Cold refers to a disease characterized by symptoms of upper respiratory tract in nasopharynx. The main symptoms are nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, no obvious fever, no obvious headache, joint pain and general malaise. Degree of fever: generally no fever or fever below 38 degrees. Pathogen: mainly virus. Incubation: 1-3 days.
Influenza is a disease caused by influenza virus infection. Influenza patients have acute onset and serious symptoms, such as headache, muscle weakness and loss of appetite. For the elderly, children, pregnant women or people with basic diseases, influenza may also lead to severe pneumonia or even death. Degree of fever: fever is generally above 38 degrees. Pathogen: mainly influenza virus. Incubation: 1-3 days.
After being infected with COVID-19 virus, the main symptoms are fever, fatigue and dry cough. The first symptom of some patients is the loss of sense of smell and taste, and a few patients have symptoms such as stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat and diarrhea. Mild people may have symptoms such as low fever, mild fatigue, smell and taste disorders; Severe patients usually have symptoms such as dyspnea and/or hypoxemia one week after onset. Degree of fever: fever is higher than 38 degrees (continuous high fever can be seen in severe cases). Pathogen: Mainly novel coronavirus. Incubation period: The incubation period of Omicron is 2-4 days, and most of them can be detected within 7 days.
The difference between cold, flu and novel coronavirus infection.
According to experts from Gansu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, infections, colds and flu in novel coronavirus are all respiratory viral diseases, but they are still quite different.
First of all, from the pathogenicity. A cold is caused by some colonized viruses, such as rhinovirus; Influenza is caused by influenza virus; COVID-19 was caused by novel coronavirus.
Second, from the perspective of infectivity. A cold is not contagious. When the resistance is weakened, some viruses parasitic in the upper respiratory tract will have symptoms after replication. Both influenza and COVID-19 are contagious, and COVID-19 is obviously more contagious than influenza.
Third, from the infection site, colds are generally in the upper respiratory tract and generally do not cause pneumonia. To the lungs. However, COVID-19 can cause pneumonia, and COVID-19 infection can induce a series of basic diseases to worsen. This is a very important feature of COVID-19, so we can't ignore it.
Fourth, from the perspective of the occurrence season. Cold has no seasonality, and it can happen all year round, because local virus reproduction will cause symptoms due to decreased resistance. Influenza mainly occurs in autumn and winter, but it can occur all year round in novel coronavirus, but autumn and winter will be the high-risk season, because there are many indoor activities and the air is not circulating. Furthermore, from the clinical manifestations, colds are mild, usually with some symptoms of upper respiratory tract, runny nose and stuffy nose, a few with low fever and a few with high fever. Influenza often has systemic symptoms, such as headache, fever, sore throat, muscle and joint pain. After being infected with novel coronavirus, fever, muscle and joint pain, cough, decreased sense of smell and taste, and aggravated basic diseases, especially in the elderly.