Friday, January 07, 2000
Telltale signs your cold's not flu
BY MARCIA GREENWOOD
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
You have a fever, a runny nose, a sore throat, swollen glands, a cough, and you feel all-around crummy. How can you tell whether it's a nasty cold or the flu?
You probably can't. But don't beat yourself up about it. Many cold and flu symptoms overlap, and even doctors sometimes have difficulty making diagnoses, says Dr. Ed Walsh, an infectious diseases specialist at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.
However, there are some guidelines:
• Colds, or upper respiratory viruses, are limited to the head and neck. So if you have a stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat and maybe a cough, you probably have a cold.
• Colds usually last a week to 10 days, and should be treated with over-the-counter decongestants, Dr. Walsh says.
• With a more extensive virus, one that also involves your lungs or lower respiratory tract, you can have all of the above symptoms, definitely a cough, plus swollen glands. Wheezing is another symptom. You also might have a fever (no higher than 101 degrees), minor muscle aches, a headache and even a poor appetite.
• These viruses usually hang around for a couple of weeks and should be treated with over-the-counter medications according to your symptoms, Dr. Walsh says.
• The flu can produce almost all of the viral symptoms described, only worse.
“A high fever is the tipoff for the flu,” says Dr. Alexander Trott, professor of emergency medicine at University Hospital, where Tristate flu cases began showing up just before the Christmas holiday. “There's usually no specific bacterial site, like a strep throat or an ear infection or kidney infection. When you examine the patients, you can't find anything specific. They're just sick with a high fever and they feel terrible.”
• Other flu symptoms include all-over muscle aches, headache, cough, weakness and dizziness. Influenza's fevers can reach 103.5 degrees.
To date, this year's flu season “doesn't seem to be as overwhelming as it's been in previous years,” Dr. Trott says. “I've seen it a lot worse.” Because of recent hospital mergers and shut-downs, however, people may experience longer waits in emergency rooms or a shortage of beds if they need to be hospitalized, he says.
• The flu strikes more suddenly than a respiratory virus, and it's more likely to produce a higher fever (103 or 104 degrees). Flu season usually runs November to April.
• The flu usually lasts a week to 10 days to run its course. If you suspect you have it and you have an underlying medical condition, such as heart disease or diabetes, see your doctor. New drugs are available that can lessen the severity of the flu and shorten its duration by a day or more. Dr. Trott says the elderly and extremely young are most vulnerable to the flu.
Dr. Walsh says, “stay
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