Symptoms of a Cold

Symptoms of a cold appear one to three days after exposure to a virus and vary from person to person. Here's a list of cold symptoms and solutions.

Your desk is littered with crumpled up tissues. You feel miserable and want to sleep. Is it a cold, the flu, or allergies? All have similar symptoms. But there are differences.

Symptoms of a cold

A cold often starts with a sore throat, usually followed by:

• A runny nose
• Sneezing
• Chest and nasal congestion
• Coughing
• Exhaustion

While it’s rare to get a fever, usually associated with the flu, it’s possible to have a low-grade one. Usually, with the flu, a fever lasts longer than it does with a cold. The same goes for muscle and body aches. It’s more common to experience body aches from the flu than from a cold.

It’s also easy to think you’re having an allergic reaction instead of a cold. The main difference between a cold and an allergy is the duration of the ailment. Colds usually last between three days and two weeks.

Allergies, like hay fever, are seasonal and aren’t contagious. Colds, however, are, and you’re contagious within the first three days to a week. So be cautious about spreading germs when you first show symptoms of a cold.

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