You wake up one day, and your nose feels a little stuffy. You find yourself reaching for that box of Kleenex more and more, and to your dismay, the crumpled tissues are starting to pile up. Maybe there’s an ominous tickle in your throat that just won’t go away, no matter how much water you chug.
It’s upsetting but not surprising: ‘Tis the season of respiratory viruses.
As we anticipate the yearly uptick of flu and common cold cases, how can we distinguish those sicknesses from the still-prevalent and virulent COVID-19?
What Causes Respiratory Illnesses?
If there’s one thing COVID-19, the flu, and the common cold all have in common, it’s that they’re caused by viruses. The culprit behind COVID-19 is the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, while the more familiar and well-studied influenza A and B viruses prompt our annual flu season. Common colds can spring from all sorts of viruses such as rhinoviruses.
