Upper Respiratory Disorders: Symptoms Comparison

UPPER RESPIRATORY DISORDERS: SYMPTOMS COMPARISON
	Common Cold	Influenza	COVID-19¹	Pharyngitis	Allergic Rhinitis
Sudden Symptom Onset		•
Tearing Eyes					•
Clogged Ears					º
Nasal Congestion	•		º		º
Runny Nose	•	•	º		•
Sneezing	•	•			•
Postnasal Drip	º
Cough*	º	•	•		º
Sore Throat	º	•	º	•	º
Swollen lymph nodes (neck)				º
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing		•	•
Headache	º	•	º	º	º
Body ache or myalgia	º	•	º	º
Chills or rigors		•	º
Fatigue²		•	•		º
Nausea/Vomiting		•	º
Fever³	º	•	•	º
Itching (may be anywhere)					•
Diarrhea			º
New loss of taste or smell			º
Possible Complications	– Bronchitis – Ear infection – Pneumonia – Sinusitis	– Pneumonia – Encephalitis – Meningitis – Seizures	– Pneumonia – ARDS – Respiratory failure – Septic shock	– Ear infection – Mastoiditis – Sinusitis – Peritonsillar abscess
NOTES
Key: ARDS = Acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19 = Coronavirus disease 2019 • Characteristic symptom º Symptom present in some patients ¹ Typical symptoms for Covid-19 may vary depending on current variant. ² Cough and fatigue associated with influenza may persist for weeks ³ Fever associated with the common cold is usually low-grade (100−102°F) and limited to children; fever associated with influenza is usually severe (102−106°F) and present in both adults and children
REFERENCES
1. Common Cold. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/ency/article/000678.htm. Accessed March 18, 2020. 2. Flu. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/ency/article/000080.htm. Accessed March 18, 2020. 3. Pharyngitis. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/ency/article/000655.htm. Accessed March 18, 2020. 4. Allergic Rhinitis. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/ency/article/000813.htm. Accessed March 18, 2020. 5. Coronavirus (COVID-19). Available at https://www.nih.gov/health-information/coronavirus. Accessed March 18, 2020. 6. Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html. Accessed March 18, 2020. (Rev. 3/2022)

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