Allergies? Or Coronavirus??

This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen, and never disregard medical advice or delay seeing help because of something you read on this website

Let me tell you about last weekend.  The skies were sunny.  The temperatures were summer-like. The Man of the House cut the grass for the first time this year.  The breezes were blowing.  The pollen was flying.  And me... I somehow managed to not take my allergy medication or use my daily asthma-control medicine on Friday night.  Which meant that I was sniffling, had a scratchy throat and was feeling a little tight chested

I'm not going to lie.  I. Was. Freaking. Out.  Even though every logical part of me knew it was allergies, that didn't stop the Coronavirus panicked portion of my brain from going on marathon trips to "what if" town.

No one wants to needlessly worry they may have Covid-19 if it's nothing more serious than spring allergies.  On the other hand, no one wants to brush off early symptoms of the virus as being "just allergies", potentially putting others at risk.

First of all, whether you think it's coronavirus, a cold, or allergies - you should already be following CDC guidelines to help reduce the spread of the illness - including social distancing, hand washing, and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces. Having said that...

How do we know whether our symptoms are allergies or Covid-19?

The biggest clue seems to be the presence of a fever (or lack thereof).  In most cases of the novel Coronavirus, there is a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more.  Seasonal allergies typically don't cause a fever.

I found the following chart very helpful in easing my concerns about what I was experiencing.

 For example, along with some mild asthma symptoms, I had sneezing, sinus congestion, but no fever.  Clearly allergies!

A little Zyrtec, regularly using my asthma medication, and a day of rain to wash away some of the pollen had me feeling good as new.

If you are a allergy sufferer, take your allergy meds.  Make sureyour asthma is well controlled.  If you have symptoms that may be related to Covid-19, or if you have any doubts, talk with your health care provider or local department of health.

Stay home.  Stay safe.  Better days are coming.