Is It More Than a Cold? 10 Signs - Health.com

You likely know the signs of a common cold, commonly caused by rhinovirus. Symptoms include a runny nose, congestion, coughing, and sneezing. How do you know these symptoms are just a cold or the flu? Signs it's more than a cold include a sore throat, chills, diarrhea, nausea, and throwing up.

A cold tends to clear up on its own within three to ten days. If your symptoms last longer than 10 days, you may have the flu. Here's how to tell when symptoms are more than a cold and when to contact a healthcare provider.

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It's possible to be feverish when you have a cold, but a high fever is not common. A fever higher than 101 degrees may be a sign of strep throat. Most people with strep throat develop a high fever in the first few days of illness.

Be wary of sudden spikes in your temperature. Strep throat is a bacterial infection that requires treatment with antibiotics. If untreated, strep throat may cause rheumatic fever and lead to serious heart problems.

Strep throat generally does not cause symptoms like a runny nose, cough, and hoarseness (changes in your voice). These symptoms more commonly occur with a cold.

Running a low-grade fever for several days in a row might be a sign your body is trying to fight off more than a cold. Research has shown that a consistent fever may mean you have the flu or mononucleosis (mono). The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes mono, which causes a fever, body aches, and severe fatigue. Be diligent about checking your body temperature, even if it does not feel super intense.

It can be hard to distinguish allergies from colds since they have similar symptoms. Allergies will often follow a pattern. You likely have allergies if your symptoms are worse after spending time outdoors or during certain seasons. Keep track of your symptoms and see if you notice any trends to pinpoint the exact cause.

A cold can cause body aches, but pain is usually slight. The flu, in contrast, usually makes your muscles and body feel achy. This pain can sometimes be severe. Chills and fatigue often accompany body aches. Getting out of bed might wear you out, and your muscles will be sore and tender.

A cough is a typical cold symptom, but it usually is not so severe if it causes chest pain, shortness of breath, and wheezing. These symptoms can be a sign of bronchitis or pneumonia. Bronchitis is inflammation of the tubes that carry air to and from the lungs (bronchial tubes). Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs.

Chest pain and shortness of breath could also signal a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in the lungs. This medical emergency may be fatal if untreated.

You might get chills at the start of a bacterial or viral infection. When you are cold, your muscles rapidly contract (squeeze) and relax to generate heat. Chills, which typically accompany a fever, cause you to become pale, feel cold, and shiver.

A fever and chills can occur with a cold, but it's not as common. You might instead have the flu or COVID-19 if you are shivering with a fever. COVID is an infection caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Other COVID symptoms include a cough, fatigue, and loss of taste and smell. The only way to confirm a COVID diagnosis is to get tested.

Nausea with a cold—as well as vomiting and diarrhea—is not typical. Symptoms like these could signal something more severe, like the flu. It's important to get medical attention if you experience these symptoms consistently. They can cause you to become dehydrated.

It's important to see a healthcare provider if you have any symptoms after returning from a trip abroad. Traveler's diarrhea, for example, is a common illness that occurs in people who recently traveled to high-risk places. These include countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The hallmark symptom of traveler's diarrhea is loose, watery stools.

A sore throat causes a painful or scratchy throat. This discomfort may make it hard to swallow. A sore throat may occur with a cold, but it's more typical with the flu.

Other illnesses that may cause a sore throat include:

• Allergies
• Mono
• Strep throat
• Tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils, which are two lumps of tissue at the back of your throat that protect against germs)

Another red flag it's more than a cold is a "localization" of symptoms, meaning you feel them in one specific area. Cold symptoms affect the upper respiratory system. Other illnesses are characterized by intense symptoms in one place. Strep throat, for example, causes a sore throat that makes swallowing difficult but typically will not cause full-body pain.

Sinus infections can cause headaches and even make your teeth hurt. An ear infection will usually cause pain and congestion in one ear, and mono can cause swollen tonsils.

A cold can present very similarly to the flu. It's important to know the difference between cold and flu symptoms to protect others from illness. Some people, such as older adults and those with a weak immune system, are more likely to develop complications from the flu.

Below is the difference between cold and flu symptoms. Please keep in mind that some overlap is possible.

Cold Symptoms	Flu Symptoms
Coughing	Body aches
Headache	Dizziness
Loss of appetite	Dry coughing
Muscle aches	Fever and chills
Post-nasal drip	Headache
Runny or stuffy nose	Nausea and vomiting
Scratchy or sore throat	Runny nose and sneezing
Sneezing	Sore throat

You can typically treat a cold and the flu at home. You'll want to contact a healthcare provider if your symptoms persist after 10 days or worsen.

See a healthcare provider if you have:

• A fever that lasts more than four days
• Dehydration
• Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
• Symptoms (e.g., a cough or fever) that go away and then return
• Underlying health conditions that worsen

A cold commonly causes a runny nose, congestion, coughing, and sneezing. You might have something other than a cold if you have symptoms like a sore throat, chills, diarrhea, nausea, and throwing up. Some of these symptoms often occur with the flu, allergies, COVID, mono, and strep throat.

A cold typically clears up within 10 days, so see a healthcare provider if your symptoms worsen or do not go away after that time.

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