Infectious Diseases: Common cold or the flu?

influenza is a specific type of

infection caused by a specific virus so

that's usually influenza A or influenza

B virus the cold on the other hand is

caused by hundreds of different types of

viruses the main difference that you

would notice is that influenza tends to

cause what we call more systemic

symptoms so you are more likely to have

fever body aches and pains than you are

with the cold which tends to be usually

just runny nose sore throat and possibly

some call the best things that we

recommend for people who have the common

cold are to get to plenty of rest to

drink plenty of fluids and you can use

kind of symptomatic relief methods in

terms of ibuprofen or acetaminophen to

help yourself feel better until your

body is able to fight it off itself once

you have a viral infection of any kind

there is an increased chance that you

might develop a superimposed bacterial

infection so this can look like a few

different things your infections can be

an example of that your risk of

developing a bacterial sinusitis could

go up and your risk of developing

pneumonia or a lung infection can go up

as well however most commonly the virus

just runs its course and doesn't cause

any long-term issues