What Causes Fever, Headache, Body Aches And Cough?

Posted on Mon, 14 Mar 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 Answered on

Thu, 26 May 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a fever, headache, body aches, cough that I have had since Saturday. Need to get on a plane Monday evening. I am out of town. Should i go to urgent care?

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (30 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it depends...

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

your symptoms sound a lot like influenza. Other infections may cause these symptoms too (upper and lower respiratory tract infections). Of course a visit to the doctor would probably clarify the diagnosis, which is very important regarding treatment, so this is the recommended next step.

A reasonable alternative would be to wait it out and only visit the ER if you have "red flag" signs/symptoms like:
- shortness of breath
- pleuritic pain
- very high fever, particularly if an abrupt worsening of the fever occurred or rigor is present
- faintness

You haven't mentioned any medical history so I guess you're healthy otherwise. If you're not then this would be an additional reason to visit the ER sooner.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar