Based on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, there are over 500 million colds in the United States. It is the main reason for missed work and school. Each flu season (November through March), there are between 15 million and 64 million flu cases each year.
These illnesses are more likely to occur during the fall and winter months because they are more stable at colder temperatures. The flu virus, in particular, doesn’t spread at higher temperatures. The dry, cold conditions pull moisture out of droplets released by coughs and sneezes, allowing the virus to linger in the air. Sometimes it is hard to know if you have a common cold, or if you have something more severe like the flu. We want to make this easy for you to decipher.
Below you will see the differences between a cold and the flu.
To learn more about the differences between the cold and flu, register for our free “Cold and Flu” class. You do not have to be a patient or resident of The Villages to attend.