The nose starts to
tingle, the mouth feels dry.
“Atishoo”. “Oh no, a cold”. Five
days of misery, headache, sweating,
runny nose, sore throat and a
cough are in store. We all know
this scenario. First, let’s sort out
the difference between a cold and
flu (influenza). They are caused by
different viruses - the cold mostly
by something called rhinovirus
(no, not that rhino!), flu by the
influenza virus - and the influenza
virus is a much nastier
beast than
rhinovirus. The
symptoms are very similar,
but flu is in a different league to an
ordinary cold. The fever starts much
more quickly, and muscle aches are
usually so bad you will just want to
stay in bed. If somebody leaves a 1000
kwacha note the other side of the
ro om, if you are too weak to go and
get it, you have flu!
So, what can you do about these two
nasty little viruses?
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