Cold or Sinus Infection

If you have a stuffy nose or a cough, it can be hard to tell if you have a sinus infection, a cold, or the flu. These conditions share some key symptoms, but they do have some differences as well. For example, facial pain is a common symptom of a sinus infection, but is rare with a cold or the flu.

Sinusitis (Sinus Infection) Information

Is It the Common Cold or a Sinus Infection?

The symptoms of a cold and a sinus infection can be quite similar to each other. This is because the same viruses often cause both conditions. Also, because the nose and sinuses are connected, it is possible for viruses to move easily between the nasal passages and the sinuses.

Not all colds affect the sinuses. However, it is quite uncommon for the sinuses to be infected with a virus and not have the nasal passages also affected -- hence the reason that a person with sinusitis not only has symptoms around the sinuses but also in the nasal passages.

Comparing Cold Symptoms vs Sinusitis and Flu Symptoms

The following table lists some key symptoms that the common cold, flu, and sinusitis share -- along with some key differences.

Symptoms	Cold	Sinusitis (Sinus Infection)	Flu
Fever	Rare	Viral sinusitis -- Occasionally; lasts for about two days Bacterial sinusitis -- High temperature (greater than 102ºF or 39ºC) common	Characteristic, high (102ºF to 104ºF); lasts three to four days
Stuffy nose	Common	Common	Sometimes
Runny nose	Common (discharge can be thin or thick)	Common (discharge is often thick and colored)	Sometimes
Facial and/or tooth pain	Rare	Common	Rare
Headache	Rare	Sometimes	Prominent
General aches, pains	Slight	Sometimes	Usual; often severe
Fatigue, weakness	Quite mild	Sometimes	Can last up to two to three weeks
Extreme exhaustion	Never	Rare	Early and prominent
Sneezing	Common	Less common	Sometimes
Sore throat	Common	Sometimes	Sometimes
Chest discomfort, cough	Mild to moderate; hacking cough	Mild to moderate; worse at night	Common; can become severe
Decreased sense of smell or taste	Rare	Sometimes; more common with chronic sinusitis	Rare

(Cold or Sinus Infection Continued: Page 2)