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.
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
More Blogs you may Like:
Are you getting enough Vitamin D?