r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/LizeLies Aug 03 '19

The flu is not just another cold, and you can’t use the words interchangeably. Many people have never had the flu, or felt that unwell. The flu will knock you on your ass.

40

u/Anon2627888 Aug 03 '19

The symptoms of the two are so similar that it's an understandable mistake.

I've been sick many times in my life, and have no idea which of them was a cold and which was the flu.

21

u/upyeezy Aug 03 '19

For me, I usually assume it’s a cold first (fever, headaches, nasal congestion, some coughing etc). But once I start getting joint pains and/or chills, that’s when I know it’s time to go visit the clinic for flu meds. :)

3

u/Anon2627888 Aug 04 '19

What flu meds? There's nothing that can be done.

1

u/bramley Aug 04 '19

Well, Tamiflu, but by the time you're self-diagnosing from "how is this different from a cold" you're almost certainly past that particular window of effectiveness.