This is how you can know if you have a cold, flu, or crown health

As it becomes more and more uncomfortable outside, the number of infections also increases. Not for nothing are autumn and winter considered the typical periods of colds and flu. In 2020, with Covid-19, another infectious disease has been added, which can represent a risk especially – but not only – for those with previous illnesses.

The problem: At the start of Covid 19 disease, its symptoms are similar to those of the common cold and flu. It is therefore hardly possible for lay people to recognize which pathogen is responsible for the complaints. An infection with the new type of coronavirus can clearly only be clarified using the newly approved PCR tests or rapid corona tests.

Loss of taste and smell

In order to assess whether you are more likely to suffer from the flu, cold or even Covid-19, it is advisable to keep an eye on your symptoms and, if in doubt, register for a crown test and, if necessary, as a precaution. isolate so as not to infect and endanger other people.

Researchers working with Rachel Batterham of University College London (UCL) described early October in the journal “Plos Medicine” which signs of disease a corona test is almost mandatory. According to them, the loss of smell and / or taste is an almost unequivocal indication of Covid-19.

“Our results show that the loss of smell and taste is a very reliable indicator that someone may have Covid-19,” Batterham said. In the study, four out of five people who had previously experienced such results tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, according to a statement. On the other hand, very few had cough and fever.

The measures must be adapted

According to the researchers, the new findings should “be given greater consideration” in measures to counter the further spread of SARS-CoV-2. Until then, very few countries would recommend self-isolation and testing due to acute loss of smell and taste. However, the study suggests “that excessive dependence on cough and fever as the main symptoms of Covid-19 may be wrong.”

It is time that the two-sense loss “urgently needs to be recognized worldwide as a key symptom”. The head of the study Batterham specifies: “Early self-recognition of Covid-19 symptoms by the public, as well as rapid self-isolation and PCR testing are key to limiting the spread of the disease.”