Cold vs Flu

Uh-oh. You have that spacey, tired feeling with a side of throat tickle. Is a cold coming on, or will you be flattened by the flu? Figure out what ails you so you can hit the road to recovery.

How you can tell which is which and then recover fast

SYMPTOMS

Your symptoms show up primarily above your neck: runny nose, coughing, sore throat, slightly swollen glands, and other aches

and pains. You have symptoms both above and below your neck. You’ve got all the signs of a cold, plus a fever over 38°C, a chest cough, chills, as well as vomiting, diarrhoea

and full-body aches.

SEVERITY

You feel mildly icky, and things get worse slowly. The first signs might include slight aches, a scratchy throat, a headache and/or

a low-grade fever. The flu hits you like a speeding train. You may first feel feverish at work, and by the time you get home, you can barely muster enough energy to climb your front steps. Every

part of you aches.

CAN YOU GET OUT OF BED?

Yes, and you can walk around. Though you might not want to commute to work or play with

the kids, you can manage. Absolutely not – you’re flat on your back. Extreme fatigue is going to incapacitate you for

at least a few days.

WHAT NEXT?

Take it easy and rest up. Keep a water bottle attached to your hip and sip, sip, sip. A cold can follow you around for as many as 10 days, but you don’t have to quarantine yourself the whole time. Once you start feeling better, you’re no longer very contagious, so you can head back to work,

as long as you’re up to it. Plan to hunker down for three

to seven days. You can go back to normal life 24 hours after your fever recedes on its own, but you’ll probably be moving

slowly for a bit. Turn to page 68 to find out how to stay well this winter.