How to distinguish whether it is a common cold or a new type of coronavirus pneumonia

 We should first understand the difference between new coronavirus pneumonia and colds:

1. The common cold

The symptoms of the recurrence of the common cold are mainly pharyngeal discomfort, such as dry itching or burning sensation are common manifestations. In addition, symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion may occur. At the beginning, the patient just has a clear watery nose, which will thicken as the disease progresses in about 2 to 3 days, and may also be accompanied by sore throat. But generally there is no fever and general malaise, or only low-grade fever, headache and other symptoms. And if the common cold does not have a bacterial infection, it can usually heal itself in about 5-7 days.

2. Influenza

In the early stages of influenza, the main manifestations are fear of cold and fever, especially when the symptoms of fever are obvious, the patient's body temperature may suddenly rise to about 39℃~40℃. At the same time, it is accompanied by multiple symptoms such as headache, body aches, and throat discomfort. Some patients will also have runny nose, dry cough, gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting is also one of the manifestations. The biggest manifestation of the disease is that the body temperature will rise all at once, accompanied by headaches and discomfort, the systemic symptoms are relatively severe and the respiratory symptoms are relatively mild.

3. Novel coronavirus pneumonia

The symptoms of the disease are mainly fatigue and dry cough. According to the data currently available, few patients have upper respiratory tract symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose. Some patients have mild onset symptoms and may not even have any fever. Different from the above two diseases, about 50% of patients infected with the new coronavirus will have chest tightness and difficulty breathing within a week.

From the perspective of symptoms, the three diseases have their own differences, but only relying on symptoms is also not enough. Nowadays, people infected with the new type of coronavirus pneumonia have no symptoms in the early stage, even fever and dry cough. Therefore, if you want to know whether you are infected with the disease, you need to look at the following points:

1. Have traveled or lived in Wuhan 14 days before the onset of symptoms, or have been in contact with patients who have returned from Wuhan and are suspected of being diagnosed with new coronavirus pneumonia;

2. There have been cases of clusters of people around, such as an infected person in the workplace, but also symptoms. Or after the dinner together, more than 2-3 people have symptoms such as fever and dry cough at the same time, which may also be a signal from the new coronavirus pneumonia infection.

The new coronavirus has a certain incubation period, and most patients will develop fever, fatigue, and dry cough in about 7 days. Therefore, if you have a recent history of exposure to an epidemic and are unwell, you may be infected with a new type of coronavirus pneumonia. On the contrary, if you stay at home all the time, it may just be a common cold, so diligent observation is necessary.