Sniffling, sneezing, fever, body aches - all are tell-tale signs of a cold or flu. When you’re working late with minimal sleep, stressing at work or commuting among thousands of other people, it’s easy to catch something along the way.

How do you know whether you have a cold or the flu? You can tell by the severity of your symptoms, according to USA Today . Sore throat, running nose and coughing are symptoms that a cold and the flu share in common, but the flu lasts longer than a few days and is far more severe with body aches, exhaustion and a fever.

How can you treat either? Get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and use your FSA toward treatment!

How does a Flexible Spending Account help?

You might be wondering how a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) can help with cold and flu symptoms?

• An FSA covers the cost of over-the-counter products and over-the-counter medicines that can alleviate cold and flu symptoms. At FSAstore.com, there is a separate Cold/Allergy category selling FSA eligible products including OTC products, warm steam vaporizers, saline solution, and nasal sprays. Browse our list of other FSA eligible expenses.
• Cough drops, tablets and other cold meds items (Vicks NyQuil, Robitussin, Tylenol) are FSA eligible!
• If you’d like to schedule an appointment with a doctor or other health care specialist, you’ll be able to use your FSA toward deductibles, co-insurance and co-pays.
• If you'd like to monitor a fever, thermometers are FSA eligible as well. You can find these at FSA Store under diagnostic products.
• You can also get a flu shot with your FSA.

Shop for FSA eligible products at FSAstore.com – including for a cold!