Sorting out Symptoms

While doctors are still working to fully understand the symptoms and severity of COVID-19, reported symptoms in patients have varied from mild to severe and have included fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Some studies are indicating a sudden loss of taste and smell may indicate impending COVID-19 infection A review study on COVID-19 published February 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that about 83% to 98% of COVID-19 patients develop a fever, 76% to 82% develop a dry cough and 11% to 44% develop fatigue or muscle aches.

The flu can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, and in some cases even death, according to the CDC.

Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, headaches, running or stuffy nose, fatigue and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. The CDC notes that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

“Flu symptoms often come on suddenly, and people look sick,” said Dr. Tom Weida, chief medical officer of University Medical Center, which is operated by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. He said most people who get the flu recover in less than two weeks.

So far this flu season, about 1% of people in the U.S. have developed flu symptoms severe enough to be hospitalized (61 hospitalizations per 100,000 people), according to the CDC.

Flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them, Weida said.

Cold symptoms are usually milder than flu symptoms. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems.

Weida said colds happen gradually and are felt mainly in the head and nose, usually with more mild symptoms and fatigue. “While you may not feel great, if you do not have a fever, you can generally continue about your day,” he said. “But out of consideration for others, please avoid close contact with other people.”

Every season brings different allergens. In the spring, the most common triggers for allergies include pollen from weeds, trees, grasses as well as mold spores, according to the CDC.

Symptoms caused by seasonal allergies include sneezing, congestion and runny or stuffy nose, Weida said, noting that fever is generally not associated with spring allergies.