WEBVTT - What Are the Differences Between COVID-19 and the Flu?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there's significant potential for

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<v Speaker 1>a twin deemic as flu season looms and the COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen pandemic continues. So this fall and winter, when you

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<v Speaker 1>feel sniffles and a scratchy throat start to come on,

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to be only natural for you to wonder

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<v Speaker 1>what ails you, influenza or COVID nineteen, not to mention

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<v Speaker 1>what do you do about it? Both flu and COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen are spread from close contact with another person through coughing, sneezing,

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<v Speaker 1>or talking. But the distinction is important because although both

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<v Speaker 1>are highly contagious respiratory diseases that are potentially dangerous, they're

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<v Speaker 1>handled differently. A positive COVID nineteen test requires a person

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<v Speaker 1>to isolate at home for ten days after the test

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<v Speaker 1>was initially taken or the onset of symptoms. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with severe

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen cases or who are immunocompromised may have to

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<v Speaker 1>isolate even longer, up to twenty days, depending on their

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<v Speaker 1>doctor's advice. This is a significant difference from influenza, where

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<v Speaker 1>people can go back out into the public once they've

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<v Speaker 1>been fever free without the use of fever reducing medication

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<v Speaker 1>for just twenty four hours. This obviously affects when a

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<v Speaker 1>person is cleared to return to normal daily activities, such

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<v Speaker 1>as they are during this pandemic. The mortality rates for

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<v Speaker 1>both diseases are very different too. For COVID nineteen it's

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<v Speaker 1>three to four percent, while for seasonal influenza the rate

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<v Speaker 1>is less than zero point one percent, according to the

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<v Speaker 1>World Health Organization, which notes that of COVID nineteen cases

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<v Speaker 1>are mild or asymptomatic. So what's the same and what's

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<v Speaker 1>different about COVID nineteen and flu symptoms. Well, there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of overlap. Both the flu and COVID nineteen typically

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<v Speaker 1>result in symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, though

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<v Speaker 1>it's more severe in COVID nineteen patients, fatigue, sort out,

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<v Speaker 1>muscle aches, and headache. But here are a few COVID

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<v Speaker 1>specific symptoms loss of smell or taste, diarrhea, and so

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<v Speaker 1>called covid toe, which are purplish spots or rashes that

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<v Speaker 1>show up on the toes, heels, or fingers. Another differentiating

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<v Speaker 1>factor between flu and COVID nineteen is how quickly and

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<v Speaker 1>severely the diseases hit a patient. Typically, flu symptoms develop

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<v Speaker 1>one to four days after infection, for COVID nineteen, it's

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<v Speaker 1>two to five days after infection, though symptoms can appear

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<v Speaker 1>as late as two weeks later, and people with the

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<v Speaker 1>flu tend to feel very sick very quickly after symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>first appear, whereas people of COVID nineteen may have mild

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms for a week or so before they suddenly get

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<v Speaker 1>much worse. People with the full on flu also tend

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<v Speaker 1>to get better faster than those patients with serious COVID nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>although people with mild versions of both illnesses tend to

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<v Speaker 1>recover at around the same rate. Here's what you should

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<v Speaker 1>do when potential COVID IT ten or flu symptoms pop up. First,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have a usual doctor, call them. They'll screen

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<v Speaker 1>you over the phone for symptoms and might even have

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<v Speaker 1>a video conference to determine next steps. If they suspect

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<v Speaker 1>it's COVID, they'll either be able to provide a test

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<v Speaker 1>at their office or point you somewhere that's testing, and

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<v Speaker 1>since they know a bit about your medical history, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>be able to tailor their advice to you, taking into

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<v Speaker 1>consideration whether you might be at greater risk from complications

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<v Speaker 1>of getting sick. If you don't have a regular doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>visit c DC dot gov slash coronavirus to find a

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<v Speaker 1>symptom checker and access advice like hotlines in your area. Next,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have symptoms and are so advised by a doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>get a COVID nineteen test. The only sticky thing here

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<v Speaker 1>is that the results could take a while to come back,

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<v Speaker 1>and while you wait for those results, you'll have to

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<v Speaker 1>isolate at home. You are, a doctor or consulting healthcare

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<v Speaker 1>provider may also advise you to go ahead and get

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<v Speaker 1>a flu test. In the past, many people didn't bother

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<v Speaker 1>with this because they could cover at home with little

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<v Speaker 1>to no intervention. However, a very low percentage of people

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<v Speaker 1>can have both flu and COVID nineteen, leaving them extra

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<v Speaker 1>vulnerable to complications and also to making others sick. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>and throughout this process, stay home. Treatment for mild cases

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<v Speaker 1>is similar for both illnesses. Rest up, drink lots of fluids,

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<v Speaker 1>and watch your symptoms. If they become more severe, call

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<v Speaker 1>a healthcare provider. Immediately. They'll be able to recommend prescription

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<v Speaker 1>medication or other treatment if necessary. Anti viral drugs like

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<v Speaker 1>tamiflu can help with influenza, and severe cases of COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen may require hospitalization and a variety of other treatments,

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<v Speaker 1>but before you get sick, you can get a flu

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<v Speaker 1>shot to help prevent confusion. The flu vaccine gets a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of flak for not being one effective, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>still the best line of defense against this illness, and

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<v Speaker 1>it significantly reduces the severity of the virus if you

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<v Speaker 1>still managed to come down with it. During a pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>where mixed messages seem to abound, the health professionals are

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<v Speaker 1>totally in sync that everyone who's able should get a

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<v Speaker 1>flu vaccine. That's because a simultaneous wave of both influenza

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<v Speaker 1>and COVID nineteen could be catastrophic to the health care

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<v Speaker 1>system and to people's health and even lives. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Leo Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on listen lots of other topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com and brain Stuff is production of

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