I Can't Stop Sneezing! Is It COVID?

By Cindy Williams, RN

Coordinator, Health Ministries

Achoo! Achoo! Runny nose, congestion, itchy, red, watery eyes. What is wrong with me? Is it a cold or COVID-19? Maybe hay fever or seasonal allergies? The symptoms of all three of these conditions can overlap and make it hard to know what you are dealing with. It is rare to have a fever, difficulty breathing, or diarrhea with a cold or seasonal allergy so the presence of those symptoms should let you know that you need isolate yourself and get tested for COVID-19. Difficulty breathing is not usually associated with seasonal allergies (unless you have asthma). Itchy eyes usually go with allergies and a cough with a cold. The time of year when symptoms occur can also help to determine what is happening.

Seasonal allergies occur because the immune system mistakes something typically harmless for a dangerous intruder. It produces antibodies against that substance. Your body reacts, often strongly, when you are exposed again. The antibodies cause the release of chemicals, including histamine, which cause those annoying symptoms. Triggers in the springtime are a wide variety of trees, flowers, and grasses. Ragweed commonly causes late summer and fall allergies. Sagebrush, tumbleweed, Russian thistle, and pigweed also trigger fall allergy symptoms.

Environmental and climate factors can influence the severity of allergy symptoms. Many tree, grass, and ragweed pollens love cool nights and warm days. Molds, another common trigger, grow well in high humidity and heat. Windy, warm days can cause pollen counts to quickly rise. Rain will often wash away pollen but then plants grow even more quickly after the rain ends. Pollen counts are usually highest in the morning. And, unfortunately for allergy sufferers, moving to a new place only helps for a brief time.

I will look at options for how to cope with seasonal allergies in the next health tip. There are several things that can be done to reduce exposure as well as relieve symptoms.

References

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-it-covid-19-a-cold-or-seasonal-allergies/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351497#:~:text=Allergies%20occur%20when%20your%20immune,produces%20substances%20known%20as%20antibodies.

This article is part of a continuing series of health during these COVID times. For other articles, please see www.uccsda.org/healthministries.

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash