Is it a cold…. or the flu?

With the common cold and the seasonal flu making their rounds regularly, it’s still surprising how many people don’t know the difference between the two.

Here in northern hemisphere, seasonal flu season is ending. It runs from late fall to spring, with the peak usually being in January and February. But, with the advent of the H1N1 virus, people are talking more about the flu than usual.

There seems to be two distinct camps of people when it comes to influenza and it’s hard for anyone to fit in the middle. Either you’re one of those people who feel that you’ve been sick enough in the past and you survived, so what is everyone whining about or you’ve had the flu and you don’t ever, ever, ever want to experience that again.

First, let’s get one thing straightened out: The flu and a cold are NOT the same thing. The only thing they have in common is that they are caused by viruses. That’s it. Nothing else. A bad cold isn’t a flu. A stomach upset that makes you vomit, isn’t a flu. Diarrhea isn’t a flu.

This is the flu:

Fever (between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius or 100.4 to 104 Fahrenheit) – colds don’t give high fevers; aches and pain – colds don’t cause aches and pains; sudden intense headaches – not usual for colds; nausea and vomitting in children under the age of 6 years – not for colds.

On the other hand, this is a cold:

Runny nose – not with the flu; congestion of the nose – not with the flu; sneezing – not with the flu; sore throat – not with the flu, and sneezing – not with the flu.

Both the flu and colds can have a cough, but it’s longer with the flu (2 weeks +). As well, chest pain is common with the flu, but it can also happens sometimes with a cold.

A flu wipes you out. Badly. If you have symptoms of the flu, the best thing is to stay home. Unfortunately, you were contagious for 24 hours before you realized you were sick, and you’ll be contagious for about 7 days after. You can’t do anything about the 24 hours before, but you can prevent the spread of the virus by staying home and – if you absolutely must leave the house – following the simple hygiene rules:

• You can also use a tissue, but then dispose of it immediately and wash your hands right away.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand.
• Wash, wash, wash, your hands. Whether it’s with soap and water (preferred) or hand sanitizer, that’s the only way to keep from spreading your germs.

Flu virus stays alive for:

5 minutes on your hands

12 hours on your clothing

up to 48 hours on objects

We all get sick. Sadly, for some people, getting sick means that predisposing illnesses can rear their ugly head and cause severe complications, even death. It’s up to everyone to try to limit the spread of these viruses because, next time, you might not get off so easy.

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