Because they can present with common symptoms, the common cold, the flu, and Covid-19 are not easily distinguished. In order to see more clearly, the National Health Service (British health service) has tried to decipher the various symptoms and the most common manifestations that are found in these three pathologies. A decryption that was recently published in the journal The Guardian. Here is the summary.
Flu symptoms
Infectious disease caused by an influenza virus, an enveloped RNA virus of the Orthomyxoviridae family, influenza mainly affects the upper respiratory tract and more rarely the lungs. Symptoms of the flu come on fairly quickly. They are usually translated in order:
- fever,
- fatigue,
- a dry cough
- body aches
- headaches.
Some patients may also have a runny nose, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat. However, it is rare for people with the flu to sneeze or be short of breath.
Cold symptoms
Also called nasopharyngitis, the common cold is a viral infection with many variations. Unlike the flu, cold symptoms appear gradually. The common cold usually occurs in the nose and throat. Here are the main symptoms of the common cold:
- Sneezing
- curvatures,
- a runny nose and a stuffy nose,
- sore throat and sometimes a mild cough.
It is rare for a person with nasopharyngitis to have a fever or headache.
Symptoms of Covid-19
Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Covid-19 is an infectious disease linked to a coronavirus. The symptoms of Covid-19 do not appear suddenly but rather gradually. The most common symptoms are, in order:
- A fever (as a reminder, the temperature must be above 37.8 ° C),
- a dry and persistent cough,
- loss of taste and / or smell.
Some patients may also experience fatigue, body aches, headaches, sore throats and shortness of breath (shortness of breath). On the other hand, diarrhea, a stuffy nose and a runny nose are symptoms that are rarer. Unlike the common cold, sneezing is not a symptom of Covid-19.
Anyway, if symptoms appear, the easiest way is to make an appointment with your general practitioner who can diagnose you. And when in doubt, do not forget to respect barrier gestures in order to avoid any contamination.