With the COVID-19 pandemic on everyone’s minds, it’s easy to start panicking more than usual when you notice the telltale signs and symptoms of illness. Before you visit your local urgent care, clinic, or ER, you should learn more about how you can differentiate between the symptoms of a cold, the flu, and COVID-19.
If you haven’t yet received your flu vaccine, now is the perfect time to protect yourself from severe illness. At ImmediateCare Arizona, we make staying healthy simple by offering quick and convenient flu vaccination services.
Common Symptoms of a Cold
The most common symptoms of the common cold are:
- Sneezing
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Sore or scratchy throat
- Coughing
- Post-nasal drip
- Watery eyes
- Fever (rare)
Common Symptoms of the Flu
Seasonal influenza, including influenza A, can cause serious fatigue, fever, and body aches. Identifying influenza symptoms early is key to getting proper care and avoiding complications.
The most common symptoms of season flu are:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Sore or scratchy throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle pain or body aches
- Headache
Recognizing COVID-19
COVID-19 and the flu both cause a fever, but it’s rare to have a fever with the common cold. With COVID-19, patients usually have a fever over 100 degrees or higher, and flu patients have a fever or 100-102 that lasts for three to four days. If you have COVID-19, you’re likely to have headaches, intense fatigue that progresses slowly, a cough, shortness of breath, and diarrhea. Exhaustion may be an early sign of the flu, but it doesn’t worsen or progress over time the way it does with COVID-19. With any illness, recognizing symptoms early and seeking medical intervention right away can shorten the course of the illness and help you avoid some of the most unbearable symptoms.
Best Treatment Options
For mild illness, flu treatment and cold and flu medicine can help reduce discomfort. Over-the-counter cold medicine can ease congestion and headaches while your body recovers. Both a cold and the flu should get better on their own, and you can take over the counter medication for both. Antibiotics are not a recommended course of treatment for the flu or a cold, and may cause further problems. Many patients ask what the best cold medicine for adults is, the answer depends on your symptoms. Some of the best cold medicines target congestion and sore throat, while others address cough and fatigue. These common cold treatments can help manage symptoms until you fully recover. With any illness, it is very easy to become hydrated, so you should drink as much water as possible. Avoid drinking alcohol or sugary or caffeinated drinks, as those can further dehydrate you. Persistent coughing can make recovery harder. A cough suppressant may help ease discomfort, especially if you develop a wheezing cough that disrupts rest. Always check with your provider before using new medications. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 you can ask your primary care physician to evaluate your symptoms and determine if you need medication or medical intervention. As with any illness, you should visit a clinic, urgent care, or ER if you experience trouble breathing, irregular heart rhythm, severe dehydration, a fever that lasts 4 days or longer, symptoms that improve and then worsen or that last longer than 10 days, or worsening of existing conditions.
If your symptoms are worsening or you’re worried that you have COVID-19, come see us at Immediate Care Arizona. We can also provide infusion therapy to ease cold and flu symptoms. Our wait time is significantly less than that at an ER or urgent care facility, and the cost of our visits is typically much less as well. We accept walk-ins for urgent and non-urgent medical issues. For more information, call us today at (520) 800-8229 or book an appointment online.
Our clinic can also help evaluate symptoms of the stomach flu or other viral infections. For high-risk patients, we can recommend whether a high dose flu vaccine may be appropriate for better protection during flu season.