When you’re not feeling well, you would possibly begin to wonder: what’s the difference between the cold, respiratory illness, and coronavirus? They’re all diseases caused by infectious viruses that affect the respiratory tract.
Covid-19 has always been tough to spot because its symptoms simply overlap with communicable diseases like flu, and even allergies.
Developing a vaccine for the disease may take several months and till then distinguishing symptoms and taking necessary precautions are the only ways to prevent the infection from taking such a ghastly turn.
So, how do you know if you’ve got the flu, a cold, or Covid-19? Here are the symptoms you need to look for to distinguish these three viruses from one another.
Do you have a runny nose and nasal congestion?
Common cold begins with nasal congestion, however, Covid-19 shows no such symptoms. Another symptom of the common cold is a wet cough, on the other hand, a dry cough, or particularly a loss of smell or taste will be early symptoms of Covid-19.
Earlier, shortness of breath, fever, and dry cough were considered to be the hallmarks of Covid-19. It’s important to notice that whereas running nose and congestion aren’t typical symptoms of coronavirus, some patients do report them. In general cases of coronavirus infection, people do have a runny nose and nasal congestion, which may be mistaken for respiratory illness or cold.
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How do you know it is Covid-19?
It may be tough to tell the difference between cold, respiratory illness, and Covid-19, particularly if you have got common symptoms like running nose and congestion.
It’s vital to observe alternative signs and symptoms that you could simply be experiencing together with a dry cough, fever, unexplained fatigue, and breathlessness.
Covid-19 may look similar to the flu virus in many ways, however, the speed of transmission is an important point of difference between the two viruses. Flu has a shorter median incubation period. The analysis of cases from China showed Covid-19 symptoms within the following manner:
-Fever
-Cough, muscle pain
-Nausea, vomiting
-Diarrhoea
-Shortness of breath
According to the World Health Organization, for many individuals, whereas a dry cough and fever are markers of Covid-19, a runny nose and nasal congestion sometimes are not.
Diagnosis on time may aid quicker recovery
As the novel coronavirus continues to unfold at an alarming rate, if you experience any cold or flu-like symptoms, it’s best to follow Covid-appropriate behavior. It’s very necessary to be careful with any uncommon symptom in your body. During the intial days Covid-19 was considered to be just a respiratory disease but now its documented that the virus will impact many components of the body, from head-to-toe.
It’s very important to teach yourself regarding the potential symptoms of Covid-19 and take the appropriate measures of self-isolation.
Most people won’t have severe illness and will be able to recover at home if get the test done on time by monitoring Covid-19 symptoms.