This article is created for all of those people who are asking what is the difference between these 2 health problems (Let’s call them that).
From all of these 3, there are also some similarities and differences, so let’s just look at each other.
Bellow let’s start with a small table:
| Symptoms and Signs | Cold | Flu | COVID-19 |
| Fever | Mild if present | Often | Often |
| Tiredness | Sometimes | Common | Occasional |
| Sneezing | Common | Infrequent | Infrequent |
| Body Aches | Common | Common | Occasional |
| Sore Throat | Sometimes | Common | Occasional |
| Headache | Sometimes | Common | Occasional |
| Runny Nose | Common | Occasional | Infrequent |
| Diarrhea | No | Occasional | Infrequent |
| Cough | Mild | Dry Cough | Severe cough |
| Can’t breathe | No | Only when severe infection | Common in severe infections |
This doesn’t mean that medical people are looking at something like this table, but this is what they look for when determining what treatment to give people.
Cold
This is a viral infection of the upper respiratory system. That means in the nose, throat, sinuses, trachea, and bronchial tubes. Yeah, I know that some of you would not understand these words or what they are but you will see the difference in the next chapters.
Colds are contagious and can spread from person to person like COVID-19. It lasts up to 2 weeks if your immune system is not good enough.
And now some would say that then people should also wear masks in the cold season. Yes, that’s true, but this not so deadly virus as COVID-19.
And some people do use masks. Nowadays people choose also a custom face mask, just because there was a deficit in medical masks. So now people use other types so those masks are enough for medical personal. If you ask me where to get these things then probably the best place is CanvasDiscount, because I haven’t seen better quality and cheaper prices anywhere else.
Flu
This is a viral infection of the upper respiratory and/or lower respiratory system. Flue usually causes more damage to your breathing system than cold. The flu is contagious and it’s also deadly if your immune system is very weak.
Flu duration varies. It can be in a really hard way for 5 days or for 2 weeks. If you get that far that the flu is determined pneumonia, then it can be really deadly and no matter your immune system. It can break it in no time if you don’t get the right treatment.
COVID-19
This is a new strain of coronavirus. People usually call this virus “coronavirus”, but the thing is. The words “coronavirus” mean lots of viruses. Corona is a type name for many different viruses.
This virus has an incubation period of 2-14 days. You can infect other people by even not knowing that you have this virus or even when your symptoms haven’t started yet.
About 80% recover without specific treatment, while about 20% may require some respiratory support (oxygen and/or ventilator support).
At first, everyone thought that it can affect only old people age 60+ with some lung problems, diabetes, heart disease, and so on. But a recent study shows that it can infect people even from age of 3.
Treatments for these infections
Cold – All you need to do is rest at home, under a warm blanket. Drink a lot of fluids, like water, tea, and things like that. Take some simple medications like Ibuprofen (Advil), some cold syrups, and such things.
Flu – Doctors will write you some prescription pills probably. Then the same as for cold, rest at home under a warm blanket, drink lots of fluids, some vitamins, eat fruits. There are also some vaccines, but that’s only when you get pneumonia or something like that.
COVID-19 – Medical personnel recommends rest, also fluids. A lot of them. Then you will also get some prescription pills from your doctor. If you start having severe symptoms then you should call an ambulance and maybe you will need respiratory support.
Vaccine and anti-drug research are very active, but still not ready.
