You’re sneezing and coughing. Is that allergies or COVID?

It’s a complicated time for pollen-sensitive Southern Californians.

Spring has arrived, bringing with it the sneezing, coughing and wheezing triggered by seasonal allergic reactions. The Santa Ana winds anticipated to gust this week will trigger their share of stuffy noses and scratchy eyes as effectively.

However on the identical time, a coronavirus subvariant dubbed BA.2 is gaining steam, reversing the regular decline in COVID-19 circumstances we’d seen because the Omicron variant precipitated an enormous winter surge.

So should you’re working your means by way of a field of tissues, you might be questioning — is that this pollen or one thing worse? (And by that I don’t imply mud mites.)

Consultants say that it might be more durable to differentiate an allergic response from a coronavirus an infection should you’re totally vaccinated, given the safety you’ll have in opposition to a extra extreme case of COVID. However, they level to some telltale indicators that can assist you resolve whether or not to get examined or see a health care provider.

It’s useful to start out with a have a look at what allergic reactions are and the way the physique responds to them.

An allergy is an overreaction by your immune system to an in any other case innocent substance, similar to tree pollen or cat dander, that you just inhale, swallow or contact. The immune system interprets the substance as a risk, spawning an antibody particular to it (or mobilizing one, if the antibody already exists).

At a really excessive degree, that’s additionally how the physique reacts to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Within the case of an allergy, although, the antibodies stimulate the cells within the affected space to launch an extreme quantity of histamine, a chemical that (amongst different issues) causes your nostril to run and your eyes to itch because the physique tries to expel the unwelcome substance. Left untreated, a runny nostril may also trigger a trickle of mucus from the sinus into the throat (“post-nasal drip”) that may add a cough to your sneezes.

Coughing is an indication of a COVID-19 an infection too, as is congestion, stated Dr. Rita Kachru, part chief of medical immunology and allergy at UCLA. That’s not due to histamines, nevertheless; there’s a totally totally different mechanism at work when the coronavirus invades your airways. All the identical, it’s a part of the signs overlap that the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention illustrated with this chart on Twitter:

Because the CDC notes, there are no less than 4 variations that might distinguish your allergic reactions from COVID. Fever, physique aches and lack of a way of style or odor are frequent amongst COVID sufferers however not allergy victims. Additionally, folks with COVID might really feel wanting breath, however you wouldn’t ordinarily expertise that with allergic reactions until you had bronchial asthma, the CDC says.

Simply as fever is often a telltale signal of an an infection, an itchy nostril is often a giveaway for allergic reactions. “You’ll by no means get itchiness from a virus or micro organism,” Kachru stated.

However not each coronavirus an infection performs out the identical means, so the absence of fever, physique aches or disconnected style buds isn’t a positive signal that you just don’t have COVID.

That’s why the very first thing you need to do is think about your signs in context, stated Dr. Dean Metcalfe, a principal allergic illness investigator on the Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Ailments. Do your allergic reactions often decide up round this time of 12 months? Are you having signs past the standard sniffling and sneezing? Have you ever been round any person affected by the flu or COVID-19?

“By and huge, if you get the flu or COVID-19, the predominant issues will not be this intense itching you get with allergic reactions,” Metcalfe stated, including, “These issues that recommend a wider inflammatory response exterior the higher airways are what it’s important to look out for.”

One other check: When you’ve got allergic reactions that plague you all 12 months, similar to a sensitivity to mud or to your cat, you need to have an concept of your ordinary degree of distress. What you’re searching for, stated Kachru, is “a rise within the signs or a shift within the signs.” Perhaps there’s extra coughing, much more drainage or discoloration within the draining, she stated.

Additionally, you probably have bronchial asthma and your signs worsen, “you really want to see your physician” even should you’re unsure whether or not it’s COVID, Metcalfe stated.

The variations blur, nevertheless, should you’ve been totally vaccinated. On the optimistic aspect, Metcalfe stated, “you aren’t at excessive threat for one thing extreme.” He added, “You don’t fear an excessive amount of until you get fever, chills [or] myalgia,” the muscle aches and pains that may accompany COVID.

Kachru pointed to 1 different potential supply of non-COVID distress in Southern California this weekend: the highly effective winds which can be anticipated to blow by way of the world. People who find themselves delicate to the onslaught of airborne particles, diesel fumes and air strain adjustments will expertise vasomotor rhinitis, which she described as a extra nerve-related challenge that leads to an irritated, runny and congested nostril.

Right here’s yet another reminder: “At all times err on the aspect of testing,” Kachru stated. In case you suspect your tormentor is COVID and never the flowers blooming in your yard or the Santa Ana winds, you may nonetheless get examined free of charge, order a free check equipment from the federal authorities, or acquire an at-home check equipment paid for by your insurer.