As the deep winter chill sets in, and you start feeling yourself coming down with a cold, how do you know if it's a cold or the flu, and when do you pay a visit to the emergency room?

We are in the middle of our peak outbreak time when it comes to the flu season, and that's causing some back up at local hospitals.

Recent social media reports of ambulance line ups up to ten deep have been reported at the Red Deer and Lacombe emergency rooms, as the back log is apparently due to people going to the E.R. for flu like symptoms.

Dr. Digby Horne is the Medical Officer of Health for the Central Zone, and he says if you have the flu, but are not in one of the most vulnerable groups of people, you should only go to the E.R. if you have extreme symptoms.

“People that are otherwise healthy, they can rest and try to maintain their fluids and watch their progress. But for other people who are at am increased risk, if they are getting sicker they may need treatment because of their underline condition.”

Not everyone has to go get checked out when they start feeling worse, as most normally healthy people can often take care of themselves when they are feeling sick.

But as Dr. Horne explains, even if you are not in the group, you should go in if your condition worsens over time.

“If you don’t have risk factors but are getting continually worse and you are not able to maintain fluids and you are having difficulty breathing you should get assessed, because one of the things that can happen is you can get your influenza, and that can be complicated by a subsequent bacterial pneumonia. People can worsen over several days and that’s when you’ve got to get seen.”

There is still plenty of time to get vaccinated, which are usually available until the end of April at any hospital, doctor’s office, or pharmacy's, and are free for Albertans 6 months of age or older.