Cold and Flu: Symptoms and Solutions

The common cold, including chest cold and head cold, and seasonal flu are caused by viruses. Use over-the-counter cold medications to relieve symptoms including sore throat, runny nose

, congestion, and cough. Flu symptoms are similar, but include fever, headache and muscle soreness. more than 100 different viruses can cause the common cold. However, therhinovirusis most often the one that makes people sneeze and sniffle, and it’s highly contagious. Other frequent cold-causing pathogens include corona viruses and respiratory syncytial viruses.

 Most cold-causing viruses thrive in environments with low humidity, which may be why colds are more common during the fall and winter months. However, you can catch a cold any time of year. When someone who’s sick sneezes or coughs, they send virus-filled droplets flying through the air. You can get sick if you touch a surface (such as a counter top or doorknob) that has recently been handled by a cold-infected person, and then touch your nose, mouth, or eyes.

 Cold Symptoms If you have a cold, you’ll probably experience symptoms such as: *.runny or stuffy nose *.sore throat *.sneezing *.mild-to-moderate fever *.cough *.headache or body aches *.mild tiredness. Cold symptoms usually last for about a week. During the first three days that you have cold symptoms, you are contagious. This means you can pass the cold to others, so stay home and get some much-needed rest. If cold symptoms do not seem to be improving after a week, you may have a bacterial infection, which means you may need antibiotics. Sometimes you may mistake cold symptoms for allergic rhinitis( hay fever) or a sinus infection. If cold symptoms begin quickly and are improving after a week, then it is usually a cold, not allergy. If your cold symptoms do not seem to be getting better after a week, check with your doctor to see if you have developed an allergy or sinusitis. Flu symptoms are usually more severe than cold symptoms and come on quickly. Symptoms of flu include sore throat, fever, headache, muscle aches and soreness, congestion, and cough. Swine flu in particular is also associated with vomiting and diarrhoea. It's important to know the difference between flu and cold symptoms. A cold is a milder respiratory illness than the flu. While cold symptom scan make you feel bad for a few days, flu symptom scan make you feel quite ill for a few days to weeks. The flu can also result in serious health problems such as pneumonia and hospitalisations.