Drehobl practices at San Diego's Scripps Clinic. Drehobl says that having access to a relatively inexpensive, in-office diagnostic test for influenza may help general practitioners spot influenza outbreaks before they become epidemics, and could result in more efficient use of the new drugs. When a flu outbreak hits a community, the number of cases usually peaks in about three weeks and subsides after another three to four weeks. The problem is that if you wait for the CDC or the local health department to tell you there is an outbreak, you have a lag time and end up with a lot of untreated people. While the symptoms for a cold, flu, or pneumonia tend to be similar, there are typical differences that may help patients identify their disease.
Colds generally begin with a sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing.
Although influenza patients may have many of the same symptoms, they will also have a high temperature, and their illness develops rapidly. Pneumonia is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes and tiny air sacs in the lungs that can be either viral or bacterial in nature, and often follows a cold or flu. Instead of recovering in a few days or a week, people with pneumonia find that their symptoms quickly worsen. Those with viral pneumonia often have a dry, hacking cough with headache, fever, muscle pain, and fatigue. Symptoms of bacterial pneumonia may include high fever and a cough that produces thick sputum.