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Is It Allergies or Coronavirus?

What you need to know when the slightest sniffle can be more frightening than ever

Robert Roy Britt
Elemental

A photo of a baby covering his face with tissues that he’s taken out of a tissue box.
Photo: Cavan Images/Getty Images

EEvery year about this time, cold and flu season starts to wind down just as seasonal allergies begin ramping up, starting in warmer regions and moving northward as spring unfolds. People with pollen allergies — about 8% of U.S. adults — go through a yearly ritual of being unsure what they’ve got until several boxes of empty tissues and red, itchy eyes bring on the aha moment.

But this year, Covid-19 adds another confounding mix of symptoms to wonder and worry about. Among the differences that can help a person figure out what they might have: Allergies tend to bring the same symptoms every year, and they’re atypical for Covid-19 — runny nose and sneezing along with itchy eyes, nose, and throat. While coughing is a common symptom of moderate to severe Covid-19 cases, sneezing is not common (a study of early cases in China found nasal congestion in just 4.8% of diagnosed cases).

Dr. Robert Salata, a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University who is seeing Covid-19 patients at the university hospital, said he has seen “some but a small percentage” of cases involving sneezing.

“People typically are familiar with their seasonal allergy symptoms, so it’s unlikely you…

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Responses (4)

What are your thoughts?

I suffer from seasonal allergies. Helpful information here. Thanks for sharing.

3

Why is asthma not part of this? When you have allergies listed — these can go hand in hand with asthma. Also, allergies are NOT only seasonal — I have allergies year round with asthma. I’d be interested in a chart that included both of these.

Unless you are a doctor, you don’t need to put yourself in a position of guessing if we have C19 or allergies or both. That is why you call your doctor if unsure. Medical advice should be left to Dr.s not random bloggers.
According to Dr. Sur, above
“I…