The same way as between a cold and regular flu. With a cold you'll just have the standard sore throat, cough, runny nose, possibly slight fever. If you're getting into throwing up/diarrhea/temperature over 100 degrees, that's when you are beyond the cold.
It's also worth noting that flu is mainly characterised by symptoms like dizziness, high fever (as noted above) diarrhea and vomiting, muscle aches, shortness of breath and lung restriction (finding it painful to take a full breath) and headaches. Your common cold symptoms are likely to occur alongside any of the above symptoms. (Common cold symptoms include sneezing, sore throats, runny noses, irritable cough, congested sinuses, etc)
Most local medical laboratories in the US now can do preliminary testing for Influenza Type A and Type B. Based on the types of flu that doctors and hospitals are seeing in your area at that time, they can usually determine from the Type A or B which kind of flu you have and the treatment is basically the same, anyway. From there, however, if they need more specific information of exactly which subtype or strain of virus, in most cases, there would need to be testing at an outside esoteric laboratory or at the CDC laboratory.
The only way to be absolutely sure it is the 2009 Swine Flu (A-H1N1/09) is laboratory testing. If testing beyond use of a field test kit sample from a nasal swab is advised by your care provider, the CDC describes the appropriate tests as:
"... a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing."
The only way to be sure it is the 2009 Swine flu (A-H1N1/09) is laboratory testing. If testing is advised by your care provider, there are now "field test kits" that the CDC has provided regionally for providers and labs to be able to do preliminary testing to detect the presence of Novel A-H1N1/09 cases.
However, to do the most sensitive and reliable testing, the CDC describes the appropriate tests as:
"... a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing."
More recently, testing is available through other approved laboratories and not solely from the CDC labs.
Influenza, or flu, is a respiratory disease, primarily. The main difference between it and a cold is that the flu usually causes uncomfortable body aches along with a fever. See also the related question below.
The main difference seems to be that after about 5 days the symptoms can beome worse and progress to severe conditions such as pneumonia
Most people can not tell if you have any symptoms of the common cold you should see your doctor to see if it is swine flu or not.
The flu has moderate to severe muscle pain, there may be vomiting, high fever and fatigue. In the early stages it can be hard to tell the difference between a cold and the flu. But when the fever and fatigue set in, you know it is the flu.
To tell the symptoms of the Flu can be really easy and sometimes really hard as they can get mixed up with the common cold, most flu cases are feeling weak, tired and always coughing and sneezing at all times of the day and night.
You could have either a cold or the flu or both. Or, you could have allergies. See the related questions for information about the symptoms of cold and flu.
Usually with a cold there is no fever, and your symptoms may be similar to common allergies- runny nose, congestion etc. But you can die from the flu. You may have severe body aches, diarrhea and vomiting.
No. Cold and flu viruses are unaffected by cold or even freezing temperatures.
Calamine lotion for chickenpox...starve a flu and feed a cold.
Yes u can. Just expect to get the cold or flu.
The tall-tell flu symptoms that someone contracts can start with the average cold and fever. This will lead to other symptoms such as heavy vomitting, higher fever, fatigue, and chronic bronchitis.
it is cold and flu severe
The flu has a lot to do with the weather. When it is cold out people tend to stay inside and pass diseases around. The flu is one of those.
cold