Flu Symptoms

The flu is one of the diseases that have the most known symptoms overall, almost all of them being easiIf this is the case, you might ask why the flu is still considered one of the most dangerous maladies of our times. The answer is simple: oftentimes, the flu’s symptoms are similar to those of a simple cold, hence they are treated lightly - “Another blanket and some hot tea and I’ll be over this”. Being harder to differentiate between a common cold and the flu, hence the lack of a serious treatment is one of the main causes of flu-related fatalities. What we’ll do next is take a look at how the “common” symptoms of a flu case manifest as well as focus on the “unique” symptoms of the affliction.

Common symptoms

As stated earlier, there are several flu symptoms that are quite similar to those of a common cold. This includes heavy sneezing, headaches, nasal congestion, sore throat, residual coughing and so forth. The main difference is that flu symptoms will be a lot quicker in effect and they will also be a lot more powerful. For example, the headache caused by a common cold may not be too problematic, but the headache caused by a flu case may come with a fever, or be so powerful that it produces other problems such as dizziness, insomnia and so forth. Also, although common colds can turn into pneumonias at some point if left untreated, flu cases will take this step sooner and with an even more deadly effect. Flu pneumonias are a lot more dangerous than simple cold pneumonias as they are stronger and they resist medication a lot better than common cold ones.

Unique symptoms

The first sign that you may be suffering from the flu rather than a simple cold case is the rapidly rising fever the first one comes with. Colds may be accompanied with fevers from time to time, but they are usually quite mild and they rarely cause any other problems than a simple headache. A flu fever on the other hand will hit its peak in no time, catching the sufferer unprepared and inducing him in a state of weakness and dizziness in a matter of a few hours. The flu fever is also a lot more resistant to medication than the normal cold fever, hence its gravity.

In addition, the flu will have a few other “unique” symptoms such as chills and shivers, muscular aching or vomiting. The extreme coldness produced by a case of flu can be accompanied with uncontrollable shaking and it can rarely be overcome with the “blanket and hot tea” technique. The high fatigue and feeling of nausea can be accompanied with vomiting, especially if the fever is high and left untreated.

Provided that you can spot these symptoms as soon as the ailment hits and provided that you can differentiate a case of flu from a common cold, you have a good chance of treating the disease before it aggravates. Usually, a common cold doesn’t last more than 3-4 days, so if you experience prolonged and powerful “common” symptoms or if you experience any of the “unique” ones, make sure to visit a doctor as soon as possible, since you’ve probably contracted some form of flu. Also, it should be noted that these flu symptoms may not necessarily be the same from year to year, as the virus constantly mutates into more adaptable, possibly more dangerous forms.