Omicron, cold, or flu?This is why symptoms do not always make all the difference | Health

Omicron – a new, highly infectious variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus – has swept the world and has boosted daily Covid-19 numbers by exceptional means. There is currently debate between public health and infectious disease specialists about how “mild” the Omicron variants are actually to humans, but many studies have shown that weak attacks on the lungs. It suggests that it may be less dangerous than other variants. Previously deadly variants such as Delta.

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However, almost all scientists and medical professionals are wary of the highly mutated morphology of the virus and the number of unusually high evolutions in which the mutant was possible. In such a scenario, if the general public faces a cold or flu-like symptom, it can be difficult to tell if they are infected with Omicron.

In all three cases of a common cold, flu, or coronavirus infection (Covid-19) caused by Omicron, symptoms include sore throat, runny nose, body aches, and fever. The prime suspect is a cold in almost all of these cases. You may also want to consider influenza, which tends to peak in the middle of winter from early October to mid-February.

However, given the worldwide surge in cases of Omicron over the past few days, it is likely that the person has been infected with a rapidly prevailing variant.

However, according to experts, there is no quick and reliable way to know if you have Omicron. There are some workarounds for making informed guesses, but the importance of testing is more apparent here than ever, especially as it is difficult to distinguish between colds and omicrons based solely on symptoms. It has become.

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Professor Eskild Petersen of the University of Aarhus Hospital in Denmark was reported to have stated in a media publication that “a common cold and Omicron are indistinguishable in my view.”

This was reflected in Dr. Andrew Friedman, an infectious disease specialist at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. “Many people, especially those who have been vaccinated, have what would otherwise be considered a common cold.”

Here are some common symptoms of Covid-19, the flu, and the common cold, listed according to frequency.

Dry cough: Covid-19 (frequently), flu (frequently), cold (sometimes)

heat: Covid-19 (frequent), influenza (frequent), cold (rare)

stuffy nose: Covid-19 (rare), flu (sometimes), cold (frequent)

sore throat: Covid-19 (sometimes), flu (sometimes), colds (frequent)

Dyspnea: Covid-19 (sometimes), flu (not observed), cold (not observed)

headache: Covid-19 (sometimes), flu (frequent), cold (not observed)

Body pain: Covid-19 (sometimes), flu (frequent), cold (frequent)

sneeze: Covid-19 (not observed), influenza (not observed), cold (frequent)

Malaise: Covid-19 (sometimes), flu (frequent), cold (sometimes)

diarrhea: Covid-19 (rare), flu (sometimes), cold (not observed)

Still, as always, the best advice given by a specialist is to have a test at home and self-quarantine in case symptoms occur. The sensitivity of rapid testing to detect Omicron may be a bit low for now, but the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test is the most reliable and accurate way to detect potential Covid-19 infections. Is generally considered to be the method. If Covid-19 is detected, the patient’s sample is sent to the appropriate laboratory for detection of coronavirus variants.

Jill Weatherhead, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Said the National Geographic “The best we can do is identify our risk tolerance and make sure we are protecting others,” especially during this highly contagious period.