Are your symptoms sign of a cold, the flu or covid-19?

COVID-19 SYMPTOMS The coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, is responsible for COVID-19. Symptoms, which may appear two to 14 days after infection, start out mild and worsen about seven days after

they begin. Many of the symptoms can resemble those of a cold and the flu, such as fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose,

congestion, muscle pain, body aches, headache and weakness. There appear to be subtle differences, though. For instance, a cough associated with COVID-19 tends to be dry, rather than

phlegmy, says osteopath Brian Clemency, an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo in New York. Also, weakness is more common in people with

COVID-19, according to the _Journal of Infection_ study. Signs of illness tend to be more pronounced in adults over 50. “They tend to be weaker and more tired, and they may experience more

severe shortness of breath,” says Mark Perazella, M.D., a professor of medicine and nephrology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. He adds that they are also

more likely to experience changes in their mental status, such as confusion, dizziness and brain fog. A symptom that tends to occur in people with the coronavirus — and may be the first

warning sign of the illness — is a sudden change in, or loss of, smell or taste. “This symptom seems to occur earlier and is more pronounced in people with COVID-19,” Clemency says. However,

there’s some preliminary evidence that people who have the delta variant may not experience this symptom.   “Our thinking is that people breathe in COVID-19 through the nose and it infects

the olfactory tissue,” says Andrew Lane, M.D., professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. And research shows that it may take longer for

COVID-19 patients to recover their ability to smell and taste, compared with those suffering from the flu (about seven days versus three days). Fever also seems to be common in people with

COVID-19. “The reason fever often shows up as the first symptom in COVID-19 patients is that the virus gets stuck in the upper respiratory tract for a long time,” Kuhn says. “Later, the

virus drops into the lungs, and then coughing starts.” The influenza virus, on the other hand, infects the respiratory tract and moves into the lungs more quickly. Despite the similarities

between COVID-19 and the flu, people with the former tend to experience a greater variety of symptoms (as well as health problems).  Despite the similarities between COVID-19 and the flu,

people with the former tend to experience a greater variety of symptoms (as well as health problems). In a study published in the _Journal of Infection_, researchers found that nausea,

vomiting and diarrhea were about twice as common in COVID-19 patients as in those with the flu. Other signs of COVID-19 include blotchy purple or red rashes, which can appear on the hands,

forearms, legs and toes and may signal blood clots in arteries or veins. Research shows that people with the virus are also more likely to experience blood clots in the lungs and kidney

failure. COULD YOU HAVE RSV? In June, the CDC issued a health advisory that cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were rising in the southern United States. Typically, infections occur

in the fall, winter and spring. However, since March, there’s been an increase in infections, possibly because many people stopped wearing masks and social distancing. Though most adults who

are diagnosed with RSV typically have mild or no symptoms, some develop pneumonia or heart failure. Every year in the U.S., RSV leads to 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths in people

65 or older. Treatment involves managing symptoms, which include the following: * runny nose * sore throat * cough * headache * fatigue * fever These symptoms also resemble those associated

with COVID-19, so tell your doctor if you’re feeling ill. If you test negative for COVID-19, your doctor may test you for RSV.  _Editor’s note: This article was updated in September 2021

with new information._