Coronavirus Or Common Cold? How To Recognise The Difference?

The covid-19 virus and the common cold virus are transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets

Without a cough and a cold, winter is not complete. But with the increase in covid-19 cases, people are afraid of contracting the disease. Although cold symptoms and covid-19 symptoms are almost identical, understanding the difference between these two illnesses is essential to managing the winter months with covid-19. 

In India, the covid-19 scare has returned. Winter means that having a cough and cold is to be expected. But as soon as you sneeze or cough loudly, you'll notice that people start to close their windows or move away from you. Forget about other people; you must be wondering if you have a cold or covid-19. After all, the covid-19 and cold symptoms are similar. But you should also be able to distinguish between covid-19 and a common cold. 

People didn't take colds and coughs seriously before the covid-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020. A cup of ginger tea, some over-the-counter remedies, or cough syrup would be very helpful. But now that covid-19 is once again making headlines, questions are starting to surface.

Causes of Cold and Covid-19

There are numerous viruses that can cause runny nose and coughing. A cold can be brought on by strains of rhinovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, and enterovirus, with rhinovirus being the most frequent culprit. However, covid-19 is brought on by SARS-CoV-2, which was discovered in Wuhan, China, four years ago. 

The covid-19 virus and the common cold virus are transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets. After someone sneezes, coughs, or talks, these droplets can be inhaled by bystanders. A person may become ill if they breathe in virus-carrying droplets. The viruses that cause the common cold can last for about 24 hours on surfaces, objects, and hands. However, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), close contact with an infected person is the primary method of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Are the two Same or Different?

The signs of covid-19 and colds are very similar. Covid-19 symptoms include a cough and sore throat. Therefore, you are not required to have a covid-19 test unless you have a sore throat or a fever. In addition, there are other signs like difficulty breathing, body aches, headaches, and loss of taste or smell. You will experience chills and a high fever if you have covid-19. When you have a cold, your symptoms will typically include a mild fever, cough, and runny nose.

The difference between the symptoms of cold and coronavirus include:

The flu and the coronavirus cause fevers more frequently than the common cold does. Patients with covid-19 frequently have fevers of 100 F or higher lasting three to four days, whereas flu patients frequently have fevers of 100 F to 102 F.

Headaches are occasionally reported by covid-19 patients. The flu frequently causes severe headaches in its victims. Headaches are rarely brought on by colds, but they can occasionally be by allergens. 

Severe form of fatigue does occasionally affect patients with coronaviruses, but it typically appears gradually. On the other hand, one of the initial symptoms of the flu is frequent extreme fatigue. 

Quite severe body aches are frequently a side effect of the flu virus. Aches are sometimes brought on by a coronavirus, but not always. The flu is more common and typically more severe than a coronavirus infection when it comes to fatigue and weakness, which are similar to body aches. 

The flu can occasionally cause sneezing, a sore throat, or one or more of these symptoms, but none of these are typical coronavirus symptoms. Coughing is a symptom of both the flu and the coronavirus. It is a serious symptom that occurs more frequently in severe coronavirus infections than it does in flu cases. 

You should seek emergency medical help if you experience this potentially fatal symptom. Breathlessness is among covid-19's most obvious symptoms. However, when it coexists with other significant symptoms like fever and cough, the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 doubles.