Cold or allergy? Both colds and allergies usually start with a runny nose. A sore throat and watery eyes also appear at the same time. However, the same symptoms can mean two different conditions. Learn how to tell the difference between a cold and an allergy.

Contents:

  1. Allergy or cold: characteristic symptoms of a cold
  2. Allergy or cold: characteristic symptoms of allergy
  3. Allergy or cold: how to tell the difference?

How to distinguish an allergy from a cold?A cold can be caused by one of hundreds of different viruses. When the virus enters the body, the immune system attacks it. The effects of this immune response are runny nose and cough.

Viruses that cause colds are transmitted by droplets, e.g. when sneezing or coughing a cold person. After a few weeks, the immune system fights the virus and we can be he althy again.

In turn, allergy is the result of an overactive immune system. For some reason, the allergy's immune system treats harmless substances such as dust and pollen as an intruder and attacks them. The body then releases chemicals that cause the nasal mucosa to swell, cough and sneeze.

Allergies are not contagious, some may only inherit a tendency to develop them. Unfortunately, allergy symptoms can last as long as we are exposed to the allergenic allergen, that is, even for the whole year.

Allergy or cold: characteristic symptoms of a cold

  • lasts from 3 to 14 days,
  • occurs most often in autumn and winter

Symptoms of a cold appear a few days after being infected with the virus and include:

  • common: cough and sore throat
  • rare: headaches
  • increased temperature (the so-called low-grade fever - 37-38 degrees C)
  • sneezing
  • nasal discharge which is usually yellow or greenish in color
  • stuffy nose
  • osteoarticular pain
  • feeling unwell.

People with a cold rarely complain of itchy and watery eyes.

In the case of bacterial infections of the upper respiratory tract, the temperature rises even to 39degrees, and pain is usually more severe.

Allergy or cold: characteristic symptoms of allergy

  • lasts as long as we are exposed to contact with an allergenic allergen, i.e. even the whole year,
  • most often occurs in spring and summer.

Allergy symptoms may appear immediately after exposure to an allergen and include:

  • frequent itching and watery eyes
  • light to colorless nasal discharge that does not turn yellow or greenish
  • itchy nose
  • nasal congestion
  • sneezing
  • occasional cough and sore throat.

The allergy is not a headache and usually there is no low-grade fever.

Read also:

  • Allergic cough. How to treat allergic cough?
  • Allergic angina or allergic pharyngitis
  • Grass pollen allergy - symptoms. Which grasses sensitize?
  • Tree pollen allergy
  • Hair allergy - symptoms, causes and treatment
According to an expertdr hab. n. med. Lidia Zawadzka-Głos, otolaryngologist at the MML Medical Center

What to pay special attention to in order to distinguish an ENT or allergological problem from an ordinary cold?

dr hab. n. med. Lidia Zawadzka-Głos: There are some features of the so-called common cold, which initially allow the parent to determine whether it is an infection or an exacerbation of allergies. Two types of infection should be distinguished here: viral and bacterial. In the case of viral infection, symptoms such as bone and joint pain, sore throat, runny nose, cough, body temperature within 37-38 degrees C and general malaise occur. On the other hand, during a bacterial infection the temperature is much higher, it rises to 39 degrees C, and the pain is strictly localized, for example, in the ear or throat area, there is also a raid on the tonsils during angina. In the case of allergological problems, we observe a constantly occurring symptom that we can already identify on the basis of previous interviews. These may be symptoms that are stable over the years. For such problems, there is usually no temperature rise.

Allergy or cold: how to tell the difference?

In the case of viral infection of the upper respiratory tract and inhalation allergy, there is a discharge from the nose, sneezing, coughing. A runny nose makes you feel unwell with allergies and colds. However, there are some features that differ.

  • Normal rhinitisit develops gradually and lasts shorter, often accompanied by increased temperature. Allergic rhinitis appears suddenly in response to irritation with the allergen, the discharge is watery and does not change.
  • The allergy usually goes without a fever.
  • Hay fever is always repeated at the same time of the year in the case of seasonal allergies. A patient with mite allergy can have it all year round - it is exacerbated by contact with mite habitats such as bedding, blankets, carpets, and upholstered furniture. The same is true of other year-round inhaled allergens (dander, mold). In the case of an ordinary cold, this is not the case.
  • The severity of pollen allergy symptoms decreases or disappears during rain, as it cleans the air of pollen. Allergic to dust mites can be reduced by removing or cleaning thoroughly the places where house dust mites occur.
  • In allergic rhinitis, runny nose is usually watery and clear. With colds with a cold - the initial watery discharge thickens and turns yellowish after a few days.
  • In pollen allergy, the eyes are often watery, itchy, stinging and red. This rarely happens with regular rhinitis.

Category:

Allergies