Spring blooms in all its glory and triumphs over an orchestra of coughs, sneezes and sniffles. The symptoms are painfully familiar to chronic allergy sufferers. But at the end of the corona epidemic and at the end of the flu season, how can you tell if this congestion is just an allergy or something more? And what can be done about it? Here is what expert allergists and immunologists told us.
What are the symptoms of allergies versus a virus such as a cold, flu or corona?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but there are some major differences between allergies and viruses. Seasonal allergies, for example, usually attack people who are sensitive to them and may include congestion, sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes. On the other hand, fever, chills or muscle aches usually indicate corona or flu.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America have created a chart to help people understand their symptoms.
The challenge with viruses, including corona, influenza and those that cause cold-like symptoms, is that “it’s almost impossible to differentiate between these viruses in individual patients,” says William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “It is difficult to say that one patient has the flu, another patient has RSV, and the next one has human metapneumonia virus (hMPV), unless by chance there is a large outbreak of all of these at the same time in the same community.”
What clues can help distinguish between a virus and an allergy?
Pay attention to exposure to other patients. “If someone tells me, ‘I’ve never had allergies before, but last week I had dinner with three people who later tested positive for Corona, and now I’m getting symptoms I didn’t experience – congestion, stuffy nose, feeling a little tired – that’s different than someone reporting the same symptoms But with no known exposure to patients, and with a long history of allergies,” says Judy Tversky, an allergist and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
If you’re in doubt, see your family doctor to get tested, says Monica Gandy, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, “but for the most part, all of these viruses are really mild in most people.”
Which test can find the answer – allergy or virus?
Most respiratory viruses manifest in similar ways – fever, chills, body aches, cough, sneezing, congestion, sore throat, hoarseness, headaches and sometimes middle ear infections. But especially in the case of those suffering from underlying diseases, it is sometimes important to know whether it is corona or the flu, for example, because both of these viruses can be treated with antiviral drugs.
Simple tests that can be purchased at pharmacies or obtained from the family doctor, will be able to solve this mystery. Although this is usually not necessary, Gandhi adds that there is also a test that can differentiate between the many viruses that cause colds.
Do allergies increase the risk of contracting something else?
A recently published large-scale international study found that higher levels of pollen in the air are associated with increased rates of corona infection. But experts emphasize that this match is not necessarily causal and warn not to jump to conclusions. Tversky points out that people who suffer from allergies can benefit from wearing a mask, which may play a dual role: “It may prevent not only the inhalation of virus particles, but also the inhalation of pollen.”
What is metapneumonia virus?
Recently we hear more about the hMPV. The virus – along with several other viruses, including RSV, measles and measles – belongs to the paramyxovirus family, and it can cause a wide variety of infections. “It usually only causes a cold,” reassures Gandhi. According to her, severe symptoms may appear in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
The virus, which appears in winter and spring, often affects the upper respiratory tract, causing nasal congestion, cough, shortness of breath and fever. The illness usually lasts between three days and a week. However, in some cases it may progress to the lower respiratory tract, and lead to a more serious disease such as bronchitis, which causes swelling, irritation and accumulation of mucus in the lungs, or to pneumonia (pneumonia – or in English pneumonia – hence its name).
Metapneumonia, which was discovered in 2001, spreads like other viruses, through coughing or sneezing, or by contact with infected objects and then through the eyes, mouth or nose. Like the corona, the virus can spread even without symptoms. Unlike Corona, there is no vaccine for human metapneumonia. “We’re trying to make the patient feel better and make sure their breathing is OK while their body is fighting the virus,” Schaffner said.
What precautions to take?
“Stay away from people who have symptoms,” advises Gandhi. Take care of good hygiene, wash your hands often, and if you are at risk – consider wearing a mask. Most important: if you are sick, stay home.
Before the pandemic, Gandhi said, many people preferred to go to work or school even while they were sick with colds and the flu. According to her, a key lesson that people learned from the Corona years is to isolate themselves when they are sick. “The best thing to do is just stay home when we’re sick.”