Nov 4, 2009 6:39 pm US/Eastern
A Look At The Difference Between A Cold & The Flu
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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If you're feeling under the weather, is it a cold or the flu? Perhaps you have allergies or even asthma.
CBS
If you're feeling under the weather, is it a cold or the flu? Perhaps you have allergies or even asthma.
As
Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn explains, knowing how these conditions present symptoms could be life-changing and life-saving.
Is it the sniffles or swine flu? Is it a cold or just seasonal allergies? Not knowing the warning signs could worsen your condition and make you more vulnerable to complications--even death.
"It was just so sudden. We were all together one day and the next he was gone," said Danielle Graham.
"We all had a little flu, virus or whatever," said Rossana Bishop.
Those are heartbreaking stories of seemingly simple illnesses that quickly escalated and caused the worst possible outcome for a young Baltimore man. Doctors say this time of year, it's not only important to recognize signs of the flu but other potentially life-threatening illnesses.
"Death from asthma is something that still happens," said Dr. Alvin Sanico, GBMC.
Dr. Sanico wants every Marylander to know the difference between the flu, a cold, allergies and asthma.
"It's a matter of having a good understanding of what's going on," he said.
A simple cold will cause sneezing, runny nose and a cough, but no fever. Allergies can cause similar symptoms, with the addition of itchy, watery eyes and dark circles.
"If someone has a fever that's 100 degrees or above and other systemic symptoms like body ache, vomiting, diarrhea--that's swine flu and not allergies," he said.
"I got fever, chills, achy and really tired," said Kurt Rogers.
He knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure what it was. A test confirmed H1N1, which can be especially harmful to people who--like Rogers--have asthma.
"They prescribed cough medicine to keep my lungs clear and I stuck with my Advair and allergy medicine and it went away," Rogers said.
He was lucky. Studies show many hospitalized swine flu victims have underlying asthma.
If you experience chest tightness, breathlessness, coughing, difficulty inhaling and exhaling, as well as wheezing, get to a doctor because you likely have asthma.
Doctors are urging asthmatics to get the H1N1 shot.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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