Do you have a cold, seasonal flu, coronavirus or just allergies? Here’s how to tell.
Just as we’re all supposed to be paying extra attention to coughs, sore throats and headaches to spot early signs of the COVID-19 coronavirus, allergy season also is ongoing.
What do we do?
Earlier this spring, we checked with Dr. Rachel Roper, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, for advice on how to tell the difference between allergies, colds, flu and coronavirus.
Roper shared a handy chart outlining the symptoms of coronavirus, cold and flu, sourced to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We found a similar chart comparing colds to allergies. Since then, the CDC has updated its list of coronavirus symptoms, and that information is updated here.
Here’s what you need to know.
▪ The coronavirus symptoms you should be aware of are cough (dry) and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever or chills, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea and new loss of the sense of taste or smell.
The CDC says symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Neither the CDC nor the World Health Organization have listed sneezing as a symptom of coronavirus (common with colds and allergies).
For people with mild cases of coronavirus, it “could be virtually indistinguishable from the common cold or seasonal flu” without testing, Dr. Jin Dongyan of the University of Hong Kong told The New York Times. Even more confounding, some people infected with the virus may not show any symptoms at all.
Some researchers found digestive symptoms, including diarrhea, to be a primary complaint by nearly half the people in the hospital for COVID-19. That study was published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. Even more recently, doctors have noticed some COVID-19 patients have a frostbite-type rash on their toes.
If you have trouble breathing, a persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or the inability to rouse, or bluish lips or face, call 911 or seek medical help immediately.
▪ Signs of a cold commonly include sneezing, a runny/stuffy nose, aches and a sore throat. A cough can accompany a cold (particularly in later stages of a cold), but headaches and fevers are considered rare, and colds do not cause diarrhea or shortness of breath.
▪ With airborne allergies, common symptoms include a runny/stuffy nose, sneezing and itchy eyes. You will sometimes have a sore throat with allergies and sometimes a cough. Sinus congestion can also lead to headaches. You should never have muscle aches or fever with allergies.
▪ Seasonal flu has the symptoms most similar to coronavirus: coughing, fever, fatigue, chills, body aches and headaches are common. You’ll sometimes have a runny/stuffy nose and sore throat, but adults should not have diarrhea or shortness of breath (diarrhea can be present in children with flu). The loss of the sense of taste or smell is not associated with the flu.
Treat mild coroanvirus symptoms at home — and isolate
Mild coronavirus symptoms can be treated at home.
Use over-the-counter medications you would use to combat a cold or flu: Tylenol for fever and body aches, then medications to treat cough, sore throat and runny nose. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
A digital thermometer is useful to track your temperature.
“Sometimes with some infections, fever will show up before other symptoms, so if someone thinks they may have been exposed, they can check their temperature morning and night to watch for the first signs, and then make sure to isolate themselves,” Roper said.
But doctors have also noted that not all coronavirus patients have fever.
As noted above, if you have trouble breathing, a persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or the inability to rouse, or bluish lips or face, call 911 or seek medical help immediately.
Dr. Roper stressed that isolation is the key to containing the spread of coronavirus.
“We can isolate and quarantine now, or we can wait until we have hundreds dead and then isolate and quarantine,” Roper said. “Early action saves lives.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Do you have a cold, seasonal flu, coronavirus or just allergies? Here’s how to tell.."
