Spot the Difference: A Common Cold, or COVID-19?
pharmafile | March 24, 2022 | News story | |
Prior to the pandemic, if you got a runny nose and a sore throat, you would likely assume it was a common cold, swallow some painkillers, and resume your daily activities.
However, in recent years, this indifference has been replaced by a sinking feeling of dread as you fear that your sniffles are indicators of COVID-19.
How do you tell the difference between a common cold and the dreaded coronavirus? The most clearcut way to tell is by taking a test. In early December, researchers behind the ZOE Covid study warned that those with a sore throat, runny nose, and a headache – all symptoms of the common cold – are likely to be infected with the Omicron variant. Professor Tim Spector, who helped found the ZOE app, told the BBC that anyone with these symptoms should take a COVID-19 test.
Headaches are among the lesser well-known symptoms of COVID, but are one of the earliest signs. They are actually more common than the more classic symptoms of cough, fever, and loss of smell. What differentiates COVID headaches from standard cold ones is that the former tend to be moderately to severely painful, can be “pulsing”, “pressing”, or “stabbing”. They can occur across both sides of the head rather than in one specific area, and may last for longer than three days and tend to be resistant to regular painkillers such as paracetamol.
According to the ZOE study, a runny nose was the second most commonly reported symptom following headaches. Almost 60 percent of people who tested positive for COVID with loss of smell also reported having a runny nose. Prevalence of the disease is the most significant in determining if this is a sign of a common cold or COVID; when COVID rates are high, the chances of a runny nose being due to the virus are also high. When rates are low, a runny nose is more likely to be indicative of an allergy or a common cold than coronavirus.
Loss of smell and a persistent dry cough are more likely to be strong indicators of COVID than of a common cold. Whilst it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the two, the moral of the story is clear: when in doubt, test it out.
Lina Adams
