How Can You Tell if Your Sneeze is From an Allergy or a Cold?
(HealthDay News) – The cold season is coming; the allergy season is here.
Just as in the spring, the uncomfortable periods of sneezes, runny (or stuffed up) noses, watery eyes and aches all over your body overlap.
It can be mighty difficult to distinguish between a cold and allergies, but there are subtle differences. And there are some ways to tell which one is making you or your loved one suffer.
Colds are usually accompanied by a low-grade fever, says Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans .
Upper respiratory tract allergies can cause runny eyes as well as an itchy, runny or stuffy nose, but generally not a fever.
"The difference is a cold will put people to bed because they're running a fever, and they feel crummy all over. Allergies cause a kind of chronic uncomfortableness," Kemmerly says.
A cold will also get better and go away, sometimes in as little as three-to-five days, while allergies linger until the person is no longer exposed to the allergen, be it mold, mildew or plants.
A whole host of over-the-counter medications purport to take care of the range of allergy and cold symptoms, but be careful which ones you choose, Kemmerly warns. Steer clear of combination medications unless you know what all the ingredients are and why you're taking them. This also includes over-the-counter (OTC) medications in diluted forms of drugs that once were prescription medicines.
In particular, people with hypertension should not take decongestants, while people with prostate problems or glaucoma should avoid antihistamines unless they've gotten an all-clear from their physician. Acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) can also present a problem, not necessarily in and of itself, but in combination remedies, which can cause overdoses, Kemmerly says.
Single-compound products are a much safer bet and they're cheaper, she adds.
"It can be very confusing," she says. "You want to stick to single compounds or know what you're taking and why you're taking them. Read the labels."
On the Web
The U.S. government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has fact sheets on both the common cold and allergies.
SOURCES:
Sandra Kemmerly, M.D., infectious and tropical disease specialists and Governor of the Louisiana Chapter of the American College of Physicians, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans
Author:
Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
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