Many of the symptoms of influenza are very similar to the symptoms of a cold, so how can you tell them apart?
The following is a list of symptoms associated with a cold or the flu:
| Symptoms | Cold | Flu |
| Symptoms begin slowly | X | |
| Symptoms appear quickly | X | |
| Fever | X | |
| Stuffy Nose | X | |
| Sneezing | X | |
| Cough | X | X |
| Sore Throat | X | |
| Headache | X | |
| Muscle aches | X | |
| Fatigue and/or weakness | X |
Another major difference between a cold and the flu is the duration of the specific symptoms. Although in both cases a patient can have symptoms that last 14 days or longer, the specific length of time of the specific symptoms is different between the two illnesses. The following is a table that displays the symptoms typically experienced by patients with a cold, or the flu, and the average length of time that it takes to develop and get over the symptoms:
| Number of Days | Cold | Flu |
| 1 | Catch cold virus | Catch flu virus |
| 2 | Cold symptoms Start | Flu symptoms start |
| 3 | ||
| 4 | Nose begins to get congested, and secretions changes to either yellow or green | Fever goes down and subsides |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | Most flu symptoms end | |
| 7 | Most cold symptoms end | |
| 8 | Cough and fatigue remain for at least a week after other symptoms subside. | |
| 9 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 11 | Cough may linger for several days after other cold symptoms subside. | |
| 12 | ||
| 13 | ||
| 14 | ||
| Beyond |
The most significant difference between a cold and the flu is the presence of a fever and the symptoms that accompany the fever, in a patient suffering from the flu, such as muscle aches, fatigue, and weakness. These are not symptoms that are typically experienced by patients suffering from a cold. Whereas, a sore throat and runny nose are symptoms commonly seen in the case of a cold, and rarely ever seen in a patient with the flu.
