You’re sneezing, coughing, and stuffy. It must be a dose of a common cold right? Right, sort of. The common cold and a sinus infection have a lot of the same symptoms which makes them hard to tell apart. But if you can distinguish, you’ll start feeling a lot better a lot sooner.
A Common Cold
The common cold is caused by a virus. Symptoms include congestion, a runny nose, headache, tiredness, a cough, and a mild fever. Your symptoms will slowly build and eventually go away and while there is no cre, you can take some OTC meds to help relieve your symptoms. Decongestants, painkillers, and cough medicine are all recommended. The common cold generally lasts around a week.
Sinus Infection
This follows your cold most of the time. Your cold may cause a swelling in the sinus – the hollow parts of your skull will feel pressurized and the flow of mucous will be slowed down. If you have pain around your face, and a green or yellow mucous, you probably have a sinus infection and should see your doctor. Symptoms of sinusitis include foul-smelling discharge from your nose, pressure around your face, headache, congestion, fever or a cough.
If the symptoms last for more than 10 days, you can be pretty sure it’s no longer a cold but has developed into a sinus infection. If this is the case, you will be prescribed a course of antibiotics by your doctor or another form of relief for your symptoms.
