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Patients are always asking me - is this a cold or is this allergies? The difference between the two isn't always clear. Both the common cold and allergies can affect your nose, eyes, and ears. There are some ways you can tell them apart as noted below. Sometimes though your provider might want to recommend allergy testing.
The old adage "time will tell" can sometimes offer a nice hint. Look at this:
This graph illustrates the typical progression (or "natural history") of the common cold (or URI - upper respiratory tract infection) as caused by rhinovirus, one of of the most common cold viruses out there.
Look at how long a cough (green) and nasal drainage (blue line) can last in people - over 2 weeks in 20% of the people studied. So, if you have symptoms lasting longer than 10-14 days its time to ask yourself (and maybe your provider) if this is something more than just the common cold.
Here are some other questions to ask yourself when trying to differentiate between a cold and seasonal allergies:
1. Do your muscles ache?
If the answer is yes then you might be having a cold.
2. Do your symptoms come and go througout the year?
If yes then you should think about allergies. This can be tough though since if you have young kids in daycare you know how often they can get a cold. But if your symptoms are more common in the spring, summer, or fall then maybe its seasonal allergies.
3. Do you have a fever?
If yes, then maybe you have a cold. Even though the term "hayfever" is used as a synonym for seasonal allergies, allergies don't cause a real fever! Allergies do not reaise your body temperature to over 100.4 ºF (or 38 ºC).
4. Do your symptoms last about a week?
Then it might be a cold. Look at the graph above for more details.
5. Do your nose and eyes feel itchy?
If yes, then you might have seasonal allergies. However the tricky part here is with perennial allergies (those from most of the year allergen expsoure such as dog or cat dander or dust mites for example) might not have the itchy part.
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