Image Source: The Legitimate

Watsupptoday:

COVID-19 or The Flu ! Amid "Twindemic", What Doctors Say About Symptoms

September 21, 2020

The confluence of the Coronavirus pandemic and the annual flu season this fall and winter has public health officials nervous. Simultaneous surges of both respiratory viruses - sometimes called a "twindemic" - could overwhelm hospitals, straining resources and health care workers' time.

Infectious disease doctors are urging people to get a flu vaccine to lower their risk of contracting influenza viruses and helping them to spread. But flu symptoms and warning signs of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel Coronavirus are similar and it can be hard to tell the difference.

Most people won't be able to tell which illness they have, according to infectious disease doctors. Common warning signs for both include fever, cough, chills and shortness of breath.

The one symptom that's common with COVID-19, but not with the flu is loss of taste and smell. But not everyone with COVID-19 experiences that symptom and experts warned that someone with allergies or a cold might also struggle to smell because they have a stuffy nose.

Once a person has been infected, the flu is contagious for a shorter period of time than scientists believe COVID-19 is. A flu patient can usually transmit the virus from a few days before developing symptoms until about 24 hours after those symptoms go away. Someone with COVID-19 is contagious before they develop symptoms and could be contagious for upto 10 days afterward.