Doctor advises to distinguish Covid-19 symptoms from flu and cold

There are many differences between Covid-19 symptoms and those of flu and cold. (Illustration photo)

The North is in the humid season, I see many children and adults suffering from infectious diseases such as flu, Covid-19, colds, viral infections, dengue fever... In particular, the number of Covid-19 cases has increased rapidly in recent days, making me quite worried about my family. While the initial signs of the diseases are similar such as fever, headache, fatigue, runny nose, cough... Can doctors distinguish between colds, flu, and Covid-19 based on clinical symptoms alone?

Doctor Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center ( Ministry of Defense ), advises:

Covid-19, seasonal flu, colds or respiratory infections have similar common symptoms including: Fever or feeling hot/chills, dry cough, runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache...

These symptoms can range in severity from no symptoms to severe symptoms.

Previously, there were characteristic differences in clinical manifestations between colds, flu and Covid-19, for example, Covid-19 often causes loss of taste, smell, diarrhea, etc.

However, at the moment, it is impossible to distinguish between the common flu, a cold, and Covid-19 based on symptoms alone. This is because community immunity to Covid-19 is high, as most people have been fully vaccinated or have had the disease.

In addition, the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (currently dominant) has adapted to protective measures, this variant has the characteristic of spreading quickly, the symptoms are not severe, non-specific, except for special cases such as the elderly, people with underlying diseases, people with immunodeficiency, pregnant women. Many people feel tired, cough for a few days, think they have a cold, go to the doctor and find out they have Covid-19 thanks to screening tests.

In fact, a person can be infected with influenza, Covid-19 or other respiratory infections at the same time. Therefore, they can have multiple symptoms of the diseases at the same time.

Testing is required to make an accurate diagnosis. In my opinion, patients with the above suspected symptoms should first get a rapid Covid-19 test. The importance of diagnosing the disease is to protect those at high risk, preventing the risk of the disease getting worse and complications.

Although they have similar common symptoms such as fever, cough or fatigue, for normal people, influenza A and B tend to be more severe, serious, and last longer than a cold or Covid-19.

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