Coronavirus Ireland: Covid-19, flu or common cold - How to tell which bug you have this winter

As we enter the winter months, many people will pick up different bugs that could carry the symptoms of either the common cold, flu and Covid-19.

Some of the symptoms are similar with all three conditions, so it's hard to know which it is and there is a lot of nervousness surrounding this issue.

The symptom checker featured below can help determine which of the three main viral illnesses you may have picked up.

Ben Littlewood-Hilson, chief medical officer at Doctorlink said having a runny nose is a big sign that what you have is a cold.

Any employees who fall ill while at work should be separated and sent home immediately (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

And whereas Covid-19 has more specific symptoms, the flu usually affects the whole body.

Speaking to the Metro, Dr Ravi Tomar, a GP at the Portland Medical Practice in Croydon added: "The challenge with these upper respiratory infections is that that can all present with symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, aches and pain.

"However the predominating symptoms can help to differentiate between each."

The four main symptoms of Covid-19 are as follows:

• a fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above)
• a cough - this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

However other symptoms can often present in coronavirus patients more rarely.

Here is the HSE's breakdown of common symptoms of the flu, coronavirus, and the cold and how they differ from each other:

Symptoms	Coronavirus Symptoms range from mild to severe	Flu Abrupt onset of symptoms	Cold Gradual onset of symptoms
Fever or chills	Common	Common	Rare
Cough	Common (usually dry)	Common (usually dry)	Mild
Shortness of breath	Common	No	No
Lost or changed sense of smell or taste	Common	Rare	Rare
Fatigue	Common	Common	Sometimes
Aches and pains	Common	Common	Common
Sore throat	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common
Headaches	Sometimes	Common	Rare
Runny or Stuffy Nose	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common
Feeling sick or vomiting	Rare	Sometimes	No
Diarrhoea	Rare	Sometimes in children	No
Sneezing	No	No	Common