Covid, The Flu, or Strep?
When cold and flu season hits during an ongoing pandemic, you might wonder what will happen if you or someone in your family gets sick. At the first sign of sniffles or a sore throat, you’re likely to wonder: “Do I have COVID-19? Or could it just be a common cold? Strep? RSV? Maybe the flu? And how do I find out?"
It’s not always easy to tell, but at KnowNOW Health, our 3-in-1 Rapid test gives you answers in 15 minutes. With a quick diagnosis, our expert medical providers can help you get treatment, making sense of your symptoms and help you feel better- NOW. Want more assurance? KnowNOW also offers a Covid-19 PCR test with results in 2-3 days.
How To Tell If You Have Covid, The Flu, Strep, Or The Common Cold?
In the meantime, here’s what you should know about telling apart COVID-19, the flu, strep, and the common cold:
Understanding the cause of your upper respiratory symptoms can be a challenge. Not all patients with the same illness experience the same symptoms, and there’s also a good deal of overlap:
Cold symptoms include stuffy nose, congestion and sneezing.
Strep throat symptoms include white spots on your tonsils, swollen lymph nodes in your neck, fever, and lack of cough.
Flu symptoms include fever, chills, body aches, sore throat and headache.
COVID-19 shares a lot of symptoms with the flu, but loss of smell and taste are specific to COVID-19.
Symptom Differences?
Diagnosis is important because it determines your treatment plan. But quick and accurate diagnosis is even more important for the elderly and very young, who are generally at a much higher risk of life-threatening complications when it comes to upper respiratory illnesses. KnowNOW’s 3-in-1 test- along with an expert evaluation of your symptoms and medical history- can help diagnose your illness . Moreover, COVID-19 and the flu are both epidemic in nature, which makes it reasonable for doctors to diagnose and treat patients who:
Are located in the epidemic area
Have a fever and cough, and especially
Live with someone who has tested positive.
How to Diagnose?
For COVID-19, the flu, strep throat, and the common cold, most patients simply need increased fluid intake, rest, fever-reducers, and pain relievers. Other treatments include:
Antiviral medications to shorten the course of (or even prevent) the flu.
Antibiotics to treat strep throat (but not COVID-19, the common cold or other viral illnesses).
Prescription cough medication (and even inhalers) if your diagnosis is bronchitis or asthma.
Monoclonal antibodies (by IV infusion) for COVID-19 may be of value to patients at high risk of complications. Unproven treatments (like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine) are NOT advisable.
Over-the-counter medications and home remedies.