Is it this, or is it that?

14 pairs of conditions that get mistaken for each other, set out side by side. Each page answers the question first, then shows what actually separates the two, and lists the NHS pages it was built from. This is information, not a diagnosis — where two things genuinely cannot be told apart at home, the page says so.

• Cold vs Flu

  Is it a cold or the flu?

  A cold comes on slowly over a day or two and mostly affects your nose and throat. Flu arrives within hours and floors you: a sudden high temperatur…

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• Panic Attack vs Heart Attack

  Is it a panic attack or a heart attack?

  Both cause chest discomfort, a pounding heart and breathlessness, and you cannot reliably tell them apart on your own. Most panic attacks last 5 to…

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• IBS vs IBD

  Is it IBS or IBD?

  IBS causes cramping, bloating and changeable bowel habits that often ease once you have opened your bowels, and it does not damage the gut. IBD is…

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• Migraine vs Tension Headache

  Is it a migraine or a tension headache?

  A tension headache is a dull, pressing band across both sides of the head, and you can usually carry on with your day. A migraine throbs, is often…

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• Cold vs COVID-19

  Is it a cold or COVID-19?

  You cannot tell them apart from symptoms alone. COVID-19 causes a high temperature, cough, sore throat, blocked nose and tiredness, and a cold can…

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• Asthma Attack vs Chest Infection

  Is it an asthma attack or a chest infection?

  An asthma attack is your airways narrowing: wheeze, chest tightness and breathlessness that build over minutes to hours, usually without a fever. A…

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• Heartburn vs Heart Attack

  Is it heartburn or a heart attack?

  You cannot reliably tell these apart at home. The NHS lists feeling like you have indigestion — a burning, full or bloated feeling in the chest — a…

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• Dehydration vs Flu

  Am I dehydrated or coming down with something?

  Dehydration and a viral illness both cause headache, tiredness and feeling generally awful, and one often causes the other. Dehydration shows in yo…

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• Tension Headache vs Cluster Headache

  Is it a tension headache or a cluster headache?

  A tension headache is a dull, pressing band across both sides of the head, mild to moderate, and you can usually carry on with your day. A cluster…

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• Anxiety vs Depression

  Is it anxiety or depression?

  Often it is both — the NHS notes that many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety, so this is rarely either/or. Anxiety is dominated…

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• Food Poisoning vs Norovirus

  Is it food poisoning or norovirus?

  You often cannot tell, and the home treatment is identical. Food poisoning usually starts within hours or days of a particular meal and tends to af…

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• Sprain vs Fracture

  Is it a sprain or a broken bone?

  You often cannot tell without an X-ray — the NHS says a badly sprained wrist can be hard to tell apart from a break. Being able to put weight on it…

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• Eczema vs Psoriasis

  Is it eczema or psoriasis?

  Eczema is dry, cracked, intensely itchy skin, commonly on the hands, elbows and knees, and it usually starts in babies and young children. Psoriasi…

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• Viral vs Bacterial Sore Throat

  Is my sore throat viral or bacterial?

  Most sore throats are viral, and the NHS says antibiotics will not usually relieve your symptoms or speed up recovery. A cough, runny nose and hoar…

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