Should I Go to the Clinic for a Cold or Flu?

You have a terrible cold – maybe even the flu. Do you know when to see a doctor?

Q:  I figure I'll pick up a cold or the flu at some point from all the sniffling, coughing students in my classes. How do I know when to seek medical help?

A:  You're right. Because you spend a lot of time around other people, your chances of getting a cold or the flu this winter are high.

6 Reasons Why Your Cold Lingers

It’s almost an annual rite of passage: Winter comes and despite your best efforts, you catch a cold. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s hard to slow down for a mere case of the sniffles. Many of us try to work straight through our colds and hope that, with minimal effort, the symptoms will get better quickly. Although that may sometimes be the case, it can also happen that pesky cold symptoms leave us feeling drained for what seems like an eternity. Cold symptoms can vanish in as little...

Read the 6 Reasons Why Your Cold Lingers article > >

What's the difference? A typical cold causes a runny nose (the discharge is usually clear, but it could be yellow or green in the mornings), body aches, coughing, and sometimes a mild fever (usually for the first three to four days). By day four or five, you should be well on your way to recovery.

Flu, on the other hand, can produce all those symptoms, plus headaches, fatigue, and a higher fever -- and it lasts longer.

Colds and flu are both caused by viruses, not bacteria, so it's really just time that will make them go away. That said, both ailments can morph into more serious conditions, including sinus infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, and strep throat.

How to tell? Go to the clinic if you have sinus pressure or pain, a persistent or worsening sore throat, a deep cough that's making you hack up yellow or green phlegm (all day, not just mornings), fast or difficult breathing, ear pain, or a high fever. If you think you have the flu -- and it's diagnosed quickly enough -- a health care provider can give you an antiviral drug to help ease symptoms faster.

Find more articles, browse back issues, and read the current issue of "WebMD the Magazine."