Cold or Flu

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I have this infection that escalated within hours to the point I couldn't move out of pain and fever (40+ ) . Not a lot of coughing or sneezing and just. Bit of a runny nose
I still feel a bit disoriented

My measure is if you can get out of bed = cold. If not = flu. Drink lots of fluids. Take paracetamol.

Flu or covid. A cold does not usually cause high temperature in adults nor severe pain only mild body aches.

Doesn’t sound like a cold but could not be flu as well - where is the pain?

My legs and chest (mostly my legs) . I have no strength in them and can barely walk. I've cried because of how painful it is

Flu can be mild, it's a myth that if you can get out of bed it can't be flu.

But a cold probably wouldn't cause the high fever OP, so I'd say covid or flu.

Is the only remedy to soldier on?

@DarkAndTwisties I've never had mild flu, it's always poleaxed me. Good to know it's not like that for everyone.

But you wouldn't know if you had though. You might just think "I feel a bit rough, probably got a bad virus of some sort" and wouldn't have been tested to know that it wasn't flu. Flu is like covid in that it can be asymptomatic all the way through to fatal.

I have similar at the moment, not quite sure what it is. Awful muscle pains in my back and legs, sneezing all the time and runny nose. Some headaches and sore throat.

Maybe a combination of a cold and general tiredness? who knows...

No, the remedy with any nasty virus is to rest, take pain killers and avoid others to stop it spreading. In my experience,flu comes in very quickly with barely any warning but with a temperature.

I’ve got what seems like a virus. Sniffy nose, aches and sore throat but chesty mucous.

I've had covid 2 times and several vaccines - every time I have really bad leg pains. I've had flu a couple of times and just had general aches.

The answer is to rest as much as possible and drink lots.

My husband is on day 10. It started with aches and pains, then lots of sneezing and nose blowing, then into mainly a cough, severe aches and pains now. He's actually really unwell, can barely do a thing for himself. He's getting winded very quickly by little things just a trip to the toilet etc. The pain has lessened a bit these past few days thankfully, but it was so bad.

I'm going to see very vulnerable relatives tomorrow so will do a covid test tonight as precautionary. I don't have any respiratory symptoms but my pain is through the roof at the minute. I have chronic pain though so that makes it extra confusing

The cough is terrible to listen to. I feel for anyone with this. From looking after him for 10 days, it definitely appears to be the flu.

Why would you risk passing anything on? My dad is very vulnerable and no way would we see him if someone on the house is as ill as your husband. When dh had covid I tested negative for 5 days but I had it mildly and then on day 5 got it really badly. At the very least consider wearing a mask.

How would you know? DarkandTwisties is correct, flu can be mild or severe, just like COVID.

Medically/scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as a cold. It’s just a colloquial term for an upper respiratory infection, which can be caused by multiple different viruses, whereas flu is caused by influenza viruses. The viruses that cause colds can sometimes cause symptoms such as fever, aches and pains, flu can be very mild, although if you have a fever it is more likely to be flu. Colloquially, most people use cold for a mild respiratory infection, flu for more severe symptoms. You can’t actually know what it is without testing. The treatment and advice for colds and flu is the same though.

OP, if you feel that terrible, you are entitled to call it flu for sympathy, whatever the virus 😂 Although I wouldn’t be surprised if it were COVID as it seems to start like that for many people In it’s current incarnation. Get well soon!

It could well be covid, which is definitely in circulation at the moment, along with RSV and flu.

I think the best remedy is rest, lots of rest, then some more.

And do everything you can to avoid spreading it

Thank you! I'm starting to feel a bit better (at least I'm not crying/screaming out of leg pain). But the headache is persistent and so are my balance issues. Unfortunately I have to go and do the school run later today :(

I don't take any unecessary risks if it comes to infecting others. Last year (for the same family party) I was incredibly unwell and everyone insisted I went (I had cancelled). I was testing negative as well. I ended up having to go to bed at the house I was at but everyone had insisted I attended.

This year, again everyone knows my husband is unwell and that I'll be testing. The very vulnerable persons husband has a cold and it hadn't even crossed their mind to test for covid. So I'm actually taking more precautions than the very vulnerable person 🫠

It's a bit of a mind melt for me tbh. Trying to get the Balance right without being overly concerned about covid/passing on illness. I've had to cancel stuff this past 10 days and this is my one and only Christmas thing left.

You have balance issues too? You shouldn’t drive if you have dizziness.

You might have viral labyrinthitis, inner ear inflammation, caused by the cold/flu. I would call 111 or see your GP for advice as sometimes it requires treatment to prevent long term damage.