How to tell when you have a cold or the flu...

By Lonye Gilles

October 29, 2009

Symptom	Cold	H1N1 Flu
Fever	Fever is rare	Temperatures of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days
Coughing	A hacking (mucus-producing) cough is often present	A dry cough is usually present
Aches	Slight body aches and pains	Severe aches and pains
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present and typically resolves spontaneously within a week	Stuffy nose is not commonly present
Chills	Chills are uncommon	Chills occur in 60% of cases
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild	Tiredness is moderate to severe
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly	Sneezing is not common
Sudden Symptoms	Symptoms tend to develop over a few days	Rapid onset within 3-6 hours with sudden symptoms of high fever - muscle aches - shortness of breath - tight chest
Headache	Headaches are fairly mild	Headache occur in 80% of cases
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present	Sore throat is not commonly present
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate	Chest discomfort is often severe