It’s spring and that means sniffling, sneezing and coughing for many allergy sufferers. The tricky part this year is distinguishing allergies from COVID-19. How can you tell them apart? There are a couple telltale signs.Cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fatigue and loss of taste and smell. They’re a familiar sign for allergy sufferers that spring is here. But they are also all coronavirus symptoms.Dr. Sandra Hong with the Cleveland Clinic says there are other symptoms, however, that mean it’s not allergies.”With coronavirus symptoms, very frequently they’ll come on with fevers. If you have a fever, it’s not going to be allergies. If you have diarrhea, that’s also not allergies. That’s something completely different,” she said.Hong says another good way to decipher between the two is itching. If your eyes, nose, throat and ears are itching like crazy, it’s likely allergies.Also ask yourself if you get these same symptoms every year? If the answer is yes, it’s probably allergies. How long you suffer is also a clue.”Typically with coronavirus the symptoms will last for a couple weeks. They can sometimes be lingering, but typically not like allergies where they can be months on end, a whole season,” Hong said. If you know you have spring allergies, you are probably familiar with what makes you feel miserable. But if any new symptoms arise, experts say it’s a good idea to contact a healthcare professional, just to be safe.
BOSTON —
It’s spring and that means sniffling, sneezing and coughing for many allergy sufferers. The tricky part this year is distinguishing allergies from COVID-19.
How can you tell them apart? There are a couple telltale signs.
Cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fatigue and loss of taste and smell. They’re a familiar sign for allergy sufferers that spring is here. But they are also all coronavirus symptoms.
Dr. Sandra Hong with the Cleveland Clinic says there are other symptoms, however, that mean it’s not allergies.
“With coronavirus symptoms, very frequently they’ll come on with fevers. If you have a fever, it’s not going to be allergies. If you have diarrhea, that’s also not allergies. That’s something completely different,” she said.
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Hong says another good way to decipher between the two is itching. If your eyes, nose, throat and ears are itching like crazy, it’s likely allergies.
Also ask yourself if you get these same symptoms every year? If the answer is yes, it’s probably allergies.
How long you suffer is also a clue.
“Typically with coronavirus the symptoms will last for a couple weeks. They can sometimes be lingering, but typically not like allergies where they can be months on end, a whole season,” Hong said.
If you know you have spring allergies, you are probably familiar with what makes you feel miserable. But if any new symptoms arise, experts say it’s a good idea to contact a healthcare professional, just to be safe.