Three Early Signs of Colds & Flu

Woman napping on a couch

When you have an incessant cough, a high fever, sore throat pain or other cold and flu symptoms, these are clear signs that you’re sick. But you may begin to feel cold or flu symptoms before they become more severe. While flu symptoms have a more abrupt onset than cold symptoms, which tend to come on more gradually, there are early indicators to watch out for so you can start dealing with treatment immediately and lessen the impact on your busy schedule.

Extreme fatigue

When you’re busy, it’s not uncommon to get tired, but that alone is not a sign that a bout of cold or flu is on the way. But an unusual feeling of complete exhaustion could mean that your immune system is using white bloods cells to fight a flu virus, instead of repairing muscle fibers and joints like they normally do when you’re not sick. This results in draining your energy and leaving your muscles feeling weak throughout your body.

Dizziness

There are several reasons one can suddenly feel dizzy or lightheaded, such as overexertion from exercise. But unless you just ran five kilometres, the onset of the flu could be a reason. If other early warning signs such as vomiting or diarrhea occur, dehydration may then result and that can lead to unexpected dizziness.

Scratchy throat

Having a “scratchy throat” (mild soreness and irritation) can sometimes be a confusing feeling. While it is a main symptom of both a cold and the flu, a scratchy throat may also come about from other reasons, most typically a change in seasonal weather. A feeling of a scratchy throat due to weather or other environmental factors usually dissipates throughout the day. However, a scratchy throat as a result of an onset of cold or flu may gradually get more sore and last for several days.

The time from when a person is exposed to a flu virus to when symptoms begin is about 1 to 4 days, with an average of about 2 days. Any of the early indications listed above could turn out to be a false alarm, but could also lead to more severe symptoms, so be ready. Whatever cold or flu symptoms you may have, NeoCitran products will bring you the fast relief you’re looking for.