3 minute read
although the symptoms and immune system reactions are different, it can be easy to confuse the two. so how do you know if your sniffles are signs of covid-19 or just seasonal allergies? we asked dr. harold kim, president of the canadian society of allergy and clinical immunology(casci).
one overlapping symptom could be the decreased sense of smell. anosmia, the sudden loss of smell, has been reported as a common marker of covid-19 and if your nose is congested from allergies, it will also be hard to smell anything. you can differentiate this by the mucus fluid. covid-19 patients who’ve lost their sense of smell reported no nasal obstruction or rhinorrhea (runny nose), whereas people with allergies will likely have runny nose.
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with sneezing, nasal discharge will go further than normal breathing. consider wearing a mask when you’re out of the house,” says kim. “it’s possible that wearing a mask may help a bit in terms of stopping nasal discharge from sneezing from going further.”
if you don’t have a mask, kim recommends people with allergies have tissues handy to prevent droplet transmission. sneeze into the tissue, immediately dispose of it, and clean your hands with hand sanitizer right away. if you’re near others and feel a sneeze coming on, try to keep away from them to prevent getting nasal discharge on them.
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if you have allergies, the best thing you can do is stay indoors — something we’re already doing anyway.
