A Clinician’s Guide To Cold And Flu Season: Symptoms, Prevention, And When To See A Doctor

 Cold and flu season is here, and we’re breaking it all down with Dr. Teresa Jacobs, Clinical Director at the Georgia Primary Care Association. In this episode, Dr. Jacobs explains the key differences between a cold and the flu, what symptoms matter most, and how to know when a fever or body aches signal something more serious. We also cover simple, effective ways to protect yourself—like handwashing, rest, hydration, healthy foods, and the best timing for your flu shot—plus home remedies that can actually help you feel better. She also shares the warning signs that mean it’s time to see a doctor and clears up how long you’re contagious, even before symptoms start. Tune in, learn practical tips for staying healthy this season, and keep your family protected all winter long. 💙💚 

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:02):
Welcome to the Ment Lake Health Connections podcast.
Today we're talking about coldand flu season with Dr.
Teresa Jacobs, the clinicaldirector at the Georgia Primary
Care Association.
We'll cover the basics, how totell the difference between a
cold and a flu, how to preventgetting sick, and what to do if
you catch something.
So let's get started.
Dr.
Jacobs, would you like to startoff by telling us what is the

(00:24):
difference between a cold andthe flu?

SPEAKER_00 (00:27):
Yes, thank you so much for having me.
So the cold or a typical cold isbasically a virus.
And um patients will generallyhave that congestion, that
stuffy nose.
Sometimes they will sneeze, havea sore throat, they may even
cough.
But the runny nose is somethingthat is just one of the key

(00:49):
factors of a cold.
Now, the flu is a littledifferent.
It's a vi caused by a virus aswell.
But generally speaking, patientswill have a fever of at least
100.
Um, the thing that is reallyhorrible for most of us when we
get the flu is that achiness,the joint pains and the
stiffness.

(01:10):
And uh that can really, reallybe pretty uh tough on a patient.
Um many will complain of aheadache as well, um, may have a
cough, might have a sore throat,but the achiness, the fever, and
the um uh headache is somethingthat is just seems to be uh

(01:30):
really prominent when it comesto the flu.

SPEAKER_01 (01:34):
Okay.
So you've kind of covered someof our most common symptoms, and
how would you say someone couldtell the difference between the
flu or well, let me rephrasethat.
How could you tell if someonejust has the flu or if it's a
cold?

SPEAKER_00 (01:51):
Well, the first thing I would do is uh take my
temperature, so it's good tohave a thermometer.
Uh, with a cold, um, yougenerally don't have a fever,
all right?
So you usually have a regularnormal temperature.
The flu, you almost always willhave a temperature of at least a
hundred uh degrees or higher.

(02:11):
So that's the first symptom.
Uh, the first thing that youneed to be aware of.
That cold is the congestion,congestion, congestion.
You don't usually have the achesand pain uh like you do in the
flu.
Uh, but the fever is the firstthing that should tip you off.
Uh, the congestion is the otherthing, um, more so with a cold

(02:34):
as opposed to the flu, fever uhor temperature when it comes to
the flu.
So those are the two biggiethings, the two big things that
I would say stands out.
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
So uh what are some of the best ways to avoid
getting sick during this coldand flu season?

SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Oh, that's a great question.
I'm sure we're gonna talk aboutgetting that flu vaccine.
Uh, but besides that, we canalso talk about just the typical
things to do.
Uh, hand washing is still alsoextremely important.
Taking care of yourself.
And by that I mean getting uh aproper amount of rest.
Uh so sleep is still important,those seven to eight hours of

(03:16):
sleep.
Eating healthy, lots of fruitsand veggies is always good to
help keep your body nice andstrong uh while we're going
through this season.
Um, and then make sure you staywell hydrated.
There's no replacement forwater.
You'll hear me say that all thetime.
So water, water, water, lots ofrest, get your sleep and eat

(03:39):
extremely healthy.
If um folks are around you thatare coughing or sneezing, it's
best that they cover their mouthum when they're coughing and
when they're sneezing, and thenmake sure that uh that they're
washing their hands as well whensomeone is coughing or when
someone sneezes.
And, you know, um if you have tobe amongst a lot of people,

(04:00):
wearing masks is stillappropriate.

SPEAKER_01 (04:03):
Okay.
You kind of mentioned the flushot.
So can you kind of walk usthrough why the flu shot is so
important and when people shouldget it?

SPEAKER_00 (04:12):
Yeah, the flu vaccine is one of the number one
tools we have in a toolbox whenit comes to combating or
fighting uh flu or influenza.
Um, this type the time of theyear is usually early fall.
Uh, I always get mine in the endof August, beginning of
September.
Uh takes a couple of weeks forit to kick in, and it will

(04:34):
usually protect you through theentire flu season.
So, right now is a good time toget that flu shot uh because flu
season really starts uh inSeptember and it lasts all the
way through the fall, all theway through the winter.
And so we're talking about theend of winter, early spring, uh,
before the flu season isofficially over with.

(04:57):
Uh, so this is a good time toget that flu shot um uh to help
protect you uh during the fluseason.
Okay, wow.

SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Do you know if there are any home remedies that may
actually help with your cold andyour flus and all of the above?

SPEAKER_00 (05:15):
Yeah, I yeah, I'm still big on home remedies
myself.
Um, you know, they taught us uhhot tea and honey with lemon.
Sure, that that helps.
Uh honey, believe it or not, hassome um uh beneficial uh health
effects.
So a little uh hot tea uh withhoney and lemon, old-fashioned

(05:35):
remedy that I still believe in.
Uh and of course, if you haverunning a slight fever um or
have some aches, uh things likeTylenolomotron is probably still
good for those things.
Um, and then uh it's always niceto have vaporizers, humidifiers
in the home.
Uh that helps uh combat thosedroplets uh that are out in the

(05:59):
air.
Um, things like antihistaminesor decongestants are still good
things that you can take.
Uh, of course, if you have highblood pressure or diabetes, you
want to be mindful of thosethings uh that you take over the
counter, that they're good foryou.
Uh, make sure that um uh becausethere's some products out there
that are specifically fordiabetics, specifically for

(06:21):
folks with high blood pressurewhen it comes to the decongest,
uh, cough drops, uh, coldmedications.
You can still take those.
And again, you're gonna staywell hydrated uh uh if you get
the cold, have a cold, or if youum unfortunately uh develop the
flu.
So lots of over-the-counterremedies, but still remember

(06:42):
there's no cure for the commoncold.
Uh so generally speaking, you'regonna have to go through it.
Uh, but those cold remedies thatare over-the-counters tend to
help uh decrease the number ofdays that you actually
experience symptoms.

SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
Awesome.
So when someone is experiencingall of these things, when is the
best time that they shouldactually say, okay, I think it's
time for me to go to the doctor?
Like what are some of thosesigns instead of just staying at
home?

SPEAKER_00 (07:13):
Yeah, so if your symptoms are just are persisting
days and weeks or uh they'regetting worse, uh, if you have a
fever that's not responding toTylenol and Motrin, uh, if
you're a high-risk individual,I'm 70 years old, they consider
me high risk because I also havehigh blood pressure.
Uh so I'm a high-risk patient.

(07:36):
So if those symptoms arelingering, uh, you really should
go uh and see a doctor.
If you're having, you know,those symptoms like difficulties
in breathing, shortness ofbreath, uh patients uh that are
having uh pressure in the chest,uh confusion, uh really uh

(07:56):
having uh some drowsiness,difficult to uh in staying
awake, having issues withdehydration.
Um, and even uh there's somepatients who have some bluing uh
when it comes to the nail bedsas well as to their lips.
Uh, those are really signs thatyou really, really ought to go
see a doctor.
Uh, you don't want to wait tillthings get really bad before you

(08:19):
go see a uh a physician.
Or if you don't feel wellaltogether and you just want to
go, go ahead.
It's better to be safe uh to goahead and see a local provider
about your symptoms.

SPEAKER_01 (08:32):
And how long are people typically contagious when
they have the cold or flu?

SPEAKER_00 (08:37):
Oh, that's a I love that question.
Um, and because it'sinteresting, you know, uh you're
actually contagious before thesymptoms actually start.
Um so so you don't know thatyou're contagious,
unfortunately.
That's why it's always good tojust be safe with what we call
those universal precautions withthose hand washing techniques

(08:58):
and covering your mouth, etcetera.
But with the flu, one to fourdays, you know, before your
symptoms actually start, you'reactually contagious.
And then while you have thesymptoms, it could be up to two
weeks that you're stillcontagious.
And then after those um uhsymptoms uh start to um uh uh uh

(09:18):
get better, uh you could stillbe contagious even a week or so
after that.
That's with the the flu, andthen with the common cold, it's
basically the same thing.
Uh and so you need to bemindful, uh practicing those
universal precautions at alltimes, uh, because it's
important, because you may have,you know, something that is

(09:40):
contagious, and so you want tomake sure that you are
protecting yourself as well asothers around you.

SPEAKER_01 (09:47):
Okay, and can you kind of just go through those
universal or universalprecautions just real quick for
the audience to know?

SPEAKER_00 (09:55):
Uh so uh you're gonna wash your hands always,
you know.
Uh it's just a good, good, good,good thing to do.
Wash your hands.
If you're not able to wash yourhands, hand sanitizer is still
really good.
If you are coughing or sneezing,or if someone near you is
coughing or sneezing, it'salways advisable that they cover

(10:16):
their mouth uh when they'recoughing and when they're
sneezing.
And again, wash your hands andto or to use um uh some sort of
septic spray, hand sanitizer onyour hands.
Uh, you also don't want to shareeating things tools.
You don't want someone else toeat behind you, you don't want

(10:36):
someone else to drink behindyou.
Uh uh, so those are what I callthose universal precautions.
Uh kids, especially, you don'twant to eat behind them and you
so and you don't want them toeat behind you, uh uh especially
uh during this cold and fluseason.
So universal precautions, bemindful of um uh what the

(10:59):
droplets, respiratory dropletsthat are in the air, hand
washing, covering the mouth umwhen you're coughing or
sneezing, washing thosecountertops off um on a regular
basis, whether you're at work orif you're at home.

SPEAKER_01 (11:14):
Awesome, awesome.
Is there anything else that youwould like to add just before we
wrap up the episode?

SPEAKER_00 (11:20):
Well, I think that um it is something that we deal
with every single year.
And um uh before I gotvaccinated uh for flu, I would
get the flu every single year.
So I suggest to everyone, ifyou're not getting vaccinated,
if you're not getting yourchildren vaccinated, that you

(11:41):
really seriously consider uhgetting uh the flu vaccine.
Uh I think it's a wonderful toolin our two kids.
And for some of us, for kids andfor those that are at high risk,
those with comorbid conditions,those elderly patients, we're at
risk for developing pneumonia uhuh from the flu.

(12:04):
So that's why it's a great ideato get vaccinated for the flu so
that you can hand off thepossible complications when it
comes to flu.
So get vaccinated, getvaccinated.
Uh, it is the number one thingthat I tell patients to do.
Um uh it is one of the greatesttools in our toolkit to fight or

(12:24):
to combat flu and thecomplications of flu.

SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Awesome.
Okay, well, thank you so muchfor doing this with me today.
I think myself and as everyone,I'm sure who's listening, can
find this episode veryeducational.
So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 (12:42):
And you're welcome.
Uh, it's always my pleasure.
Stay healthy.

SPEAKER_01 (12:49):
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Connections podcast.
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Remember, the information sharedin this podcast is for
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(13:10):
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