The common cold, that is, upper respiratory tract infection, refers to acute inflammation of the nasal cavity, pharynx or larynx. Most of them are caused by cold virus, and a few are caused by bacteria. Include acute rhinitis, acute pharyngitis, acute laryngitis, herpetic pharyngolaryngitis, pharyngeal tonsillitis, etc.
Taking acute rhinitis as an example, the main clinical manifestations are inflammation of nasopharyngeal mucosa, including cough, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion and other symptoms. Early symptoms are mainly nasal inflammation, including sneezing, stuffy nose and runny nose. Early symptoms include throat discomfort or dryness, itchy throat or burning sensation. After 2~3 days, it turns into a thick nose, which may cause sore throat or hoarseness. Sometimes due to eustachian tube inflammation, hearing loss may occur, and symptoms such as tears, dull taste, poor breathing, cough, and a small amount of expectoration may also occur. Generally, there is no fever and systemic symptoms, or only low fever. In severe cases, in addition to fever, you may feel fatigue and discomfort, chills, limb pain, headache and loss of appetite.
Influenza, that is, influenza, the main symptoms of influenza can be fever, body temperature can often reach 39 degrees to 40 degrees, headache, myalgia, body aches and discomfort. In addition to these manifestations, there are other symptoms, such as slight cold, chills, muscle and joint aches, fatigue, loss of appetite and other systemic symptoms, as well as sore throat, dry cough, stuffy nose, runny nose, sternal discomfort and so on. And it seems that the face is flushed and the conjunctiva is congested. Children infected with influenza B often show digestive tract symptoms, such as vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The course of disease of patients without complications is generally self-limited. Most of them gradually lower their body temperature and improve their systemic symptoms after three to four days of onset, but cough and physical recovery often take more time.
If the patient feels like a common cold and has symptoms such as runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing, it is probably caused by a virus; If the patient has a sore throat, symptoms of sudden high fever and swollen lymph nodes, but no symptoms of the common cold, it may be caused by bacterial infection, which means that the patient needs to see a doctor and may need microbial testing, such as streptococcus testing.
The common cold is caused by a cold virus, and most of them will not cause pneumonia. Novel coronavirus is easy to cause lung infection, which is the main difference between them.
Tips for preventing colds:
First, pay attention to indoor air circulation;
Second, ensure regular work and rest;
Third, a balanced diet is needed;
Fourth, we should exercise moderately to improve immunity;
Five, when the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, we should add clothes in time.
In winter, the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor is large, and the human body has not adapted in a short time, leading to a viral cold. Especially in the case of poor ventilation in the working environment, colds are more likely to spread quickly between people.
COVID-19:
What symptoms can people have after they are infected with novel coronavirus?
The severity of symptoms of people infected with novel coronavirus depends on the type of virus and the immune level of human body. Common symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath or dyspnea. More serious symptoms can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, etc., and severe cases can lead to death of patients.
Because there is no effective treatment at present, prevention and isolation are the most effective methods to minimize the chance of contact with infected or potential infected patients. First, avoid going to crowded places and wearing masks in public places. Secondly, we should pay attention to hand hygiene and food hygiene, wash our hands frequently, drink plenty of water, avoid fatigue, ensure sleep, and keep the home and work environment ventilated. If you have symptoms of fever and cough, you should pay attention to cough etiquette, seek medical attention in time, and wear a mask on the way to the hospital.
It can be seen that the harm degree of novel coronavirus infection is much more serious than the common cold. However, as a virus infection, this infection in novel coronavirus has many symptoms similar to the common cold. Especially mild patients, the initial symptoms are similar to the common cold, such as headache, muscle aches, fatigue, low fever and so on.
Therefore, it is very important to make differential diagnosis between these two situations. The diagnosis requires nucleic acid detection in throat swab or blood to determine whether it is infected with coronavirus. In addition, chest CT and other examinations will reveal the changes of interstitial inflammation in the lungs of patients with novel coronavirus infection.
Don't panic if you are sick. Observe for 3 days by yourself. Oral symptomatic drugs relieve symptoms. If you don't get better, see a doctor in time. Strengthening physical fitness is the best way to resist diseases, so we should have regular work and rest, reasonable diet and a combination of work and rest.
Zhang Liyan, Deputy Chief Physician of Respiratory Department of Shenyang Fifth People's Hospital, Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine of Shenyang Medical College, Master of Medicine. Engaged in clinical work 17 years, good at the diagnosis and treatment of common respiratory diseases, frequently-occurring diseases and critical diseases, and rich experience in the rescue and treatment of multi-system common diseases, various acute and critical diseases and difficult diseases.