Catching a cold during winter is fairly common because viruses spread more easily in packed indoor settings, and cold weather can weaken the immune defence inside the nose, making it harder to fight infections. Having a stuffy nose or a mild cough is one thing, but many people often confuse their illness with a cold when it may actually be flu. Flu symptoms are usually more intense and can include fever, headaches and body aches, along with a dry cough and sore throat. A cold, on the other hand, tends to peak within two to three days, with recovery usually taking about a week.

Cold vs Flu: Why Knowing the Difference Matters

With a strong flu strain causing disruption across the UK, knowing how to tell the difference between a cold and flu has become especially important. Berkshire NHS, which has around 17,100 followers on TikTok, has outlined three key differences between the two illnesses.

In a caption, the community NHS trust said: “Cold and flu symptoms can look similar, but flu is usually more severe. The flu vaccine helps protect against flu. Visit the NHS website to learn more.”

NHS Shares 3 Symptoms to Tell Cold and Flu Apart

The video features an NHS staff member pointing out three signs as she walks toward the correct option. The first is that flu comes on suddenly, often within a few hours, while a cold mainly affects the nose and throat. The final sign is that flu can leave you feeling drained and too unwell to go about your normal routine.

Can Flu Get Better on Its Own?

Flu often clears up on its own, but it can make some people very unwell. That is why it is important to get vaccinated if you are advised to do so and to follow safe distancing to reduce the spread of infection.

Flu Symptoms 2025

As per NHS, below are the flu symptoms that people need to take care of:

• A sudden high temperature
• An aching body
• Feeling tired or exhausted
• A dry cough
• A sore throat
• A headache
• Difficulty sleeping
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhoea or tummy pain
• Feeling sick and being sick

What Are The Symptoms Of A Cold?

• A blocked or runny nose
• Sneezing
• A sore throat
• A hoarse voice
• A cough
• Feeling tired and unwell
• A high temperature
• Aching muscles
• A loss of taste and smell
• A feeling of pressure in your ears and face

How Long Does a Cold Last?

In most cases, a cold can be managed at home without seeing a GP. You should start to feel better within one to two weeks, with symptoms developing over two to three days.

Cold Symptoms in Children: What Parents Should Know

Cold symptoms can last longer in young children. They may become more irritable, struggle with eating and sleeping, breathe through their mouth, and sometimes vomit after coughing. As per NHS, try to get enough rest over the Christmas holidays if possible, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nourishing food to help lower the risk of illness.

"I'm not scared of a germ, I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats," said the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. Now 72, he said during a Theo Von podcast that he continued with in-person rehab meeting during pandemic due to his addiction because of his robust approach to infection.

In a statement, he said, "I said, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m going to a meeting every day’,” he told Von. “I said, ‘I’m not scared of a germ — I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats — and I know this disease [addiction] will kill me if I don’t treat it, which means, for me, going to meetings every day … for me, it was survival.”

Read: RFK Jr. Removes Entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee

What Is Wrong With RFK Jr's Statement?

While toilet seat may not be the dirtiest item in an average household, as scientists, including professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, Dr Chuck Gerba told BBC that there are other dirtier items too. The statement to snort off a toilet seat could have a wrong tone.

While there exist other items with more bacteria than toilet, it is no safe to snort things off toilet seat and absolutely not to do drugs and to brag about it. This feels especially off when it comes from a Health Secretary.

On an average, a toilet seat typically has around 50 to 3,000 bacteria per square inch. A toilet seat could have many bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, norovirus and Shigella. They can cause gastrointestinal distress.

What is wrong with RFK Jr.'s statement is that having frequent encounters with fecal bacteria will not scientifically make him immune against the respiratory viruses which were common during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read: Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Controversial Nominee for U.S. Health Secretary?

This is because bacteria are single-celled, living organisms that can live independently, while viruses are much smaller, non-living agents and require a host cell to reproduce. The basic difference in its composition and how they function after entering the body is the reason why exposure to bacteria does not necessarily means one is protected or has immunity against a virus.

RFK Jr And His Anti-Vaxxer Stance

He is the nephew of former US President John F Kennedy popularly known as JFK, who was a democratic candidate. However, RFK Jr., who earlier filed candidature as a Democrat, then switched to an independent candidate and endorsed Trump heavily.

RFK Jr. works closely with many anti-vaccine activists who work for his nonprofit group Children's Health Defense. While in his recent speech, he said that he has "never been anti-vax and have never told the public to avoid vaccination", his track record shows otherwise.

In a podcast interview, he said, "There is no vaccine that is safe and effective" and told FOX News that he still believes in the now long-debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism. In another 2021 podcast, he urged people to "resist" CDC guidelines on getting their kids vaccinated. "I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, better not get them vaccinated," he said.

His non-profit also led an anti-vax campaign sticker and he appeared next on the screen to a sticker that read: "If you are not an anti-vaxxer you are not paying attention," reports AP.

Five weeks after the launch of Novo Nordisk's weight loss pill, Wegovy, 38,220 US prescriptions have been reported by IQVIA for the same. The company shares too climbed up by 4% on Friday, and touched the levels last seen in October.

The oral version of the Wegovy pill became available to US patients earlier this month after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in December.

How Effective Is The Wegovy Pill?

After injection by Novo Nordisk, of the same name, Wegovy, which has been on the market since 2021, its popularity grew so much that it was in short supply until February 2025. The pill version has now come out, which many experts believe will expand its accessibility. As the monthly supply of pill is expected to be cheaper than the monthly supply of the weight loss injection.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that a 25 milligram Wegovy pill led to 13.6% reduction in weight on average over 64 weeks. When compared to placebo, the result was only 2.2% of weight loss. Novo Nordisk says that those who stayed on the treatment and reduced their calorie intake, it would lead to a loss of 16.6% of their weight.

How To Use The Weight Loss Pill?

The first step lies in buying the correct and safe weight loss pill. Make sure the weight loss pills are clinically proven option for people to use to reduce their weight.

Take the pill with a glass of water. Make sure to always have the pill prescribed and follow the instructions that you GP has told. Store the pill in a cold place, however avoid freezing the medicine. Keep the medicine out of a child's reach. In some weight loss pills, if you miss your dosage, you can take it within 1 hour, however, clarify these doubts from your GP. A pill can usually be consumed within an hour of a fat-containing meal up to three times a day., however, the Wegovy pill must be taken on an empty stomach. Patients are advised not to eat, drink, or take other medicines for at least 30 minutes afterward. Thus, one must follow what is being prescribed for the best result, as the administering of the pill could vary based on the medication.

Most importantly, a healthy balanced diet, and a regular workout routine is also important will the person is on the pill.

Read: Wegovy Starter Dose Now Available As Daily Pill, Replacing Weekly Injections

What Are The Side Effects Of Wegovy Pill?

Digestive problems such as nausea and vomiting remain the most common side effects of GLP-1 drugs. These issues were also reported in studies of the pill versions. Around 7 percent of participants taking the Wegovy pill stopped treatment because of side effects, compared with 6 percent in the placebo group. In orforglipron’s trial, up to 10 percent of patients discontinued treatment, compared with 3 percent on placebo.

One key difference lies in how the medications are used. The Wegovy pill must be taken on an empty stomach with a small amount of water. Patients are advised not to eat, drink, or take other medicines for at least 30 minutes afterward. Doctors say this requirement has limited the use of Rybelsus, the pill form of semaglutide approved for diabetes, compared with Ozempic.

Eli Lilly highlights that orforglipron was taken once daily in trials without restrictions on food or water, which may make it easier for patients to use consistently.

On February 13, Canadians across the country mark Wear Red Canada Day, a reminder that heart disease remains the leading cause of death for women. Yet despite the scale of the problem, many women still do not recognize their risk or their symptoms.

“We’re learning more and more each day about how heart disease uniquely affects women,” said nurse practitioner and researcher Rachel Ollivier in an interview with CTV News. She emphasized that awareness is still lagging, both among patients and within health-care systems.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease accounts for roughly one in three deaths among women globally. In Canada, heart disease and stroke continue to be leading causes of death among women, and women are less likely than men to receive timely diagnosis or treatment.

Symptoms Can Look Different

Chest pain remains the most common heart attack symptom in both men and women. But Ollivier explained that women’s symptoms can often be subtler or feel different.

“For women, they often uniquely experience chest pain that seems like more of a discomfort or a tightness in the chest,” she said. Some women may feel pain in the left arm or jaw, unusual fatigue, nausea, vomiting, or discomfort between the shoulder blades.

Because these symptoms can be less specific, they are sometimes dismissed as stress, anxiety, indigestion, or exhaustion. Social factors also play a role. Women often juggle multiple responsibilities at home and work, and may delay seeking care. In some cases, their concerns may also be minimized within health-care settings.

Medical differences matter too. Women typically have smaller hearts and arteries, and plaque buildup behaves differently compared to men. Conditions such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection and microvascular dysfunction are seen more commonly in women, making diagnosis more complex.

Hormones and the Hidden Risk Window

Beyond symptoms, experts are urging greater recognition of the role hormones play in lifelong heart health.

“Endogenous estrogen is cardio protective,” Ollivier explained. As women enter the perimenopausal transition, estrogen levels fluctuate and gradually decline, and that protection is lost. This shift can lead to higher cholesterol levels and changes in fat distribution, increasing cardiovascular risk, particularly between the ages of 40 and 60.

Colleen Norris, a nursing professor at the University of Alberta and research lead of the CKHui LHHW Women’s Heart Health Research Collaborative who wrote on Yahoo Canada, believes the conversation needs to go even deeper.

She argues that ovaries have long been viewed only through the lens of reproduction. “The ovaries are not just reproductive organs. They are architects of women’s health across the lifespan,” she noted. Estrogen influences the heart and blood vessels, but also the brain, bones, kidneys, metabolism, and immune function.

Most women are never told that ovarian reserve and estrogen levels begin declining in their late 30s. By the time noticeable symptoms appear, biological changes may have already been underway for years.

Menopause itself is just one day, Norris explained. The larger reproductive transition surrounding it is what significantly increases vulnerability to chronic disease. Yet the health-care system often waits until disease develops before intervening.

Moving From Awareness to Action

Both experts stress that education is critical. Women with conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, pregnancy complications like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, and those entering midlife should be particularly mindful of their cardiovascular risk.

Wear Red Canada Day is meant to spark awareness, but symbols alone are not enough. Experts are calling for better research funding focused on midlife women, improved medical education around ovarian aging, and more proactive screening during the reproductive transition.

Heart disease in women is not inevitable. But recognizing that symptoms can differ, and that hormonal shifts matter, could be lifesaving.