As respiratory viruses become more widespread during fall and winter, it can be difficult to tell the difference between common cold, flu, and COVID-19. Symptoms often overlap, but understanding the distinctions is crucial for managing your health and protecting those around you.

According to Dr. William Brian Glenn from Hackensack Meridian Medical Group, while all three illnesses share similar symptoms, some unique signs can help differentiate them. Colds, the flu, and COVID-19 are caused by different viruses, but they all present with cough, sore throat, runny nose, and general fatigue. However, COVID-19 comes with additional symptoms, including loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, nausea, and in some cases, diarrhea or vomiting.

One of the first indicators is the onset of symptoms. Colds generally appear gradually over time, while flu symptoms are more sudden and intense. In contrast, COVID-19 symptoms may take anywhere from 2 to 14 days after exposure to surface. Additionally, while colds are often mild, COVID-19 can progress to more severe conditions such as difficulty breathing and chest pain, particularly in high-risk individuals.

Who Is at Higher Risk?

Certain groups are more susceptible to severe complications from these respiratory infections. According to Dr. Glenn, older adults, young children, and people with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are at higher risk. Individuals on immunosuppressive medications are also more vulnerable to respiratory infections.

If you fall into a high-risk category, it’s important to discuss your prevention strategies with a healthcare provider. Vaccines for both flu and COVID-19 are highly recommended and can protect against severe illness.

For those planning to travel, it's vital to check the flu and COVID-19 vaccine guidelines for your destination, as cold and flu seasons vary across regions.

How to Protect Yourself

While there is no foolproof way to avoid illness, there are several steps you can take to reduce your risk:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.

2. Use a tissue or your elbow when coughing or sneezing.

3. Particularly in crowded spaces or areas with poor ventilation.

4. Regularly clean frequently touched objects like doorknobs and light switches.

5. Keep your body hydrated and get plenty of rest to support your immune system.

Comparing Cold, Flu, and COVID-19 Symptoms

Despite their similarities, there are a few distinctions between colds, the flu, and COVID-19. Below is a breakdown of the key differences in symptoms:

Symptom	Common Cold	Flu	COVID-19
Fever	Rare	Common (high fever)	Common, often prolonged
Cough	Mild	Dry, can be severe	Dry, persistent, can worsen
Fatigue	Mild	Common, sudden onset	Common, can be severe
Muscle Aches	Mild	Common, often intense	Common, often intense
Loss of Taste/Smell	Rare	Rare	Common, unique to COVID-19
Shortness of Breath	No	Rare	Common in severe cases
Runny Nose/Sneezing	Common	Sometimes	Less common

*information provided in this table is for informational purposes only

When to See a Doctor

While colds generally resolve on their own with rest and over-the-counter remedies, there are times when you should consult a healthcare provider. Use the following checklist to determine if you should seek medical help:

- Fever lasting more than three days

- Difficulty breathing or chest pain

- Persistent cough with green or yellow mucus

- Sudden loss of taste or smell

- Severe body aches or fatigue that worsens over time

- Vomiting or diarrhea, particularly in children

- Symptoms that worsen after initial improvement

Why Testing Is Important

Because of the symptom overlap, the only reliable way to distinguish between COVID-19 and the flu is through testing. COVID-19 rapid tests are available in many pharmacies and healthcare centers. If you're feeling unsure about your symptoms, getting tested can provide clarity and help prevent spreading the illness to others.

The winter season brings with it an increased risk of respiratory illnesses. While symptoms of colds, the flu, and COVID-19 can be similar, understanding the subtle differences is essential for treatment and prevention. Protect yourself and your loved ones by staying informed, following health guidelines, and getting vaccinated when necessary.

Proper hygiene, timely vaccination, and monitoring of symptoms can significantly reduce the chances of severe illness and help you navigate the cold and flu season with confidence.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this table is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment based on your specific symptoms and health condition.

We have all have experienced fevers, there are many different beliefs about it in different cultures and multiple ways to treat it, ranging from modern medicine to ancient practices. When one has a fever, their body feels warm and weak, they also do not have energy to do extended movements. As fevers are a range, some being slight to others being signs of dangerous conditions, dealing with them can be tricky. Things like fever dreams, conversations and thoughts are often incoherent. There are things called fever hallucinations as well, but why does this happen?

Fever means your body temperature has gone above what's normal. But what's "normal" can be a bit different for everyone and can change based on how active you are and the time of day. Generally, a fever is when your temperature is higher than 99 degrees Fahrenheit in the early morning or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit at any other time.

Do Fevers Make Us More Irritable?

In a 2013 review published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, the researchers found that not only do fevers cause people to feel cold, weak and other bodily sensations, but the participants also expressed emotional changes, vivid dreams/hallucinations.

In one of the interview with a participant from the study, researches noted them experiencing feelings of anxiousness, crabby, angry and frustrated, “Like I said, I think fever is really tied in to how you feel emotionally. Because I know every time I have a fever, I just get snotty, for lack of a better term, because I'm just really agitated.”

“I feel tired. I feel irritable”

How Is Body Heat And Brain Health Connected?

Harvard Heath explains a part of your brain called the hypothalamus acts like a thermostat for your body. When you're healthy, it keeps your body at its usual temperature. A fever happens when the hypothalamus gets set to a higher temperature than normal. This change in the brain's thermostat is usually caused by tiny things in your blood called pyrogens.

According to a 2023 review by Yale School of Medicine heat can change things in the environment, it can also change how our brains work. In a study, researchers found that even small increases in temperature while the brain is active can really change what the brain does, and sometimes these changes can be negative.

Experts from Yale explain that changes in temperature in the brain also affect how our nerve cells (neurons) fire signals. These cells have tiny pumps that give them electrical energy, which they release when the brain is active. The researchers found that if brain cells get heated up too fast, faster than these pumps can adjust, the cells might become more active or less active than usual.

Even tiny temperature changes from brain stimulation can lead to big changes in neuron activity. As neurons get warmer, they can even stop working, and when they cool down again, they can become very easily excited.

Fever Hallucinations and other Psychological Affects

According to an Infections & Chemotherapy 2022 review, fevers can cause febrile convulsions, which is a seizure caused by a fever in young kids. It can also cause confusion, like not understanding where you are, not recognizing your surroundings. It can also cause unstable emotions, conscious and cognitive disturbances like illusions on hallucinations.

These can also be symptoms for things like influenza infections or encephalitis. Like the Yale experts explained even small temperature changes can have such a big impact on brain activity, we need to start paying attention to these small changes. He points out that it's a basic rule of physics that when you send electricity through wires to stimulate the brain, you will create heat, both in the wires and in the brain tissue itself.

Researching more on these matters can help us find better treatments and help doctors change the course of several procedures to help their patients.

Turkey has banned elective caesarean surgeries for childbirth at private hospitals and healthcare centres. "Planned Caesarean sections cannot be performed in a medical centre," said a gazette entry outlining new regulations governing private healthcare institutions in Turkey. It came as the country's president, Tyyip Recep Erdogan, has been pushing hard to have women give natural births, asserting that C Section surgeries promoted Western culture.

The move has triggered massive criticism from the opposition and right-wing organisations. "As if the country had no other problems, male football players are telling women how to give birth," Gokce Gokcen, deputy chair of the main opposition CHP, on X. Meanwhile, many human rights and women's rights organisations have also raised their voices against this new law, calling it out for restricting women's rights and liberty.

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What Is A C-Section Birth?

C-section or caesarean birth is a surgical procedure wherein a baby is delivered through incisions made in mother's abdomen and uterus. The name caesarean comes from the Latin word "caedare" which means "to cut." Interestingly, there are rumours that link the name to Roman emperor Julius Caesar, stating that he was the first person to be born via this procedure. However, there are no records of this.

However, there are many cases where a caesarean section surgery becomes almost necessary. A doctor may order a C-section if:

• Your baby is breech, or the lower part of the body is in the birth canal instead of the head.
• Your baby is in a transverse position, or lying sideways in the birth canal.
• Your baby’s head is unusually large.
• Your baby’s heartbeat is slowing down, or there is a problem with oxygen delivery to your baby.
• You are giving birth to more than one baby. Sometimes one baby will be in an abnormal position, so all of the babies are then born via C-section.
• Your baby has a birth defect that makes vaginal delivery unsafe.
• You have umbilical cord issues.
• You have health conditions that make vaginal delivery unsafe. These include high blood pressure, HIV, open herpes lesions, or heart problems.

What Are The Complications Of Having a C-Section Surgery?

There are many complications that come with this method of delivering a child. They include:

• Reactions to the medicines used during surgery
• Bleeding
• Abnormal separation of the placenta, especially in women with previous cesarean delivery
• Injury to the bladder or bowel
• Infection in the uterus
• Wound infection
• Trouble urinating or a urinary tract infection
• Delayed return of bowel function
• Blood clots

Bottom Line

Despite the potential risks and complications, C-sections are much safer than they once were. With evolution in medical science, doctors are now taking great care to make incisions that will reduce the risk of nicks to the baby and infections to the mother. Meanwhile, the use of anaesthesia, also reduces the pain of the childbirth.

ALSO READ: Dishonesty Is 'More Than A Vice', It Could Make You Sick With

Being dishonest doesn’t come naturally to people, it is a learned virtue, whether out of necessity or pleasure. When kids lie, a lot of it stems from them not wanting to get in trouble, for example, breaking a household item or doing something they were told not to do like running around inside the house. However, when people do learn to tell lies, it can become like a go to tendency for many. It is easier to make something up rather than explaining complex truths.

According to a study published in the Psychological Science 2015, kids start lying around the age of two to three years old. Their habit then progresses rapidly, till the age of 3 and 7.

Not all lies are the same, some are really small and don't hurt anyone, like saying you like someone's new haircut even though you don't. These little white lies often just help keep things smooth and make people feel good. Then there are much bigger lies, like saying someone else did something wrong when they didn't, or lying to people about money. These kinds of lies can cause a lot of damage and have bad consequences for people's lives.

Stress Response of Lying

When we know that being dishonest could really hurt how others see us, the act of lying itself makes our bodies feel stressed. When we tell a lie, things start to happen without us even thinking about it. A 2015 review published in the Current Opinion in Psychology explains that our heart might beat faster, we might start to sweat a little and our mouth can feel really dry. These physical changes are what those old-fashioned lie-detector tests used to try and pick up on.

Some people don't feel as much empathy as others, and they might not have the usual stressed reaction when they lie. The American Psychological Association explains that some people can learn to control their bodies really well and might be able to lie and still pass a lie-detector test. On the other hand, someone who is telling the truth but is just really nervous about being tested might look like they are lying.

Gut-Brain Connection and Extreme Reactions

While it's not common, some people might have a really strong physical reaction to lying, like feeling sick to their stomach or even throwing up a lot. This shows how connected our gut and our brain are. When we feel really anxious, like when we are worried about getting caught in a lie, it can actually make our stomach feel bad. So, for someone who is constantly lying and worried about it, this anxiety could potentially lead to physical sickness.

Living a life where you are often not telling the truth can actually take a toll on your health over time, not just in the moment. Research has suggested that people who lie a lot might have problems like high blood pressure, their heart might beat faster more often, their blood vessels could get tighter, and they might have more stress hormones in their bodies on a regular basis.