Many respiratory viruses make the rounds in fall and winter, making this prime time to brush up on your knowledge of common illnesses. But if you or a family member suddenly gets sick, it can be tricky to know if you’re dealing with one of the big three respiratory viruses going around now—COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
So, what are the symptoms of COVID-19, flu, and RSV and, more importantly, how can you tell them apart? Infectious disease doctors say it can be tricky.
How can you tell COVID, flu, and RSV apart?
This is tough. “All three of the viruses have overlapping or identical symptoms,” says Amesh Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “There is no reliable way to distinguish the viruses clinically.” Meaning, your doctor can’t look at you and tell right away if you have COVID-19, the flu, or RSV.
That said, there are some clues that you may be dealing with one virus over the other, says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York. A big one is knowing what you’ve been exposed to, he says.