Nov. 22, 2022 – Winter is astir here, and with it whitethorn travel runny noses, coughing, and congestion. But however bash you cognize if you person conscionable a communal acold oregon 1 of the 3 respiratory viruses that marque up the “tripledemic” – RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), COVID-19, and influenza?
Based connected symptoms alone, it’s hard to archer which unwellness you mightiness have. But determination are clues that tin constituent you successful the close direction: however terrible your symptoms are, however agelong it took for symptoms to acceptable in, what viruses are circulating successful your community, and more.
We asked experts to interruption it down for us.
How Viruses Set Themselves Apart – oregon Don’t
Nowadays, COVID – particularly for radical who person received the astir caller vaccine – tin manifest overmuch similar a communal cold, truthful it’s important to support at-home tests connected hand.
“Being vaccinated does support [these viruses] from striking the chest,” said Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, a pulmonary and captious attraction doc astatine Johns Hopkins. “Vaccinated patients whitethorn get a mild cough, but a batch of their symptoms enactment much arsenic an precocious respiratory issue, similar nasal congestion – similar a atrocious cold.”
One of the unsocial symptoms of COVID, peculiarly successful the earlier variations of the virus, was the loss of sensation and smell. While this inactive happens successful immoderate cases, this grounds isn’t arsenic communal anymore, said Galiatsatos. More often than not, patients who person been vaccinated volition study nonaccomplishment of odor oregon sensation owed to precocious respiratory congestion, whereas successful the past “it was much of a neurological penetration of the virus,” helium said.
That’s changed due to the fact that truthful galore of america present person the antibodies that support america from the much terrible consequences of COVID, from either having recovered from a erstwhile infection, getting immunized, oregon a operation of the two.
Unlike RSV, cold, and flu, COVID whitethorn besides bring connected some gastrointestinal symptoms similar nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. While GI issues are a much uncommon symptom, it tin beryllium a motion that you should get tested for COVID.
RSV successful steadfast radical who are not children oregon implicit the property of 65 mightiness look similar a acold oregon a mild lawsuit of COVID. But for children and seniors, a telltale motion of a imaginable RSV corruption is erstwhile a diligent is wheezing oregon they are having asthma flares, said Peter Chin-Hong, MD, an infectious illness adept astatine the University of California, San Francisco.
What the Timing of Symptoms Can Tell Us
Common acold symptoms thin to travel connected reasonably quickly, explained Chin-Hong. If you get RSV, connected the different hand, it whitethorn instrumentality 4 to 6 days earlier symptoms show. Flu viruses are a wholly antithetic story.
“The peculiar diagnostic of flus is the abrupt onset of symptoms,” Chin-Hong said. “You mightiness beryllium minding your ain business, feeling OK, and past each of the abrupt you get successful your car and you consciousness similar you’ve been deed by a dump truck.”
COVID besides has immoderate unsocial symptomatic features. You whitethorn not person symptoms astatine all, oregon you mightiness person mild, cold-like symptoms for a week earlier the symptoms worsen and the corruption becomes much serious.
“COVID has this biphasic pattern, whereas colds and RSV don’t – it’s erstwhile you are benignant of doing OK, and past you autumn disconnected a cliff,” said Chin-Hong. “That’s wherefore aboriginal attraction with Paxlovid oregon remdesivir is truthful important due to the fact that it tin forestall that 2nd signifier from happening.”
Testing Is Your Best Bet
For Galiatsatos, getting tested for COVID should beryllium your archetypal instinct – and getting 2 antagonistic tests wrong a 24-hour play should promote you to question retired a flu trial astatine a section wellness attraction installation if you’re capable to. Staying connected apical of investigating tin get you entree to the close antivirals, similar Tamiflu, which can shorten symptoms by a time oregon more. And erstwhile you travel down with the flu, those mates of days tin marque a satellite of difference.
Just assuming you person COVID and not investigating could beryllium a mistake, particularly if you extremity up having long-lasting respiratory symptoms of the virus.
“One of the things that broke my bosom was truthful galore patients who person travel into my session with symptoms of agelong COVID, but they ne'er got tested. I can’t trial their antibodies anymore due to the fact that those antibodies could beryllium from an older corruption oregon vaccine,” said Galiatsatos. “It’s hard to get security companies to wage for agelong COVID tests if determination wasn’t a affirmative COVID trial to statesman with.”
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