Symptoms are the body’s ways of telling you that something isn’t right. They can only be felt by you or someone else and don’t show up on medical tests. If you feel pain, for example, that’s a symptom of a headache or other illness.
The common cold usually starts with a runny nose, nasal congestion and a sore throat. A cough may follow, and you might feel shaky. In babies and young children, the symptoms can last longer and include a fever and difficulty feeding and sleeping. If the cold causes a cough that doesn’t go away, it might become pneumonia or bronchitis.
When people who are sick sneeze or cough, they launch droplets of fluid containing the cold virus into the air. If you breathe in those droplets, you catch the cold. The same is true for other illnesses that spread through the lungs.
Headaches have many different causes, including eye problems like glaucoma and diseases of the ears, nose and mouth. They can also be caused by stress, caffeine, alcohol and certain foods. A headache that comes and goes can be a sign of migraine or cluster headache. The pain is usually on one side of the head, throbs or pounds and makes you sensitive to light and sound. It might also cause nausea.
The aura phase of a migraine includes visual, sensory and motor symptoms that occur just before the headache begins. These symptoms may include tingling in one arm that moves up your body over a few minutes or a blind spot in the center of your vision. They can also include hallucinations and changes in speech.