Now, one can easily find out if the soreness in the throat or frequent fever is due to cold, flu, or Covid-19. Muscle aches also follow. All three illnesses have common symptoms. This makes it hard to distinguish between all the three.
Cold, Flu, Or Covid-19 – Understand The Difference
The cases of the virus are rising, due to the appearance of the latest contagious strain called Omicron. However, hospitalizations are relatively lower. Those who are vaccinated, as protected to a huge extent from the onslaught. A leading epidemiologist has made these remarks.
The vaccine it seems is like an alarm system for your immune system. The capacity to identify, target, and then destroy the strain is much higher when one is vaccinated. The third or booster dose counts here. The patients who are triple vaccinated seem to be safer.
However, that does not mean that infections should be taken lightly. The infections can overwhelm the healthcare ecosystem. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed from the Detroit Health Department has said that one has to be on guard. A large number of minor infections have the power to overturn healthcare facilities.
Many Covid infections are emulating the symptoms of cold and flu. That can be misleading for some and delay the treatment process. This is unless the incumbent goes for testing. If one refrains from taking the test, it may be difficult to determine the actual reason behind the virus.
One has to look towards the symptoms to identify the cause of the ailment in the preliminary stages. It is to avoid confusion and delay in testing. Both Covid-19 and Flu have the same symptoms, like fever, body aches, tiredness, soreness in the throat, and shortness of breath. Diarrhea may also be one of the stark symptoms.
However, one can easily distinguish Covid-19 from common Flu, by a headache and dry cough, that does not seem to go away in a few days. The loss of taste and smell have been the two possible distinguishing factors that have helped people find out if they are suffering from the Flu or Covid. But with new variants coming in the symptoms have changed somewhat.
If one is feeling chest pain with a constant cough, it may be time for the individual to get checked by a doctor. If the individual has interacted with crowds and infected individuals there may be more chances of infection.
So, under such circumstances, it is best to go for Rapid antigen tests to determine the cause as fast as possible. RT-PCR may take time, as the testing facilities are under pressure with huge numbers of tests on the way.
It is considered a better option, to let all suspicions die their own death by immediately getting tested. If anyone feels the symptoms, El-Sayed says that it may be time to take the test. If there are individuals who have been exposed or compromised, but symptoms are not showing yet, they should also go for tests.
Some say that until symptoms arise, the varus may not get detected in the RAT as well. So, five day waiting period supposedly needs to be followed.
If in the first test, it’s negative, that may not be a reason to rejoice. As, the test may be wrong, or the virus may have dodged. So, a retest is necessary if one is feeling the symptoms crop up. Whenever such symptoms of Flu or Covid-19 arise, it is always better to isolate.
It is more important to stop the Omicron spread than anything else. It is more important than risking the spread from one person to another. The same applies to adults.
