So today we're going to take
a cold and flu IQ test of sorts.
We're of course right in the middle
of cold and flu season.
All of our staff backstage has
legitimately been talking about this,
because it's one of the worst
cold and flu seasons on record.
Here to help us stay healthy, yes,
she's beautiful and she's a real doctor,
this is Dr. Bojana Jankovic Weatherly,
I actually have known her for years.
(audience cheers)
Now in terms of some facts between cold and flu,
what are the differences,
what do they mean? They are two
different things, right?
They are two different things, exactly.
So, they're both caused by different viruses
and they're both upper respiratory infections,
so when we think of cold and flu,
we think of symptoms of the nose, nasal passages,
sinuses, and sore throat.
And now typically with a cold,
it can be caused by a number
of different respiratory viruses,
and the symptoms are typically milder.
So yes, you might have runny nose,
congestion, sore throat, a cough,
but it's not as big of a deal, maybe a mild fever,
but that's about it.
It's not as dramatic as- Not as dramatic, exactly.
We're still contagious the first three days of getting it,
but actually the virus still sheds up to two weeks,
so you still, even if you're feeling better,
you could still transmit it to other people,
so it's really important to be careful
around the people that you're interacting with.
Now when it comes to the flu, it's a different story.
It's more severe, it involves all of the same symptoms
of congestion, sore throat, cough,
but it typically is accompanied by a high fever,
we usually get those terrible body and muscle ache.
Body ache, and you just keep cringing,
ugh I hate it. Exactly.
You're practically bed ridden.
Oh my God, I just made myself fake sick,
and it freaked me out. (audience laughs)
I know it's awful, it can really be awful,
and it can last about a week or so,
but it could go longer than that as well.
And what's particularly important is especially
for people who have chronic disease,
such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes,
it's more likely to lead to complications
such as pneumonia or hospitalization, so-
And it can be life threatening.
Absolutely, absolutely, so we're dealing
with a much more serious bug,
of course, caused by influenza viruses.
Now, when it comes to bacterial infections,
oftentimes I'll have a patient come in
and say, "I've had these symptoms for about a week,
do you think I should go on antibiotics?"
Typically the answer is no.
We have specific guidelines that can help us distinguish
whether something is bacterial or viral,
and some of these things are oftentimes
you might have symptoms of a viral infection,
they start to get better, and then they get worse.
This is often an indication
that there might be something bacterial going on,
and that's when we definitely want to consider
treating with antibiotics.
And if you take antibiotics,
you need to take the entire course of them, right?
Exactly, exactly, absolutely.
And then some of the other guidelines that we have,
so here actually, oftentimes if the symptoms are
about 10 days or more,
and associated with a high fever
as well as here are the sinuses that I'm outlining
in a very simplistic way,
but a lot of sinus pain, pressure,
that typically indicates a bacterial chronic sinusitis.
Your face literally aches.
Exactly, your face aches, you're having a fever,
symptoms 10 days or more, or just severe symptoms,
we think likely bacterial rather than viral.
Now some of the other things
when we think about strep throat,
we think about- White spots.
Exactly, we think
about these whiter spots-
A coating on your tongue.
Right, right, exactly.
And also, this is a neck,
and if I can draw these little neck lymph nodes
that tend to get swollen Swollen glands.
Swollen and tender, exactly.
And that's bacterial?
And that's bacterial typically,
it's usually accompanied with a fever
and actually there's no cough, there's no other symptoms,
this is kind of the main, these are the main symptoms-
That's when you need a course of antibiotics?
Exactly, exactly, so that's when you should really
see your doctor because it seems to be more bacterial
rather than viral.
Now what are some of the other red flags
we should know about when it comes to these symptoms?
Well, if you have a fever greater than 101.4
and it's not going down, definitely see your doctor.
If you're having fevers for five days or more,
again, see your doctor.
If symptoms are severe, such as that really severe
facial pain, sinus pressure-
It's crippling. It is, it is,
it can get really bad, really bad headaches,
definitely see your doctor because it could be bacterial.
And then of course, any shortness of breath,
any wheezing, really terrible productive cough,
again, something you should see your doctor about.
That's another thing men do, they wait too long, right?
They self-diagnose, they stay home and be miserable,
and they wait until it's really horrible
before they go to the doctor's.
Exactly, absolutely, they put it off-
I hope John's not watching today,
I don't wanna go home. (audience laughs)
(audience cheers)