It's that time of year when it seems that you or someone you know is sick all the time. With many of winter's common sicknesses having similar symptoms, it's often hard to know what the sickness is.

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You definitely want to prevent the spread of the flu, especially, and colds as well, so it's important to know how to identify the difference between the flu, colds, and allergies. Because you can show up at the Christmas party if you know it's allergies, but you don't want to risk being a ‘typhoid Mary’ and getting everyone else sick if you have something contagious.

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In Is it a Cold, the Flu, or Something Else? Fox News Health offers some very handy tips for telling the flu (both seasonal and swine), colds, and allergies apart. Below is a summary of their advice:

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• Seasonal flu symptoms. The key symptom that shows up with the flu is a fever that comes on suddenly. Chest discomfort, aches and pains, and exhaustion are also clues. Populations who are at particular risk from the flu, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and the chronically ill, should be extra vigilant about knowing if what they have is the flu.

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• Swine flu or H1N1 symptoms. What makes these flu strains different from the regular seasonal flu is the accompanying symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms make it especially important to stay hydrated.

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• Cold symptoms. Often, the identifying feature of a cold is nasal congestion. Noticeably absent when you have a cold are the body aches and high fever characteristic of the flu.

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• Allergy symptoms. While allergies can cause several of the above symptoms (minus fevers), itching tends to be a symptom unique to allergies. While spring or fall tend to bring on the most allergy trouble, the buildup of indoor allergens in winter can trigger allergies.

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