Is it just a cold or is it the flu!?

Hey everyone!

Flu season is here... but it's always cold season. So how do you know which one you have? And what kind of difference would it really make? I'm going to give you the lists of the major symptoms of both and tell you how to know which one you have.

First of all, for your cold symptoms we have the headache, dry scratchy cough, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue, sneezing and maybe some ear pain allong with a low grade fever. Low grade is anything below 100.3 degrees. Usually this is a chain reaction that starts while you sleep. You get infected with a cold virus and then it slowly builds strength in your sinus cavities until it makes your nose run and causes a post-nasal drip while you sleep. All the mucus is filled with bacteria and irritates your throat. While your coughing from all the irritation, you can develop a headache and maybe some chest pain, but that's just from working your chest cavity muscles when you cough. A cold usually lasts about 3 to 5 days, but that cough can stick around two weeks after your better, or even longer (darn you persistent cough!).

The best treatment for a cold is to stop it at the source, which would be in your sinuses. Sudafed is my miracle drug, not saying everyone should take it (or as much as I do... I swear I come close to ODing on it every time i get sick) but it helps. Some people don't like taking medicine so some hot tea or soup helps for a while. Just make sure to drink plenty of fluids, especially if you do end up taking any sort of medicine because it can dehydrate you pretty quickly.

Now for the flu symptoms! They are everyone's favorite, I know ;) Now with the flu, your first symptom is going to be a fever, and it will be a persistent fever, meaning that when you take the tylenol, it will go down a little bit and only for a little while before it jumps back up there. Next comes the body aches, muscle pains, fever and chills, headache, (probably) productive cough, runny or stuffy nose, ear pain and possible nausea, vomitting and diahreaha. The possibility of it being the flu jumps with your temperature, if it's over 100.4, it's probably the flu. Common flu symptoms will start about 24 hours after coming on contact with someone else who is infected. You're going to feel like crap for at least 5 days and up to 8. The cough sticks around longer than if you had a cold, up to a month, and it always strikes at the worst possible times (IE, during a moment of silence X_x ).

The best treatment for the flu is rest, and lots of it. It takes a lot of energy to fight off bacteria that want to take over your body, even in a person with a healthy immune system. Drink lots of fluids and try to eat things that won't upset your stomach if you have been feeling woozy. This is going to be a very bland diet like rice, apple sauce, toast and crackers. Nothing oily, nothing fried.

If you don't want to get sick then please, WASH YOUR HANDS! You have no idea the amount of bacteria that collects on your fingers and especially under your nails. It's really disgusting. If you only knew.... And try to stay away from people who ARE sick. You don't have to be a germophobe about it but give yourself a little distance.

If you do get sick, do the rest of us a favor and take a few days off. Even after your symptoms are gone, you can still make people sick up to 48 hours later because you're still carrying the virus with you, like a picture of you and your best friend. And if you must go out, wear a mask in public places. It does make a difference when your spit particles aren't landing on everything when you cough. And don't cover your mouth with your hand! Use the inside of your elbow or cough into your shirt or coat. Didn't I just say that your hands have a lot of germs? This is one of the reasons why!

Ok, stay safe, stay healthy! :yumeh2: