How can you really tell if it’s a cold or the flu?

[Greenbutterlfy566]

How can you really tell if it’s a cold or the flu?

What is the major difference between them?

If the definition of flu is that you literally can’t get out of bed then I’ve never had it! I’ve had plenty of horrible colds though.

You probably have had flu myusername but as bellini says get the flu jab. That should reduce your chance of getting flu and will probably make any episode milder.

you can't
only a test can.

a flu virus can make you deadly (no pun) ill, but it can also leave you with just a sniffle.

a cold virus can knock you out for a few days but can also leave you with a minor sniffle.

Like Aragog I have read of studies showing that people can have antibodies in their system that show they've had flu, when they have no awareness of having had anything. There was one during the swine flu epidemic. IIRC they tested schoolchildren in London, and I think it was 40% of those who tested positive who had not had any symptoms.

I've never knowingly had flu, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've "had" it without knowing at some point, as that is apparently quite common. I've certainly never had the classic symptoms. Despite knowing logically that it can be asymptomatic I would probably not describe myself, or someone else, as having flu unless it was what most people mean by flu, unless there was evidence from tests.

Flu for me was debilitating. DH and myself have had it twice at the same time. Last time DH couldn't even swallow his own saliva and was so poorly. When I had it 2 years ago (Dh was working away) I had to goto my mums and sleep there as I was hallucinating and couldn't move at all. BUT dont underestimate how bad a cold can be too. May not be as evil as flu but still can make you feel very poorly. Xx

If you need to ask, it's a cold. I've had flu twice and both times I have never felt so ill in my life. Raging temperature. Couldn't stand up for more than a few seconds. Genuinely felt like I was going to die. The second time I had it, I was in the middle of a long, awful miscarriage, at Christmas, and it was just hideous. DH and I both had it but our five-year-old was fine and full of Christmas beans, and we had nobody to help.

Rafa interesting you say about the jab making an episode milder. I was just going to ask if that was the case - I had the jab back in October. The whole family has had a nasty cold and I was the last to get it - it has been the worst cold I've ever had. I assumed it wasn't flu as I could get out of bed and function but the overwhelming tiredness, shivering and lack of appetite has made me wonder if it was a flu virus made much easier by the jab? Came on gradually like a cold though. One of my students has been diagnosed with flu so I have been around it.

DH and kids have all had the cold though and are now fine so really not sure. I'm not one to think flu whenever I've had a cold, but there is something about this cold in particular which is really nasty and it made me wonder. Very pleased I've had the jab anyway!

I go on temp now and how fast it comes on after seeing the state the husband got in with a cold. I almost thought he was going to die in his sleep but he had not much of a temp at all. It was quite scary to watch, even my youngest gave him a swerve when he was near, but it was still a cold.

Still on the plus side he's finally going to get a bloody flu jab when he's completely well.

Flu can be mild, colds can be worse. It's like anything, the symptoms vary depending on the person or the strain.

I have seen patients swab positive for flu when they are fairly well, and others be negative but be horribly ill. I am a nurse btw.

Lots of misinformation about flu.

Well unfortunately for most of us, there isnt a handy test you can do at home and it's frowned upon to bother your GP with a cold. So most people just go on common sense as much as they can.

The problem with that Charity is that it perpetuates the myth that if you can function/pick up a £50 note/post on MN it’s not flu. Which is fine if all the people with ‘bad colds’ are staying away from other people/work in the same way they would be if they had ‘proper flu’.

Isn’t part of the issue that people aren’t going on common sense though, gamerchick? You don’t need to go to the doctor if your symptoms are mild but if everyone was going on temp/speed of onset rather than ability to function then there might be fewer cases of flu generally.

But a bad cold is still a cold. If you take that to a doctor they don't swab you for flu, they send you away with 'its just a virus'. There is no service out there where you can go and check what it is.... Is there?

If you're really ill then you're going to be off work anyway- getting stabbed for flu doesn't gain you anything because the treatments are the same. You'd only need medical treatment for secondary symptoms eg. Respiratory problems, dehydration and that's the same with both colds and flu.

If you have mild flu then its unfortunate but you probably are going to be spreading it. There's not really a solution to that other than getting the flu jab.

Scabbed, not stabbed. Obviously

Omfg swabbed! Swabbed! Bloody autocorrect

Flu properly frightens me in general. I would love a little handy test you can do at home. Like you can with thrush

I nearly died from the flu which led to pneumonia, and then hospitalisation for 2 weeks. Really shivering, even though I had no fever. Couldn't get out of bed to even make myself a cup of tea. Going to the toilet was a struggle.

Well I've never hallucinated with a cold. But when I got flu at age 12 I was crying for my mum to deal with the 'cartoon detective' (wearing a beige trench coat with the collar turned up and a trilby hat) who was snooping around my room with his oversized magnifying glass. Bastard rumpled up my poster of a cute bunny

If you're really ill then you're going to be off work anyway

Tell my husband that, he's gone to work looking like death. He's going to infect maybe 100 people min today with it as he did yesterday. He's not allowed to take time off because it's mega busy. There are penalties.

So a word of warning, those who are expecting parcels and sign the little machine. Wash your hands afterwards.

I had flu two winters ago, the year I got the flu jab!
For me the huge difference to a nasty cold was the sudden onset, it really was in a couple of minutes I felt terribly unwell. Also the nausea which I've never had with a heavy cold

Actually people presume you cant get out of bed.
This is not true.

There has been scientific evidence that people can actually have flu without knowing it

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

I'm 61 and have had countless colds, some of them pretty nasty, but I have only had flu once in my life, about 25 years ago.

It was very different from a cold, although the very first symptoms were similar.
One Sunday afternoon I was feeling completely fine, had lunch as usual and then went with DH to a shop about 15 minutes drive away.
On the way there, I started to feel unwell, with a foggy headache, swollen throat and feeling of nausea. I didn't want to get out of the car, so DH went went in on his own.
I took paracetamol, had an early night and assumed I had a bad cold.
Next morning I didn't feel well enough to eat breakfast and didn't feel able to drive, as was feeling dizzy and sick, but didn't want to let people down so DH drove me to work.
However, once there I realised that I couldn't actually remain upright. I felt so weak that I literally just lay down on the floor in front of everyone!
I was off work for a week but still felt weak and delicate for about 3 weeks afterwards.

So, I would say that the differences are:
Flu comes on very suddenly and you deteriorate rapidly.
With flu, you cannot function at all, you have no strength to do anything. Even speaking is an effort.

Wow, it turns out having flu dramatically affects your ability to READ THE FUCKING THREAD.