How flu manifests – signs it’s seasonal flu, not COVID-19

If you have a cold, cough, sore throat and fever, it’s not clear from the start what kind of infection you have – bacterial or viral. The symptoms of flu, cold and coronavirus are similar. Here’s how the flu works.

How the flu manifests itself: signs

Depending on the symptoms, doctors also face difficulties when it comes to establishing a very clear diagnosis. It is quite difficult to distinguish a simple cold from the seasonal flu. Furthermore, today we must also face the new coronavirus, which gives us a headache.

Initial symptoms of a simple cold include:

• burning throat
• catarrh
• followed by dry cough or sputum
• rather high temperature
• headache
• he will feel tired.

How the flu manifests itself

In addition to the cold, the flu has symptoms stronger and more unpleasant. These include:

• headache and muscle aches are more intense
• patients who complain of dry cough
• burning throat
• high fever, up to 41 degrees Celsius
• chills
• the sick feel extremely tired
• they have no appetite
• he would sleep for hours and hours.

Unlike a simple cold, seasonal flu has a longer healing time, starting from a few days, up to a week or even a few weeks.

How the flu manifests itself: vaccination

Patients at high risk of the disease are recommended annual influenza vaccination by the Standing Committee on Vaccinations (STIKO). Among those who are recommended to get the flu shot are:

• people over the age of 60
• those suffering from chronic diseases
• pregnant women or people living in nursing homes.
• those who often come into contact with other people, such as medical staff or employees of institutions that work with the public.

How the flu manifests itself: treatment

In most cases of colds and flu, antibiotic treatment is not recommended, as it is not effective, because most of the time they are triggered by viruses. Antibiotics are meant to support the body’s immune system by attacking bacteria. For example, the metabolism of these microorganisms, as well as the cell membrane, is destroyed by penicillin. Therefore, the bacteria cannot survive. Antibiotic treatment only works for bacterial infections, not viral infections. In other words, viruses cannot be controlled with antibiotics.

If bacteria enter the body that multiply because the immune system is weakened, antibiotic treatment is helpful. Infections triggered by bacteria and in the treatment of which the administration of antibiotics is necessary, are:

• pneumonia
• tonsillitis
• urinary tract infections
• meningitis is triggered by bacteria.

How the coronavirus manifests itself

The symptoms of the coronavirus are more or less the same as the case of a common flu, at first sight. These include:

• temperature
• dry cough)
• dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing)
• muscular pain
• fatigue
• something less common, sputum
• headache
• hemoptysis (coughing up blood)
• diarrhea.

Coronavirus Symptoms

For coronavirus infections, there are no characteristic symptoms such as:

• cough e
• burning throat.

In other words, are they just colds or have a simple flu, those who have coughs, sneezing and sore throats. Sore throat is not one of the symptoms of the coronavirus, which usually manifests itself with:

• dry cough,
• difficulty in breathing and / or pneumonia.