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Is it a cold, flu, COVID-19 or Allergies?

Is it a cold, flu, COVID-19 or Allergies?

 

It’s time of year again, allergy season. 

You’ve probably been through this before, the all too familiar nasal congestion, sneezing and sore throat, but with the current COVID-19 pandemic circulating you’re mind starts to worry that you might have picked it up somewhere.

Here are some key differences.

 

Do you have a fever?

The flu, COVID-19 and sometimes a common cold could result in a fever. Allergies don’t present with fever.

 

Are you sneezing and coughing?

Coughing is one of those overlapping symptoms in colds/flus and allergies. However, sneezing is common in allergies, and it often happens in a higher frequency (2-3x in a row).   If you are sneezing it’s highly unlikely you have COVID-19.

 

Do you have a runny nose?

A runny nose is also one of those symptoms that happens in colds and allergies.  But in colds, symptoms of a runny nose usually don’t happen concurrently with sneezing.  The progression of a cold usually starts with sneezing, then a runny nose and nasal congestion, whereas, all these symptoms occur at once in allergies.

 

Do you have any digestive upset?

Seasonal allergies don’t cause digestive upset, while diarrhea could be present in the flu and COVID-19.

 

Still unclear check out the table below. 

Health Services

 

Symptoms

COVID-19

Cold

Flu

Allergies

Fever

Common

Rare

Common

No

Fatigue

Sometimes

Sometimes

Common

No

Cough

Common

Mild

Common

Sometimes

Sneezing

No

Common

No

Common

Muscle Aches

Sometimes

Common

Common

No

Runny Nose

Rare

Common

Sometimes

Common

Sore Throat

Sometimes

Common

Sometimes

No

Diarrhea

Rare

No

Sometimes

No

Headaches

Sometimes

Rare

Common

No

Shortness of Breath

Common

No

No

No

Itchy Eyes

No

No

No

Common

If you are still unclear, please call your healthcare provider for guidance.

Janna Fung, Naturopathic Doctor, Oakville

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