Colds and flu: What should you do?

Introduction

Both flu and common cold are a regular thing as they affecta large number of people everywhere around the world. Sometimes a person cannotdiscern whether he or she is suffering from flu or common cold, because theytend to have a lot of similar symptoms. They can both be characterized asrespiratory infections triggered by certain types of viruses. They both affectthe throat, the nose and the eyes. Common cold is characterized by a gradualbuildup of symptoms, while the symptoms of flu are usually much more severe,they get developed at a much quicker rate and quite often they include feverand aches. The most common symptoms of flu include difficulty sleeping, loss ofappetite, sneezing, blocked nose, runny nose, sore throat, stomach upset, diarrhea,joint pain, limb pain, aching muscles, chills, tiredness, headaches, dry coughand a sudden fever. These symptoms usually get resolved after only a couple ofdays.

Treatment Options

Common cold is much less severe than flu and it can be treatedat home rather easily. It is important to eat as healthily as possible, drinkas much fluids as possible and get proper amounts of rest. People who are fitand healthy can deal in a similar way with seasonal flu without the need forany specific treatment method. There are still a large number of people whostill need to pay a visit to the doctor once they start experiencing thesymptoms of flu because if it is left untreated it may lead to various differenttypes of medical complications. There isa misconception that antibiotics can be helpful for those who suffer from fluor common cold, but that could not be further from the truth, becauseantibiotics have virtually no effect on any type of virus. A person who suffersfrom flu needs to get plenty of rest and take remedies which are based onparacetamol because they are very efficient in lowering the temperature andrelieving all the frustrating symptoms. There are also certain prescriptionantiviral medications which are very efficient in reducing the potential forserious complications, relieving some of the symptoms and reducing the lengthof the illness significantly. They actually prevent the viruses from multiplyinginside the body of the patient. The most commonly used prescription antiviralmedications include amantadine, oseltamivir (also known as Tamiflu) andzanamivir (which is also sometimes referred to as Relenza).