At first glance the symptoms caused by the new coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is officially named, is similar to what we know from the common cold or flu.
Coronavirus has the following main symptoms:
Fever
Dry cough
Breathing difficulty
Muscle pain
Fatigue
Coronavirus can also have the following, less common, symptoms:
Accumulation of phlegm
Headache
Haemoptysis
Diarrhea
Finally, the coronavirus in some rare cases is accompanied by:
Continuous
Sore throat
Sore throat and sore throat are the classic signs of an upper respiratory tract infection, ie the flu or common cold.
As the new coronavirus generally affects the lower respiratory tract, most of those infected develop a dry cough, shortness of breath, or pneumonia, but not a sore throat.
New coronavirus: Many patients initially have no symptoms
Many of those infected with the new virus had no initial symptoms. We also know that it has an incubation period of 14 days.
If you are not sure what you have, you should see a doctor, who can do a phlegm test to determine the presence or absence of respiratory viruses.
Flu or cold? What are the subtle differences
Even doctors may have difficulty distinguishing between a case of a flu infection and a common cold when distinguishing a patient's symptoms.
In a cold, most patients have a "scratch" in the throat, followed by a runny nose and eventually a cough. These symptoms, as well as fever and headache, can bother the patient for days.
On the other hand, the flu strikes in many places at once: the patient has pain in the head and limbs, has a dry cough, hoarseness in the voice, severe sore throat and high fever (up to 41 ° C) accompanied by chills.
A common cold usually goes away within a few days and most symptoms disappear after about a week. A flu is more persistent, it keeps you in bed for at least a week and in many cases the patient needs several weeks to feel really healthy again.
When to take antibiotics
Colds and flu are caused by viruses, against which antibiotics are useless.
Antibiotics boost the immune system by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria, but they also attack cell walls or inhibit the metabolic processes of microorganisms. Penicillin, for example, destroys the composition of the bacterial cell wall. The porous cell walls make it impossible for pathogens to survive, which are destroyed. But this only works against bacteria and not against viruses.
However, antibiotics work when bacteria enter the body through a weakened immune system and begin to multiply. This process can lead to infection, sometimes permanently damaging the body's organs. Pneumonia, tonsillitis, cystitis or meningitis are often caused by bacteria, so it makes sense to treat them with antibiotics.
Source: politis