Is it the flu or just a cold?

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Both influenza (flu) and colds are due to viruses but they usually present differently. It must also be said that not every flu-like illness will be due to the flu virus, and that some episodes of influenza may be mild.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has produced a “patients page” which explains the difference in typical symptoms between influenza and colds.

I am sure that most of us have had both – but at times like this I find some patients worry a lot about mild symptoms whilst others try to ignore more serious ones. To assist my patients now and in the future here is the main table showing the different symptoms and their frequency.

Here is the link the the whole page:

Flu or cold?

It is interesting that we still don’t really have any agreed effective treatment against the cold that there are several drugs that can treat the influenza virus. Similarly although there are no vaccines to prevent colds there are for the flu.

It should be noted that the vast majority of flu and cold treatments are for symptom relief and do not change the length or severity of illness, just make that illness a little more bearable.