The springtime means it’s allergy season, and it can be hard to distinguish what could be allergies and what is COVID-19.
The rainy weather drops pollen out of the sky, which suppresses allergies, according to Dr. Tucker Harris, an ear, nose and throat surgeon with St. Joseph’s Health.
The downside is that can prolong symptoms or delay allergy season, he said. While the rain washes away a lot of the pollen irritants, it can increase mold irritants.
Allergies can pop up at any time.
“The kids especially, so they’re the ones that are more likely to have no symptoms last year and all of the sudden they go outside this year and now they’ve allergy-type symptoms or maybe even COVID symptoms,” said Dr. Harris. “They’re the most likely to have the phenomenon where they were perfectly fine last year and now they’re sick.”
Here’s how Dr. Harris says you can distinguish between allergies and the coronavirus.
Allergy symptoms:
- Watery eyes
- Watery nose
- Itchiness
COVID-19:
- Fever
- Sudden loss of smell
“If you’re at all suspicious, it’s simple enough to get tested for COVID,” said Dr. Harris. “It’s probably easier to do that than to get tested for allergies, to be honest with you. If you’re at all concerned it’s COVID, just go get tested.”
There are a slew of COVID-19 test sites across the region. Tests are available at most hospitals, doctors' offices, urgent care centers and pharmacies.