Cold or flu?

[KenAdams]

I feel awful and I'm not sure if it's a cold or the start of flu. Those who have had proper flu, did it come on very quickly or did it take a couple of days to develop?

Either one will come on quickly. Generally, fever means flu no fever means cold.

Flu, after it's fully developed, is much more debilitating.

No flu jab last fall, right?

£50 note is on the floor in front of you ....do you a) pick it up b) leave it. If you answered b) then its flu, when my husband and I had flu it took an hour to summon the strength to move from the sofa to get a cuppa, only 10m away.

Proper flu tends to come on very quickly, usually you start to feel very poorly in the space of a few hours. A high fever is the most obvious sign and is what distinguishes between flu and a cold.
A cold virus is generally a slower onset, feeling a bit poorly for a day or so before the the full blown cold develops.

I’ve only had flu once, and spent nearly 3 weeks in bed. The furthest I went was the bathroom.

So if you feel as though you can’t move, have a high temperature, and all you can do is sleep, then chances are it’s flu.

Otherwise it’s a cold. I know a bad cold can make you feel really ill, but flu is just on another level.

Hope it isn’t flu.

£50 note is on the floor in front of you ....do you a) pick it up b) leave it. If you answered b) then its flu

Sorry but this is crap. Like all illnesses, colds and flu affect each individual differently and a bad cold can be just as debilitating as mild flu.

I had flu earlier this year and, for me at least, the symptoms were quite rapid in their onset. I was fine at breakfast time and by bedtime I was shivering with a splitting headache and limbs that felt like they were filled with lead but I still had DC to look after until DH arrived home in the early hours of the following day so if £50 had landed on the floor in front of me I'd have picked the bugger up and spent it on childcare!

Flu doesn't tend to come with a blocked or runny nose and a cold can come with a mildly raised temperature but rarely a full blown fever. Either way, it's a fairly shitty way to feel and I hope you feel better soon. Lots of liquids, lots of rest.

DH and I had confirmed swine flu. He was in bed, drenched in sweat, incoherent, unable to stand. Came on very VERY quickly. I felt a bit crappy and full of cold but got on with it mostly. A flu isn't always debilitating.

As others have said, flu comes in rapidly. Colds generally bubble up over a couple of days starting with sniffles or a sore throat. Both can raise your temperature. You died for sure but colds can too. If you feel crap, it's a cold. If you feel like death, it's probably the flu. Colds can give you the shivers and make you feel pretty bad but If you are up and about, it's not the flu.

Thank you, mine has developed over a couple of days so although I do have a temperature it looks more likely to be a cold thank goodness.

Like ShowofHands did, it varies. My dad also had confirmed swine flu, and was up and about and had definitely felt more ill with colds in the past

If you are up and about, it's not the flu.

Again, that's incorrect.

MauisHouse thanks but I'll go with what the NHS website and my GP say.

You do that, the bit about being up and about was from my own GP

I’ve had flu a few times now, for me a rapid onset - high temp and very achy and felt floored for a few days. Lemsips did help me to function a bit but became exhausted very easily.
Colds are usually slow burners for me.

www.nhs.uk/news/medical-practice/three-quarters-of-people-with-flu-have-no-symptoms/

Everybody is different. I had flu and felt a bit under the weather.