 [ Symptoms ] can a cold develop into the flu [ Disease ] the cold and the flu are caused by different viruses so a cold can not turn into the flu but there is nothing stopping you from getting a cold and the flu at the same time or a few days later you catch a cold and the flu in very similar ways – being around someone who is sick or touching something like a phone or door knob that someone touched and contaminated with a virus the cold is generally a mild infection that lasts for four to five days and gets better on its own sometimes you may feel sicker after a few days if the cold leads to a sinus infection or bronchitis the flu is worse and hits you like a ton of bricks one minute you feel fine and a few hours later it hurts to get out of bed the flu usually resolves on its own after a week or so but can also lead to a sinus infection or bronchitis and unusually even pneumonia neither the cold not the flu typically has nausea or other stomach problems if you have those symptoms there is a good chance you have another type of infection or something else the best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine but you also need to wash your hands often to help prevent spreading the cold or flu to yourself