How to distinguish between cold and flu?

Cold and influenza are often mixed as they have similar symptoms, but the consequences of flue if isn’t treated right can be very serious or even deadly. So, it is very important to know the difference between these two diseases.
As a rule common cold don’t have serious consequences and eventually fizzles as long as flu may be deadly as it causes serious complications. Today the best defense against flu is vaccination. The researches show that despite record supply of flue shots, people who have been inoculated didn’t fell ill.
Both these diseases are viral infections, but viruses they are caused by are quite different. The cause of common cold is coronavirus or adenovirus and many other variable subsets, and influenza is the result of activity of such dangerous stimulus as influenza virus. That`s why there is no cure and real vaccine for common cold, but flue can be prevented with vaccination.
As a result of colds you have your nose runny, sore throat and congestion. Influenza usually infects the joints, lungs, so it is often accompanied by respiratory failure and pneumonia. That is why it can cause death. Children suffering from influenza usually have their intestinal tract infected with vomiting and diarrhea. Common cold is usually nuisance for people, but flu causes pandemics and epidemics, which have potential for mortality.
Flu can also be mixed with allergy, but it usually flows from November until March with peak time from November to January. Typical season for allergy is spring. The difference is much in the severity and the length of the disease and you can tell the difference if you`ve hade this experience in the past. As a rule cold lasts 7-10 days, influenza can last the same period or can go 3-4 weeks. Even when flu virus is not still in your body, you may still have the symptoms for some time. Allergy lasts several weeks or months.
As common cold and influenza are both viral infections they can be treated in similar ways.