IS IT THE FLU OR A COLD??

Is It A Cold Or the Flu? How to Tell the Difference

Here's a chart to help you figure out which one you might have. Either way, doctors advise getting an annual flu shot.

• By John Crandall
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• 12:01 am

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As the influenza epidemic sweeps through the country, you may be wondering if it’s the flu or a cold causing your sniffles.

One major difference between the two is that there is a vaccine for the flu, a disease that can have life-threatening complications

“An annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone over the age of six months,” said a spokesperson for the Los Alamitos Medical Center. “It’s especially important for those at risk of developing serious complications from the flu to receive the vaccine.” 

Unfortunately, there’s no vaccine for the common cold, but you can figure out whether you’ve been infected by the human rhinovirus (the cold) or influenza.

Both are highly contagious and have similar symptoms and seasons.

If you haven't been vaccinated and feel sick, or if you have been vaccinated—the flu shot isn’t always 100 percent effective—and you feel sick, here's a chart that may help you tell the difference between cold and flu.

Flu	Common Cold
Sudden onset of symptoms. Can be severe.	Mild symptoms
Fever between 102° F and 104° F. Lasts three to four days	Fever below 102 degrees
Muscle aches	Some aching muscles
Headache	Headache
Sore throat	Loss of appetite
Very tired and weak. Some people feel extremely exhausted	Stuffy nose
Cough that can be severe	Chills and sweats.
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults)

Chart Courtesy Los Alamitos Medical Center 

You can get the flu the same way you get the cold—the virus lands on surfaces like counters, elevators buttons, stair rails or telephones. People get the virus on their hands and can then infect themselves when they touch their eyes, nose or mouth.

According to the Los Alamitos Medical Center, some people are more at risk of developing complications of the flu. These include young children and people older than 50. Other at-risk groups include:

• Residents of nursing homes or chronic care facilities
• People with chronic disorders such as diabetes, heart, lung or kidney disorders
• People with a weakened immune system including those with HIV, leukemia or taking medications following an organ transplant
• Women who are pregnant and in their second or third trimester
• People who work in a healthcare facility

If you fall into one of these groups and develop symptoms of the flu, call your doctor immediately. If you’re not one of those people in the at-risk group, the best advice is to get plenty of rest, drink lots of liquid and avoid using alcohol and tobacco.

You can take over-the-counter medicines to relieve symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nasal congestion and cough.

CAUTION: Do not give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, especially a fever. In some cases, this has caused a serious complication known as Reye’s syndrome.

If you develop complications including trouble breathing, a very high fever, a severe sore throat, a cough that produces a lot of green or yellow mucus, or you feel faint, call your doctor.

Anti-viral medications may be prescribed for cases of the flu. These medicines may shorten the time you feel ill. Some of these medications only work with certain types of influenza viruses. To be effective, these need to be taken no later than 24 to 48 hours after you first develop symptoms.

Aerobic Exercise in Fibromyalgia Patients Improves Memory Efficiency

Article Date: 14 Nov 2011 - 1:00 PST
Georgetown University Medical Center
 

Areas of the brain responsible for pain processing and cognitive performance changed in fibromyalgia patients who exercised following a medication holiday, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the changes indicate brain functioning is more streamlined after an exercise intervention because less of the brain's resources is devoted to processing bothersome fibromyalgia perceptions such as pain. 

The study, presented at the Society of Neuroscience's annual meeting, Neuroscience 2011, used functional MRI scans to assess changes in the brain. Researchers observed a decrease in brain activity in areas responsible for memory and pain control after fibromyalgia patients took part in an exercise regimen. 

"The decreased brain activity we see in the area of cognition suggests that the brain is working more efficiently," explains Brian Walitt, M.D. M.P.H., director of the Fibromyalgia Evaluation and Research Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and senior study author. "We also see less brain activity in areas responsible for pain processing which might be aiding that efficiency." Walitt cautions that more research needs to be conducted before suggesting a change in clinical care for fibromyalgia. 

Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, disordered sleep, and cognitive changes. It is regarded as an interoceptive disorder in that it has no apparent cause, Walitt says. "In conditions like this, the body perceives something by mistake." The pain is not psychosomatic, but is real and likely produced by the central nervous system, he says. 

To that end, the research team used fMRI to "provide a definitive measure of cognitive functioning, so that we can more scientifically measure the effect of exercise," says Manish Khatiwada, M.S., who will be presenting the results. "This is a novel approach to the study of fibromyalgia." (Khatiwada is working in the laboratory of co-author John VanMeter, Ph.D., director of the Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging.) 

For this study, the researchers enrolled eighteen women with fibromyalgia, and gave them a baseline fMRI to assess working memory and questionnaires about their well-being and pain while they were on medication. They then were told not to use their medications for a "washout" period, and had a second fMRI and memory testing. After six weeks, they had another assessment. The final scan was taken after the volunteers engaged in a six-week period of exercise, which involved three 30-minute sessions of aerobic exercise each week with a trainer. 

Memory and pain typically worsen in patients after stopping their medication - which was the experience of patients in this study. After six weeks of exercise, however, patients reported an improvement in overall well-being. However, their performance in the memory task did not change significantly when compared to their baseline study measurements. Despite a change in memory test performance, brain activity in the memory task and pain processing areas of the brain decreased. 

"What we see is a less interference by pain activity which could be contributing to the decrease in activity in the memory section. Basically, the brain is using less energy for the same task," Walitt says. 

Conclusions: Our results indicate that as the patients discontinue their current medication treatment and transition into the exercise treatment their subjective rating of change in pain initially increases and then decreases. Neuronal activity in areas recruited for an Nback working memory task follow an inverse pattern with an initial drop following medication cessation that increases on subsequent visits. These results are suggestive of the effect exercise on not only self report of global change in pain sensation in FM but also improvement in the network of cortical areas recruited in working memory. Thus, exercise may have benefit in both reducing FM symptoms and improving cognitive capacity. 

Support: American College of Rheumatology Investigator Award; MedStar Health Women’s Auxillary Intramural Grant.
The authors report no personal financial interests related to the study. This research is supported by an American College of Rheumatology Investigator Award and a MedStar Health Women’s Auxiliary Intramural Grant.
Georgetown University Medical Center

Ai Chi for Fibromyalgia

Medical professionals recommend exercise for those with fibromyalgia; however, many sufferers live with chronic pain and are aerobically unfit, with little muscular strength and poor flexibility. Data analysis showed
that compared with the control group, tai chi participants experienced a clinically significant reduction in symptom severity over the 12 weeks and were still maintaining this reduction at the 24-week mark. The tai chi group improved in measurements of pain, sleep quality, depression and quality of life. Scientists do not know the mechanisms for why tai chi positively affects the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Study authors hypothesized that the combination of physical exercise with a mind-body focus, controlled breathing and movement may help in both overcoming fear of pain and coping with the experience of pain. At the same time, tai chi practice may stimulate certain neurochemical and analgesic pathways, leading to an overall improvement in quality of life.

The New England Journal of Medicine (2010; 363, 743–54).

Ai Chi (water Tai Chi) is the best for exercise with the healing properties of water to gain benefits from both. People with Fibromyalgia usually have complications with either or all: shoulders, knees, back, feet, neck, hands. Being in the water allows for relief along with the benefits of the specific movements of Ai Chi such as synchronized breathing for a duration of 45 minutes to an hour.