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The common cold isn't a serious illness. But the symptoms can be unpleasant.

You may feel quite sick for a couple of days. You'll probably be clear of your symptoms by a week or ten days.

Your early symptoms may include:¹

• A dry, scratchy sore throat (often the first symptom you get)
• Sneezing
• A headache (more than 3 in 5 people get a headache)
• A runny nose with watery mucus
• Watery eyes
• Chills and a fever. Young children may have a fever. But this is less common in older children and adults.

You may get these symptoms later on:¹

• A blocked nose. This usually gets worse over the first few days. It happens when the blood vessels in your nose swell up, and the mucus from your nose becomes thick and green.
• Sinus pain. The sinuses are air pockets in the bone just behind your nose. You get pain when they get blocked with mucus.
• A cough. At first you may get a dry cough that keeps you awake at night. Later on, you might cough up mucus. Your cough could last three weeks or more.
• Muscle aches and pains. About half of people with a cold get these.
• Tiredness and irritability.
• Loss of appetite.

It can be hard to know if you have a cold or flu. The symptoms are similar, but flu is more serious. Also the flu is caused by a particular virus called the influenza virus. But you won't usually know what kind of virus is making you sick. And a bad cold can cause an illness that's quite like flu. The main difference is that someone with flu is more likely to:

• Get sick suddenly
• Have a fever
• Have a cough
• Feel extremely weak.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.