ABC6: Just a cold? Or cause for concern?

It’s fall and like clockwork the leaves are changing colors and people around you (or you even!) likely are coughing and sneezing. With the change in seasons comes those annual colds that sometimes can be a sign of something worse.

Elizabeth Patterson, DO, a physician at OhioHealth Urgent Care, says she’s already treated cases of the flu and pneumonia this season.

“Sometimes a person can have a head cold or the flu and it can get better in a day or two,” Dr. Patterson recently told ABC6 meteorologist/reporter Erin Carroll. “Then it can start with a productive cough that’s just kind of nagging and then in can turn into pneumonia.”

Those most likely to contract pneumonia are people with lung issues already, like COPD. But nobody is immune to it.

In addition to that cough that just won’t go away, other symptoms of pneumonia are high fever and chest pain. Dr. Patterson recommends people see a physician if they have these symptoms.

In addition to pneumonia rearing its head, Dr. Patterson says flu season is just beginning and will likely pick up in the next couple of weeks.

“We’ve already been seeing it in this urgent care,” she told Carroll. “We’ve seen a couple of cases already and we just urge people to get their flu shot,” she said.

Patients with the flu will typically feel like they’ve been hit by a truck – they’ll feel really achy. In addition to that, fever is another symptom.

Not sure if you have the flu or a cold? Click here for a detailed list of symptoms.

Need to find an OhioHealth Urgent Care near you? Click here for a list of locations.