The symptoms you get during the flu or a cold are your body’s attempts to get rid of the virus. Flu and cold symptoms may overlap. Their differences can affect how you deal with them.

Flu symptoms appear suddenly and severely, generally starting with a fever, and include:

• Cough
• Muscle aches
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Chills
• Tiredness
• Feeling lousy all over
• Sore throat

Cold symptoms start slowly and increase in severity, concentrating in the nose, and include:

• Runny nose
• Congestion
• Sneezing
• Weakened senses of taste and smell
• Scratchy throat
• Cough