As colder months approach, differentiating between a cold and a flu can become challenging when symptoms seem similar.
Understanding the common symptoms of each illness can help you make an informed choice about treatment.
Here’s what to know about cold and flu symptoms and when it’s time for a doctor visit.
Colds, caused by viruses, generally lead to mild, short-lived symptoms that focus mainly on the nose, sinuses or throat, according to .
Common cold symptoms include runny nose and sneezing, red eyes, sore throat, cough, headaches and body aches.
According to B.C.’s health information service, if colds happen often for an individual or if symptoms last more than two weeks, the cause may be allergies or sinusitis rather than a cold.
The flu, or influenza, is a more severe respiratory illness than the common cold.
According to federal government’s public health agency, include the sudden appearance of fever, cough, muscle aches and pain. Other common symptoms are chills, tiredness, headache, sore throat, loss of appetite and runny or stuffy nose.
The health agency also warns that some people, including children, may have diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Serious complications and outcomes of the flu are possible, including worsened chronic health conditions, heart complications, pneumonia and respiratory failure, hospitalization and death.
In some cases, flu symptoms overlap with respiratory illnesses like RSV and COVID-19, which share similar respiratory and general symptoms. For more detailed symptom comparisons, check government sources on and .
The is the most effective way to prevent the flu and its spread, health officials say. Health Canada recommends that all individuals over six months of age get vaccinated annually, as flu viruses change every year, and the vaccine is updated to match circulating strains.
The flu vaccine does not protect against other illnesses like RSV and COVID-19, it said.
To find a flu shot clinic near you or for additional information of this year’s fu vaccine visit .
While most cold and flu cases can be managed with rest, hydration and over-the-counter medications, certain cases warrant medical attention.
For children, if symptoms observed include the child not waking up or interacting with others, difficulty breathing, not drinking or eating as usual and/or an irritable mood, a doctor visit should be is the next step, Canada’s public health agency said on its website.
High-risk individuals who develop symptoms should contact their health-care provider for advice as more serious complications including pneumonia and respiratory failure can occur, the health agency added.
When sick with the flu, the public health agency recommends individuals stay home and avoid contact with others.
Polish authorities have arrested four individuals they allege planned to send parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials to Canada and the United States, according to Poland’s government website.
A Montreal man is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of a woman at a park in Ottawa’s south end on Thursday.
Ontario will not allow international students in medical schools beginning in the fall of 2026, and will also cover tuition for more than 1,000 students who commit to becoming a family doctor in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said Friday.
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
Archeologists have uncovered a tiny house in Pompeii that is filled with elaborate – and sometimes erotic – frescoes, further revealing the ornate way in which Romans decorated their homes.
A Florida mother has sued artificial intelligence chatbot startup Character.AI, accusing it of causing her 14-year-old son's suicide in February and saying he became addicted to the company's service and deeply attached to a chatbot it created.
Investigators have determined that a skull discovered in the wall of an Illinois home in 1978 was that of an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago, authorities announced Thursday.
The federal government allowed 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds in August, and the new rules are set to expand in December to everyone looking to buy a newly-constructed home.
A Quebec mother of six, once detained in northeast Syria, has died while waiting for repatriation. The Canadian woman was known only by her initials F.J.
A Montreal man is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of a woman at a park in Ottawa’s south end on Thursday.
The GoFundMe page for the family of an employee found dead at a Halifax Walmart last weekend has paused donations after almost $200,000 was raised in roughly 24 hours.
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
An infant has died and a woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were pulled from a burning home in the city's west end overnight.
Video has surfaced on social media of a fight on a Burnaby golf course earlier this month, wherein a man appears to strike a fellow golfer with his club.
Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant said he was 'sick to his stomach' at the revelations about sexual abuse at a youth rehabilitation centre in Riviere-des-Prairies.
Israeli strikes on residential areas in southern Gaza killed 38 people on Friday, Palestinian health officials said, including 13 children from the same extended family.
Investigators have determined that a skull discovered in the wall of an Illinois home in 1978 was that of an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago, authorities announced Thursday.
As the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor sought war crimes charges this year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over actions in Gaza, he was engulfed in a very different personal crisis playing out behind the scenes.
The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is expected to be arraigned Friday on federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges in a New York court.
Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people, who were trapped, some on their roofs.
North Korean troops are poised to be deployed by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine as early as this weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Friday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada strongly condemns a new surge in gang violence in Haiti.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada's long-held consensus on immigration is under threat, but has not disappeared.
A Quebec mother of six, once detained in northeast Syria, has died while waiting for repatriation. The Canadian woman was known only by her initials F.J.
Children who have coughs that go on for weeks may have a type of walking pneumonia that’s been surging in the U.S. this year, and they may need a different antibiotic regimen to treat it, infectious disease experts say.
The number of people infected by the E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers increased to 75 from 49, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
Understanding the common symptoms of a cold or flu can help you make an informed choice about treatment. Here’s what to know about each illnesses’ symptoms and when it’s time for a doctor visit.
The search for a popular tortoise that went missing from his home in Piedmont is over after his owner said he came home.
Most people have accumulated a pile of data -- selfies, emails, videos and more -- on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
A Florida mother has sued artificial intelligence chatbot startup Character.AI, accusing it of causing her 14-year-old son's suicide in February and saying he became addicted to the company's service and deeply attached to a chatbot it created.
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for 'The Love Boat' television show theme song, has died. He was 86.
A new organization that aims to help people struggling with addiction officially launched in Ottawa Thursday, named after the late Matthew Perry.
Natural gas producers in Western Canada have white-knuckled it through months of depressed prices, with the expectation that their fortunes will improve when LNG Canada comes online in the middle of next year.
Ontario grocery stores — particularly smaller, independent shops — say new bottle return requirements that were sprung on them a week before they're set to take effect may make it impossible to participate in Premier Doug Ford's expansion of alcohol sales.
Iceland’s economy is outperforming most European peers after the nationwide introduction of a shorter working week with no loss in pay, according to research released Friday.
Archeologists have uncovered a tiny house in Pompeii that is filled with elaborate – and sometimes erotic – frescoes, further revealing the ornate way in which Romans decorated their homes.
In early 2018, Amanda and Sunil started chatting, messaging back and forth on Instagram, introducing themselves and talking a little about their lives. Fast forward to August 2018, the couple got engaged on vacation in Thailand and a year later, after Amanda moved to India, got married.
A Toronto man who only recently checked a Lotto 6/49 lottery ticket he bought back in June is now $2.5 million richer.
A Sherpa teenager who's won mountaineering celebrity as the youngest person ever to summit the world's 14 highest peaks called for Sherpas to be recognized as athletes and expedition leaders as well as porters and guides.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored the winning goal 1:26 into overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets remained unbeaten this season with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
Broadway vs. Hollywood has produced the starriest Series in decades, if not ever.
A town in southern Alberta will be one of the first to let golf carts be driven on select roads as part of a provincial pilot program.
An increased risk of fire has prompted the recall of thousands of Honda hybrid vehicles in Canada.
A senior executive for Volkswagen in China has been deported for allegedly using cocaine and marijuana while on vacation in Thailand, according to Chinese authorities and German media reports.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Video has surfaced on social media of a fight on a Burnaby golf course earlier this month, wherein a man appears to strike a fellow golfer with his club.
Search and rescue crews are working against the clock Friday, trying to locate the body of a man who went missing near the Coquitlam River.
Search and rescue crews have been tasked with looking for a missing man whose vehicle was recently found on the North Shore.
An infant has died and a woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were pulled from a burning home in the city's west end overnight.
Five years after a 16-year-old boy was intentionally struck by a vehicle in East York and left for dead, police say they are still searching for the driver and pleading for the passenger to speak to investigators.
Ontario will not allow international students in medical schools beginning in the fall of 2026, and will also cover tuition for more than 1,000 students who commit to becoming a family doctor in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said Friday.
The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.
An investigation into the death of a man in Calgary police custody earlier this month has concluded that officers did not contribute to his death and that he was cared for properly.
A section of construction work along Deerfoot Trail is now complete, but Calgarians can expect more work to continue on the busy roadway over the next few years.
A Montreal man is charged with first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of a woman at a park in Ottawa’s south end on Thursday.
An unusual item was found parked at the bottom of the historic Rideau Canal as Parks Canada drained the water this week – electric scooters.
The Ottawa Police Service says 17 vehicles have been taken out of service during the execution of a safety blitz this week in the capital.
Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant said he was 'sick to his stomach' at the revelations about sexual abuse at a youth rehabilitation centre in Riviere-des-Prairies.
A man and a woman are dead after a house fire west of the Island of Montreal in the municipality of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
A Montreal suburb with a park overpopulated with white-tailed deer says it has carried out the first phase of its cull, with 64 animals killed.
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.
The Alberta legislature is set to reconvene on Monday and the Danielle Smith government will be providing more details about its plans for the session.
The City of Edmonton often asks people to call 311 to report potholes or parking violations, but there's a lot more the service can do for residents and visitors.
The GoFundMe page for the family of an employee found dead at a Halifax Walmart last weekend has paused donations after almost $200,000 was raised in roughly 24 hours.
Gas prices dropped slightly in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick overnight, while there was no change on Prince Edward Island for the second week in a row.
The Halifax Regional Municipality will soon be home to three new schools that will replace aging infrastructure and meet the new demands of the communities.
Winnipeg police are looking for a suspect after a woman's dorm room was broken into at the U of M and she was assaulted.
A Manitoba judge is calling for the creation of a specialized team of police and paramedics to respond when people are in crisis.
The U.S. presidential election between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump is attracting interest north of the border.
As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.
The Saskatchewan Party’s planned marshals service was under the spotlight Thursday, as the NDP revealed the government paid over $40,000 for fewer than 100 hats for the new officers' uniforms.
Saskatchewan's two major political parties promised Thursday to work with federal partners on finding the best deal for addressing homelessness if they win Monday's provincial election.
People in the Weber Street East and Madison Avenue North area of Kitchener may need to find an alternate route this morning as police investigate a stabbing.
Fire crews responded to a house fire in St. Clements Thursday night.
A Kitchener man has been charged with arson after playground equipment was set on fire earlier this week.
Police have still not confirmed the identity of a body discovered in Prince Albert last week.
A 31-year-old man has been charged with arson following multiple fires that were deliberately set in the Mayfair neighbourhood on Thursday morning.
As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.
Two people – one from Timmins, the other from Kapuskasing -- have been fined more than $7,000 for camping violations, including empty septic tanks directly onto the ground.
The president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says that while there is a lot of concern around the provincial economy, northern business owners are the most confident about the current opportunity and growth.
Ontario will not allow international students in medical schools beginning in the fall of 2026, and will also cover tuition for more than 1,000 students who commit to becoming a family doctor in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said Friday.
Around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, emergency services were called to the 700 block of Exeter Road after getting a 911 call about an unresponsive man.
The use of a search warrant on Walpole Island First Nation has netted over $500,000 in drugs. On Oct. 18, several agencies including Lambton OPP and Walpole Island Police Service responded to an address on Union Hal Road.
Lobbying for a $50-million expansion of Goderich's port, that would see 11 acres of Lake Huron infilled with rock and stone, allowing for new docks, and landing spots for goods from around the world.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford blasted a recent vote by County of Simcoe council to instill pay increases for councillors during an unrelated news conference Friday morning.
As Barrie faces a housing shortfall, builders are looking to the skies, developing condo towers, including one that stands out unlike anything the city has ever seen.
A Barrie man is half-a-million-dollars richer after winning the lottery.
The Windsor Police Service is investigating a suspicious death in south-central Windsor.
With Halloween just around the corner, there are plenty of spooktacular events in Windsor-Essex this weekend.
Member of Parliament for Windsor West, Brian Masse, stood in parliament today, saying the government is ignoring Windsorites by allowing the upcoming Ambassador Bridge deal to continue.
Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for Metro Vancouver and much of Vancouver Island as a storm system is expected to ravage British Columbia's south coast.
Search and rescue crews are working against the clock Friday, trying to locate the body of a man who went missing near the Coquitlam River.
A New Westminster, B.C., man has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography in what police say is becoming a more common and resource-intensive kind of investigation with the rise of AI-generated images.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes are celebrating 50 years of the Sportsplex and WHL hockey in Lethbridge Saturday.
The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass deserves a better shot at becoming a significant tourism hub than the UCP government is giving it, an NDP shadow minister said as the southwestern Alberta community gears up for a coal mining plebiscite.
A three-game road trip across the prairies got off on a sour note Wednesday night as the Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Calgary Hitmen 4-2.
A 44-year-old suspect has been charged after police in Sault Ste. Marie spotted a vehicle running in a parking lot Thursday night.
Two Americans who veered into the Canadian side of Lake Huron and caught fish during the National Walleye Tour last year have been fined by an Ontario court.
The president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says that while there is a lot of concern around the provincial economy, northern business owners are the most confident about the current opportunity and growth.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
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