common cold vs influenza vs Covid-19

Introduction

Table

sign/symptom	cold	influenza	Covid-19
incubation	1-3 days	1-4 days	2-14 days
onset*	gradual	abrupt	gradual
fever	rare	lasts 3-4 days	common
myalgia	slight	often severe	sometimes
cough	hacking	may be severe	common
dyspnea	mild	sometimes	common
runny nose	common	sometimes	sometines
stuffy nose	common	sometimes	sometimes
sore throat	common	sometimes	seometimes
diarrhea	rare	sometimes	seometimes
headache	rare	common	sometimes
anosmia	sometimes	sometimes	sometimes

* symptom onset

Laboratory

• influenza virus RNA
• SARS CoV2 RNA

More general terms

• differential diagnosis