Common Cold Vs Flu: What You Should Watch Out For

While there have been more cases of the flu this year than in years past...  there have also been more people struggling with trying to get over the common cold...

Dr Brian Stark...family medicine doctor at UPMC Hamot tells us he's seen more cases of the flu in December than he's seen in his 17 years working in     And as you can see from this map...majority of the United States has been infected with influenza.

    But Dr Stark says he's seen a lot of patients come in with your typical winter bug...

    This common cold can last up to two weeks... there's not much you can do but wait it out or treat symptoms with over the counter medications.

    The bug causes you to be rundown...but the symptoms are specific...runny nose, cough or sore throat.

    But does getting a flu shot help prevent the common cold? Dr Stark says, it won't hurt.

If you still haven't gotten the flu shot, you're in luck...

    Lifeworks will be at Representative Ryan Bizzarro's office next Wednesday January 9 from 10 am to 1 pm...

    That's in the Peninsula Plaza 1101 Peninsula Drive Suite 209.