Walking into a supermarket nowadays could well be seen as akin to shopping for coronavirus. Some people don’t wear face masks, some are sneezing, coughing or breaking the one-metre rule. If you feel a bit under the weather, how can you tell what you’ve got?
With the situation as it stands, does this mean any time you’ve fallen ill you must self-isolate?
Are those suffering from all-round allergic rhinitis (i.e. hay fever) to be banished to their homes?
As we delve into the colder months, the common cold is likely to rear its ugly head.
And seemingly, COVID-19 shows no signs of leaving us this winter, meaning we’ve got another threat to contend with.
However, there are defining factors that can reveal what you’ve caught, according to researchers from the University of Southern Carolina.
They identified a distinct order of systems among COVID-19 patients – a fever followed by a cough.
For the seasonal flu, on the other hand, people generally develop a cough before a fever.
The common cold is more likely to begin with a sore throat as the first symptom of illness – as told by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Allergies abruptly come on and include itchy eyes, sneezing, a runny nose and post-nasal drip.
In short, the first symptom of each illness can be summed up as follows:
- COVID-19 – fever
- Flu – cough
- Cold – sore throat
- Allergies – itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose and post-nasal drip all at once.
The study identifies these as the first symptoms to appear in each condition.
However, caution is given, as not everybody with COVID-19 will develop a fever.
In addition, some flu sufferers may not come down with a cough, which is why the length of time symptoms take to appear could be another clue.
The CDC outlined the main differences in the onset of symptoms in COVID-19 and the flu.
COVID-19 symptoms can take longer to appear than flu symptoms – up to five days following infection.
However, COVID-19 symptoms could appear as early as two days or as late as 14 days after becoming infected.
The flu symptoms can take up to four days following infection, and a person is usually contagious the day before symptoms appear.
People with the flu can remain contagious for up to seven days after infection.
COVID-19 is still under investigation as to how long a person with the disease is contagious for.
What we do know is that COVID-19 is up to three times more contagious than the flu.
Unfortunately, the researchers from Southern California attested that “a large number of others are asymptomatic” – who can still spread the disease.
Now available on the NHS are COVID-19 tests, which may be the best route of determining if you have coronavirus or not.
If you feel bunged up, keep sneezing, but have itchy eyes, rest assured your allergies are playing up.
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