It is hard to tell if it is COVID or flu from the symptoms itself. However, there is one striking difference between the occurrence of the diseases. Experts at MayoClinic say, “Symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu appear at different times and have some differences. COVID-19 symptoms generally appear 2-14 days after exposure. Flu symptoms usually appear about 1-4 days after exposure.”
The experts have said that in case of COVID the patient always experiences fever, while in case of flu it is not the case. The occurence of fever in flu happens, but not always, they have said.
In case of COVID, especially when the Delta variant was prevalent, people experienced loss of smell and taste. This symptom is rarely seen in the flu. However, people who were infected with the Omicron variant also did not experience loss of smell and taste. Since loss of smell and taste has already been observed during COVID it can be used as a distinguishing symptom for the disease.
Stomach related issues like diarrhea linked to COVID occur in adults mostly while in case of flu it is mostly seen in children. Same with nausea or vomiting.
“So the flu is very common, especially in the season, and usually the symptoms are fever, headache, muscle ache, but also upper respiratory symptoms such as sneezing and coughing. For COVID-19 it’s the same symptoms, basically, but in addition, we have specific symptoms such as anosmia, which is a lack of smell and ageusia, which is a lack of taste. And many people, especially young people, have experienced these additional and specific symptoms for COVID-19,” says Dr Slyvie Briand, director of the Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness (GIH), WHO Emergency Preparedness (WPE) at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Also Read: 8 sure-shot symptoms of Omicron; know when you’re likely to get them
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