"Is it a cold or the flu? Severity is a tell-tale sign" By: McKay Fugate

          Catching a cold — or even worse, the flu — is common this time of the year when close contact with others, busy schedules and stress make us even more susceptible to the many respiratory viruses circulating. But differentiating between a cold and influenza, at least initially, is not always easy.
Where they differ is in severity, says House, a board member with the American College of Emergency Physicians. Colds tend to be relatively mild and typically last only a few days, he says, "and you can usually still function with a cold. "When you have that high fever (102 degrees or more), and your whole body aches, and you can't even get off the couch because you're so miserable, that's probably the flu. That characteristic is one feature in the mnemonic device that she recommends for identifying the flu — FACTS ( fever, aches, chills, tiredness and sudden onset). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seasonal flu activity in the USA can begin as early as October and last as late as May, but it usually peaks in January or February.

          This was a really interesting article which taught me a lot that I didn't know about a cold vs. a flu. I think this article was written to inform the American people, targeted mostly towards young people, due to the fact that that is who is most susceptible to the flu this season. I know many people do not know the signs of a flu, and only end up making themselves more ill because of lack of treatment. It was very informative and now I know what to look for if I start to feel sick.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/12/cold-flu-treatment/4117051/