Do I have COVID, the flu or something else? 2024 symptoms to know.

Breaking retired nan tissues? It's that clip of year! But what benignant of sickness do your symptoms constituent to?

As nan upwind changes, we tin commencement emotion nether nan upwind excessively — but while each unwellness has a emblematic group of symptoms, it's important to understand you can't diagnose connected your own, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News aesculapian contributor and editor-at-large for nationalist wellness astatine KFF Health News, said connected "CBS Mornings" Wednesday.

"If you travel successful pinch immoderate symptoms of cough aliases sore pharynx aliases runny nose, immoderate it is, I can't show you if that's a cold, if it's stepping pneumonia, if it's COVID aliases nan flu. You do request to test," she said. 

The bully news? Tests are available. 

"Since nan pandemic, we now person tests that screen each nan astir communal viral and bacterial respiratory infections, making it easy to trial for each pinch 1 swab," Gounder said. 

Determining your nonstop unwellness done testing besides helps determine connected nan champion people of treatment. 

"We person circumstantial treatments for influenza (Tamiflu, Xofluza), COVID (Paxlovid), 'walking pneumonia' (azithromycin), and different infections, and testing helps guideline that treatment," she added. 

Signs of COVID 2024

The COVID version called XEC making headlines successful 2024 was spotted astir nan world and successful half of states crossed nan United States past month, but a spokesperson for nan CDC said nan agency is "not alert of immoderate circumstantial symptoms associated pinch XEC aliases immoderate different co-circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineage."

While symptoms tin alteration depending connected vaccination status, those pinch COVID tin expect symptoms including but not constricted to: 

• Cough
• Congestion aliases runny nose
• Diarrhea
• Fever aliases chills
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of sensation aliases smell
• Sore throat
• Fatigue

Americans are now eligible for free COVID trial kits mailed to their homes. According to COVIDtests.gov, U.S. households will beryllium capable to order up to 4 free COVID-19 nasal swab tests through nan national program. 

COVID vs flu symptoms

According to nan CDC, flu symptoms often include: 

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny aliases stuffy nose
• Body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue

Some group whitethorn person vomiting and diarrhea, though this is much communal successful children than adults.

"It's important to statement that not everyone pinch flu will person a fever, others whitethorn consciousness feverish aliases person chills," nan CDC adds. "Flu signs and symptoms usually travel connected suddenly."

Earlier this month, nan Food and Drug Administration authorized nan Healgen Scientific's Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test for location usage without a prescription, which makes it easier for group to simultaneously trial themselves for COVID-19 and nan flu connected their own. 

This is adjuvant because immoderate of nan symptoms are nan same, nan CDC reiterates, meaning you "cannot show nan quality betwixt flu and COVID-19 by symptoms alone."

Cold symptoms

Unlike abrupt flu symptoms, nan onset of acold symptoms is usually gradual, according to nan CDC, and tin include: 

• Runny chemoreceptor aliases nasal congestion
• Cough
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Mild assemblage aches

Compared to nan flu, fever is rare, but debased people fevers tin besides occur, usually successful older children and adults.

"The signs and symptoms of a acold usually highest wrong 2 to 3 days of infection," nan CDC adds. 

Walking pneumonia, RSV and whooping cough

Colds and flu aren't nan only illnesses to beryllium alert of this season. Walking pneumonia, for example, is connected nan emergence among young kids. 

The number of two- to four-year-olds diagnosed aft visiting nan ER for pneumonia related illnesses has jumped from 1% to 7% successful nan past months, according to nan CDC.

Walking pneumonia, known scientifically arsenic mycoplasma pneumonia, is simply a nan benignant of bacterial pneumonia that includes symptoms specified arsenic sore throat, thorax symptom and fever successful younger kids, Gounder said. 

"We do sometimes spot vomiting and diarrhea, which are a small spot atypical," she added. 

Whooping cough is besides up among school-aged kids, pinch astir four times arsenic galore cases this twelvemonth compared to past year. 

The unwellness is particularly vulnerable for infants and young kids because of their mini airways, CBS News main aesculapian analogous Dr. Jon LaPook precocious explained connected "CBS Mornings Plus." 

"The logic why it's called whooping cough — it's a cough, cough, cough, cough, and past they gasp for air, that's nan whoop," he said. "As an adult, erstwhile you get it, you whitethorn beryllium sick, but astir apt going to beryllium OK successful position of moving aerial successful and retired of your body. With infants, airways are truthful mini that they tin really person problem breathing astatine all."

RSV, aliases respiratory syncytial virus, affects nan precocious respiratory strategy pinch a runny aliases stuffy chemoreceptor arsenic good arsenic a cough aliases sore throat.

When nan microorganism moves to nan little airways into nan bronchi aliases nan lungs, pneumonia aliases bronchitis tin develop, which tin beryllium much dangerous. 

Most adults retrieve from RSV wrong 1 to 2 weeks, but children and infants are affected otherwise because of their smaller airways and underdeveloped immune systems. 

Testing is besides important here, since "there is nary measurement to cognize if it is RSV, COVID aliases nan flu" based disconnected of symptoms alone, Gounder had said previously. There is nary at-home RSV trial available, but a pediatrician tin trial children done a nasal swab.

In:
• RSV
• COVID-19
• Flu Season
• Influenza