cya?
I don't know, but if you go to a hospital, they'll call it COVID-19 no matter what it is, and the press will count you as dead from COVID as soon as the hospital claims you have it.
Take NAC, Zinc with Quercetin, and vitamins C and D3
***********************************
What is NAC?
thanks.
It’s Covid if the hospital administrator has a wrench in his pocket.
*** helps reduce the spread of the viruses***
LOL! Reminded me of an old TV Brylcreem advertisement from 62 years ago.
“HELPS YOU KEEP THE HAIR YOU’VE GOT!”
It was pulled for being FALSE.
Everything is Covid.
Who cares?
lol
Don’t test, it only encourages them.
Some people infected with the coronavirus don’t experience any symptoms, but it’s still possible for them to spread it.>>>.Lie number one
“What is NAC?”
N-acetyl cysteine primarily used for cellular free radical protection.
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