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The flu, a cold, allergies, or coronavirus? Your symptom guide for this year’s flu season

Sep 6, 2020

Whether you’re sneezing, coughing, or feeling achy, sometimes it’s difficult to know what’s causing your symptoms. Is this just a cold? Are my allergies acting up? Or is this something more serious?

With COVID-19 in our communities, sorting through your symptoms can be even more confusing—and stressful. Assistant Vice President of Clinical and Operational Excellence, Allison Guste, RN, BSN, CPHQ, is here to share what you need to know to help keep your mind at ease and get back to feeling your best.

Flu vs. Covid

Both flu and COVID-19 can cause mild to severe illness with many common sign and symptoms, however, one difference to note is the loss of taste or smell, which is unique to COVID-19.

“It is difficult to tell the difference between the flu and COVID-19 by symptoms alone. That is why it is important for you to get vaccinated against the flu each year,” explained Guste. “By vaccinating, you can decrease your chances of getting sick with the flu. If you do have symptoms of the flu or COVID-19, it is important that you isolate at home and contact your healthcare provider.”

Spotting symptoms of a common cold

Compared to the flu and COVID-19, a common cold usually doesn’t cause a fever and has milder symptoms.

Unlike the flu, COVID-19, and the common cold, allergy symptoms do not include body aches, muscle pains, or a fever.

How do they compare?

	Flu	Coronavirus	Cold	Allergies
Onset	Symptoms develop abruptly	Symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure	Symptoms tend to develop slowly	Symptoms come and go with the seasons
Duration	Less than two weeks	A few days to a week for most people	About 7 to 10 days	Several weeks
Symptoms	Coughing Sore throat Runny or stuffy nose Headaches Muscle or body aches Fatigue Fever or chills Vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children)	Coughing Fever Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Chills Repeated shaking with chills Muscle pain Headaches Sore throat New loss of taste or smell	Runny nose Sneezing Sore throat Coughing Slight body aches headaches	Runny or stuffy nose Sneezing Coughing Itching in the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat Headaches Watery eyes Pressure in the nose and cheeks Difficulty smelling
Care Tips	Stay home Rest Drink lots of fluids Avoid interacting with others Provider can prescribe antiviral medicine to help ease symptoms if you’re very sick or are high risk for flu complications	Contact provider right away if you think you were exposed Stay home in a room or area away from others Rest Drink lots of fluids See if over-the-counter medicines help with symptoms	Stay hydrated Get plenty of rest Take over-the-counter medicine to help manage your symptoms	Try avoiding allergens that trigger your symptoms Use over-the-counter nasal sprays and other allergy medicines

Symptom Guide

Symptoms	Cold	Flu	Allergies	COVID-19
Fever/Chills	Rare	High (100-102 F), can last 3-4 days	Never	Common (100 F or higher)
Headache	Can be Present	Intense	Uncommon	Sometimes
General Aches, Pain	Slight	Usual, Often Severe	Never	Sometimes
Fatigue, Weakness	Mild	Intense, Can last up to 2-3 weeks	Sometimes	Sometimes
Extreme Exhaustion	Never	Usual (Starts Early)	Never	Sometimes (Progresses Slowly)
Stuffy / Runny Nose	Common	Sometimes	Common	Rare
Sneezing	Usual	Sometimes	Usual	Rare
Sore Throat	Common	Common	Sometimes	Rare
Cough	Mild	Common, can become severe	Sometimes due to postnasal drip	Common
Shortness of Breath	Rare	Rare	Rare, except for those with allergic asthma	In more serious infections
Loss of Taste and Smell	Never			Can be present
Itchy Eyes, Nose	Uncommon	Uncommon	Common	Uncommon
Diarrhea, Nausea, Vomitting	Never	Uncommon in Adults, Can be Present in Children	Never	Less Common

Download our symptom guide

Fighting against the flu

The simple truth is that the best way to defend yourself and your family against the flu is to get the flu vaccine.

“Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination,” said Guste. “These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are used to make the vaccine.”

The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season.

Vaccines are especially important for those who are most at risk for having complications with the flu:

Children younger than 5 years, and especially younger than 2 years
People 65 years and older
Those with long-term (chronic) health conditions or a weak immune system
Anyone who lives in a nursing home or care facility
Pregnant women and women who have had a baby in the last 2 weeks
American Indians and Alaska Natives
People with a body mass index of 40 or more

Even if you don't fall into one of the above groups, you should still get the vaccine if you want to prevent the flu.

How often should I get a flu shot?

The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older with rare exception.

“The reason for this is that a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time, so an annual vaccination is needed to get the best protection against the flu,” said Guste. “Also, the flu viruses are constantly changing, so the vaccine makeup is reviewed each year and updated as needed based on which flu viruses are making people sick.”

What’s in a flu vaccine?

There are three different influenza vaccine production technologies approved by the FDA: egg-based, cell-based, and recombinant flu vaccine.

“The most common way that flu vaccines are made is using an egg-based manufacturing process, which has been used for more than 70 years.,” said Guste. “Egg-based vaccine manufacturing is used to make both inactivated (killed) vaccines, usually called the ‘flu shot’, and live attenuated (weakened) vaccines, usually called the ‘nasal spray flu vaccine.' In the inactivated (killed) vaccine, the virus particles lose their disease producing capacity.”

A common misconception is that getting a flu vaccine will cause you to get the flu.

“Flu shots cannot cause flu illness,” confirmed Guste. “Flu shots are made with inactivated or killed viruses, and these virus particles lose their disease producing capacity. The nasal spray vaccine contains live viruses that are attenuated (weakened) so that they will not cause illness.”

Other preventative steps

Other steps you can take to protect you and your loved ones from the flu include:

Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before eating and after touching high-contact areas, like doorknobs and desks
Clean surfaces with disinfectant wipes or a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water
Try to keep your hands away from your mouth and face

Talk with your healthcare provider

According to the CDC, there are situations when you should not get a vaccine because they could cause other health issues. Talk with your healthcare provider if:

You have a severe allergy to chicken eggs. This means more than itchy skin. You will be advised to get your flu shot in a medical setting where a healthcare provider can monitor you and give emergency care if needed for a severe reaction.
You developed Guillain-Barré syndrome in the 6 weeks after getting a flu shot in the past.
You currently have an illness with a fever. Wait until symptoms get better before getting the vaccine.

Children younger than 6 months of age should not be vaccinated against the flu. Flu vaccines haven't been approved for that age group.

Think you know about the flu? Take our flu quiz to test your knowledge.