Allergies Or Coronavirus? Local Doctor Shares Distinguishing Factors
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Is it allergies or COVID-19? Seasonal allergy season coinciding with the COVID-19 illness could confuse some patients.
"It happened at the wrong time because there are some overlapping symptoms between allergies and COVID-19," said Dr. Swapnil Vaidya, an allergy doctor and immunologist at Advance Allergy and Asthma in Fort Worth.
Wise County resident David Hatley has suffered from allergies since he was a boy, so while he knows his symptoms, he understands why some may be concerned.
"You get the draining and then you start coughing and then of course with the flu season going, you don't know which is which," Hatley said
Dr. Vaidya said while coughing and shortness soft breath are common to both conditions, fever is a distinguishing factor.
"You almost never get fever if it's allergies, unless you are also sick with the common cold or flu or a viral infection along with your allergies. But allergies by themselves do not cause fever," Vaidya said.
Secondly, allergy symptoms may go away with medication, but symptoms may persist in a viral infection.
Another sign it may not be coronavirus is sneezing.
"Runny nose or rhinorrhea in medical terms is not a very prominent symptom in COVID-19. But you always need to be careful. There's always outliers," he said.
If you are confused or concerned, please call your doctor and make sure to self-quarantine yourself.