{"id":4476,"date":"2022-11-01T13:48:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T13:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountiestraining.co.uk\/?p=4476"},"modified":"2022-11-01T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T13:48:09","slug":"unsure-if-you-have-covid-19-the-flu-or-a-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/unsure-if-you-have-covid-19-the-flu-or-a-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsure if you have COVID-19, the flu, or a cold?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Winter Wellness: Learning to live with Covid-19 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we learn to live safely with respiratory infections like COVID-19, there are many things we can all do to help reduce the risk of infections this winter.<\/p>\n<p>At Cross Counties Training, we want to help you and your family stay healthy this winter by providing you with winter well-being information on identifying and preventing the spread of COVID-19, flu and colds.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get started:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do I have COVID-19, the flu, or a cold?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whilst you may feel you have heard it all before, this is a gentle reminder of the symptoms of COVID-19 in adults, which can include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A high temperature or shivering (chills)<\/li>\n<li>A new, continuous cough<\/li>\n<li>A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste<\/li>\n<li>Shortness of breath<\/li>\n<li>Feeling tired or exhausted<\/li>\n<li>An aching body<\/li>\n<li>A headache<\/li>\n<li>A sore throat<\/li>\n<li>A blocked or runny nose<\/li>\n<li>Loss of appetite<\/li>\n<li>Diarrhoea<\/li>\n<li>Feeling sick or being sick<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, such as colds and flu.<\/p>\n<p>If you have symptoms, a high temperature or do not feel well, you should try and stay at home and avoid contact with other people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cold symptoms vs COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the UK the Omicron variant is still the most dominant strain and these symptoms are very similar to a cold.\u00a0 Symptoms like a headache, a sore throat, a runny nose, muscle aches, coughing or sneezing can be symptoms of the Omicron variant or a cold.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flu symptoms vs COVID 19 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is a bit more challenging to tell the difference between the flu and COVID-19 as they have so many symptoms in common.\u00a0 However, it is unusual for the flu to cause a loss of smell or a change to your taste which can happen with COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simple things to reduce the spread: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can do simple things in your daily life that will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections and protect those at the highest risk.<\/p>\n<p>Things you can choose to do are:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Get vaccinated against COVID-19<\/li>\n<li>Let fresh air in if meeting others indoors<\/li>\n<li>Practise good hygiene:\n<ul>\n<li>Regularly wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser<\/li>\n<li>Cover your coughs and sneezes<\/li>\n<li>Clean your surroundings frequently<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Wear a face covering when it&#8217;s hard to stay away from other people \u2013 particularly indoors or in crowded places<\/li>\n<li>Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>What can I do if I am still worried?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In most cases, COVID-19 can be treated at home, and you can take paracetamol for headaches, muscle pain and remember to stay hydrated.\u00a0 It is good to get a lot of rest and look after your well-being.<\/p>\n<p>If you are still concerned contact your doctor or use the NHS 111 coronavirus service online <a href=\"https:\/\/111.nhs.uk\/covid-19\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/111.nhs.uk\/covid-19\/<\/a>.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re very worried about sudden shortness of breath, call 999.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t forget your winter wellness: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Take your vitamin D<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 During winter it is good to take a daily dose of vitamin D to build a healthy immune system. Vitamin D can also be found in fish, cheese and egg yolks.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Eat plenty of fruit and veges<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Christmas can be a time to splurge on food and alcoholic drinks. Remember to do everything in moderation as your immune system needs a healthy and varied diet to cope.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Stay hydrated<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Even in winter, it is important to stay hydrated. Water is the healthiest way to stay hydrated and it contains no calories or sugar.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Take time for yourself<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 The Christmas period can be stressful and very busy, don\u2019t forget to find time to relax and slow down with a good book.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Step outside<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Even a 15-minute walk can help grow energy levels and improve your mood.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get connected<\/strong> \u2013 Keep your spirits high by taking time to connect with friends and family, even if it is just a phone call.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We hope this guide has helped put your mind at rest about identifying the different respiratory infections and that you can consciously look for ways to reduce your risk this winter.\u00a0 Remember there are many reasons to love winter, so don\u2019t forget to take time to enjoy the beauty of this special season while you are staying healthy.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to talk to us about our<a href=\"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/first-aid-courses-for-corporations\/\">\u00a0first aid training provisions for businesses and organisations<\/a><u>\u00a0<\/u>across the UK, call us on <a href=\"tel:\/\/01276586943\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">01276 586943<\/a> or <a href=\"mailto:admin@crosscountiestraining.co.uk\">email<\/a> us at <a href=\"mailto:admin@crosscountiestraining.co.uk\"><strong>admin@crosscountiestraining.co.uk<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Winter Wellness: Learning to live with Covid-19 As we learn to live safely with respiratory infections like COVID-19, there are many things we can all do to help reduce the risk of infections this winter. At Cross Counties Training, we want to help you and your family stay healthy this winter by providing you with [&#8230;]\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Flu-vs-Covid-.jpg?fit=800%2C527&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4483,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476\/revisions\/4483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/cross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}