Understanding the difference between H1N1 Flu and Cold symptoms

The following table provides a general guide to symptoms associated with H1N1 flu and the common cold.  However, only health professionals can reliably diagnose a respiratory illness.

Call your health care provider immediately if you or a loved one experience flu symptoms and are:

• Children under five years of age (especially those less than two years old);
• Women who are pregnant;
• People with chronic conditions such as: heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, blood disorders, diabetes, severe obesity, asthma and chronic lung disease, immunosuppressed (people taking cancer drugs or people with HIV AIDS), and neurological disorders.

Call your health care provider immediately if you or a loved one experience severe flu symptoms, which include:

• Shortness of breath, rapid or difficulty breathing;
• Chest pains;
• Bluish or grey skin colour;
• Bloody or coloured sputum (spit);
• Sudden dizziness or confusion;
• Severe or persistent vomiting;
• High fever lasting more than three days.

If your child develops any of the above symptoms and/or any of these additional symptoms, you need to see your health care provider right away:

• Irritability; not wanting to play or be held;
• Not waking up or interacting;
• Not drinking enough fluids or eating.

Prevention:

• Wash hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer.
• Keep your hands away from your face.
• Cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand. If you use a tissue, dispose of it as soon as possible and wash your hands.
• Get immunized.
• Keep common surface areas—for example, doorknobs, light switches, telephones and keyboards—clean and disinfected.
• Eat healthy foods and stay physically active to keep your immune system strong.
• Keep doing what you normally do, but if you get sick, stay home.