Cold versus flu

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Which?”

“Is it live or is it Memorex?”

Those are a couple of the most enduring questions of our time. Another enduring question is “Do I have influenza, or is it just a cold?”

 Recently the Canadian Medical Association published a little guide to help us tell the difference:

Symptom	Cold	Influenza
Fever	Rare	A sudden onset of fever between 39º to 40º C
Headache	Rare	Can be severe
General Aches and Pains	Sometimes, mild	Usual, often severe
Fatigue and weakness	Sometimes, mild	Usual, severe, may last 2 to 3 week, maybe more
Extreme fatigue	Not usually	Usual in the early stages, can be severe
Runny, stuffy nose	Usually	Usually
Sneezing	Usually	Sometimes
Sore throat	Often	Often
Chest discomfort, coughing	Can be mild to moderate	Can become severe
Complications	Can lead to sinus congestion or an earache	Can lead to pneumonia and can eventually become life-threatening
Prevention	Frequent hand washing	Frequent hand washing, annual flu vaccine

For more information on the different types of influenza check out this link to the Public Health Agency of Canada.