After the scientific world has dedicated itself to understanding which symptoms are associated with the new coronavirus that causes covid-19 infections, the order in which these symptoms appear, which can be particularly useful for doctors to evaluate more early and effective the difference between cases of covid and mere common flu.
According to the Belgian newspaper LaLibre, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) studied the cases of 55 924 Chinese patients affected by covid-19 and made a chronological list of the symptoms observed in each patient.
The objective of the study was to establish whether the initial sequence of symptoms was similar or not in many of them. And the results, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Public Health, tend to prove that there really is a similar pattern in the onset of symptoms.
Based on this study, the researchers were then able to compile a list of the symptoms of coronavirus infection in chronological order:
1) fever
2) cough
3) headache, throat or muscle pain
3) nausea and / or vomiting
4) diarrhea
An order that, The Free, differs from that which is more common in cases of influenza:
1) cough or muscle pain
2) headache
3) sore throat
4) fever
5) nausea and / or vomiting and diarrhea
The recognition of this sequence of symptoms may be of particular interest to doctors, as patients with influenza (seasonal flu) or covid-19 are difficult to distinguish, due to having similar signs (strong cough, fever).
“Knowing this order is especially important when we face cycles of illnesses like the flu that coincide with the current pandemic,” said Peter Kuhn, professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at USC.
Usual symptoms in constipation, flu and covid
Still, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website compiles the current information available on the similarities and differences between seasonal flu and covid-19., Which you can see summarized in the chart that follows, which also includes simple constipation.
According to information available at the CDC, both covid-19 and influenza can have varying degrees of signs and symptoms, from no symptoms (asymptomatic) to severe symptoms. Common symptoms that both diseases share include:
– Fever or sensation of fever / chills
– Cough
– Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
– Fatigue (tiredness)
– Sore throat
– Dripping or stuffy nose
– Muscle aches or pains in the body
– Headache
– Some people may experience vomiting and diarrhea, although this is more common in children than in adults
The flu and covid are so similar that even for family doctors it will be very difficult to distinguish one from the other. The only safe way is to use a diagnostic test.
Both have or may have a dry cough, both have a high fever and general malaise. The only important difference between the two diseases is that in covid-19 the absence of smell, anosmia, is very common. Even many moderate patients with covid-19 have this loss of smell as the only symptom. ANDm covid-19, the feeling of tiredness is also much more frequent, which is reported by many patients, recalls epidemiologist María Elisa Calle, in the newspaper El País.
“Another difference may be the fact that the flu starts more suddenly, while the covid tends to appear more slowly. At covid-19, a person is infected and one day it is a little bad, the next day a little worse, the next worse, and then it is when the high fever and the feeling of significant tiredness appear, usually accompanied by the loss of smell. In the flu everything is much more abrupt, you wake up one day and say to yourself: “I’m so bad, everything hurts!”, Adds the Spanish specialist.
In case of the appearance of some of these symptoms, the recommended procedure is to call the SNS 24 line (808 24 24 24).
Emergency signs
According to the recommendations of the North American CDC, there are emergency signs identified for covid-19. If you experience any or more of the following symptoms, you should seek medical assistance quickly:
– Breathing problems
– Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
– State of confusion
– Inability to wake up or stay awake
– Blue lips or face
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