Is it Allergies or a Cold?
Questions from our patients:
Can I catch the same cold twice?
How do I tell the difference between allergies and a cold?
Should I call in sick?
Do masks help with allergies?
Is there a right and wrong way to blow your nose?
Most of us are very well versed on the symptoms of COVID these days with transmissions being low in the majority of the US, and the NJ counties of Hunterdon, Morris and Sommerset all recording medium levels (check here for the most up to date CDC reporting for anywhere in the US). But…..
Flowering trees and grasses are blanketing our beautiful landscapes with pollen right now, leaving patients with a respiratory illness to wonder: Is it a cold or just springtime allergies?
It certainly can be very confusing!
Before I clarify some of the myths and tell-tale signs to help you figure out what’s going on, I hope you enjoyed last week’s newsletter on Tips for rethinking your diet, physical activity, and body image this Spring. If you missed it, you can use this link, here.
A runny, yet stuffy nose. An annoying cough. A scratchy throat. At this time of year, many patients want to know…. is it a cold or seasonal allergies, and what should I and shouldn’t I do about it?
Since both the common cold virus and allergies can linger year-round, flare up more regularly during certain times of the year and share similar symptoms, it can be hard to know exactly what’s happening when the sniffling starts.
Some estimates show that people in the U.S. suffer from 1 billion colds each year. And when it comes to allergies, as many as 30% of adults and 40% of children have them.
So, how can you tell the difference between cold symptoms and seasonal allergy symptoms?
Read on for more information on my suggestions for self-care considerations; telling the difference between a cold and allergies; whether you can catch the same cold twice; and much more…
What Are Colds and Allergies?
They have different causes. You get a cold when a tiny living thing called a virus gets into your body. There are hundreds of different types that can get you sick.
Once a cold virus gets inside you, your immune system, the body's defense against germs, launches a counter-attack. It's this response that brings on the classic symptoms like a cough or stuffed up nose.
The viruses that cause colds are contagious. You can pick them up when someone who's infected sneezes, coughs, or shakes hands with you. After a couple of weeks, at the most, your immune system fights off the illness and you should stop having symptoms.
It's a different story with allergies. They're caused by an overactive immune system. For some reason, your body mistakes harmless things, such as dust or pollen, for germs and mounts an attack on them.
When that happens, your body releases chemicals such as histamine, just as it does when fighting a cold. This can cause a swelling in the passageways of your nose, and you'll start sneezing and coughing.
Unlike colds, allergies aren't contagious, though some people may inherit a tendency to get them.
Differences Between Colds and Allergies
Take stock of your symptoms and how long they last to help you decide what's causing your trouble.
How Long It Lasts:
Cold = 3-14 days
Allergies = Days to months, as long as you're in contact with the allergy trigger and a short time after
When It Happens:
Cold = At any time
Allergies = Any time of the year -- although the appearance of some allergy triggers is seasonal
When It Starts:
Cold = Symptoms take a few days to appear after infection with the virus
Allergies = Symptoms can begin immediately after contact with allergy triggers
See the below chart for similarities and differences of a cold or allergy symptoms:
With both allergies and colds, it’s typical to have congestion or a runny nose, and to sneeze often. You may also feel tired and drowsy. But there are several other symptoms that don’t often overlap between allergies and a cold. Here are some of the telltale differences between cold symptoms and allergy symptoms.
Allergies follow a pattern and symptoms tend to stick around longer:
If you have allergies, your symptoms will flare up at certain times throughout the year when the allergens you’re sensitive to are present. For example, if you have a tree pollen allergy, your symptoms will first appear in the early spring.
This also means that your symptoms can last for several weeks until that particular allergy season has ended. To put that into perspective, colds usually only last about a week.
Cold viruses are present all year, so you can catch one at any time. However, the winter cold season is when getting sick is more likely.
Allergies do not cause fevers:
People often wonder if allergies can cause a fever. The answer is no. Allergies cannot cause a fever, though you could have an allergy flare at the same time you’re experiencing a fever from another infection.
With a cold, your temperature can run warmer, but typically it will be less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A wet, hacking cough screams a cold:
While a cough is common for both allergy flares and colds, the type of cough for each is different. A cold cough is wet and hacking, and often produces mucus or phlegm that gets progressively thicker, often taking on a green or yellow tinge.
Allergy-related coughs usually feel like you have a tickle in your throat. That’s because allergens often irritate the lining of your nose, which triggers your nasal passages to create a watery mucus. This can drip out of your nose and down the back of your throat, creating that tickling sensation.
Itchy eyes, ears, nose and throat usually signals allergies:
Allergies have a significant itch factor. If you’re experiencing itchy eyes, ears, nose or throat, it’s almost certainly allergies. That’s because the same allergens that can cause other symptoms like sneezing or coughing, can also affect the lining of your eyes.
Allergies rarely cause sore throats or body aches:
The only ache you may feel with allergies is a headache from all that congestion. Your throat may also feel dry or scratching. But if you’re experiencing a sore throat or mild body aches, they’re more likely a sign of a bad cold.
Can allergies cause chills?
No. If you have chills, it’s more likely you have a cold, the flu or another infection (depending on your other symptoms).
What should I do if I think I have a cold or seasonal allergies?
Start with some home remedies:
When you start feeling icky, some simple home remedies can provide temporary relief. For starters, try to get more rest. Both allergies and colds can cause tiredness, so listen to your body and take it easy.
Also, take advantage of saltwater to soothe irritated nasal passages and scratchy or sore throats.
For your nose, use a neti pot. A neti pot can be picked up at any local drugstore or online, and typically comes with packets to mix with warm, distilled water to create a saltwater solution to pour through your nasal passages.
For your throat, simply mix a quarter or half teaspoon of table salt into an 8-ounce glass of warm water. Take a sip and gargle for a few seconds like you would with mouthwash. Then spit and repeat until the solution is gone. You can do this a couple times a day.
Use tea with honey for a sore throat, and staying well hydrated and well rested.
Can You Actually Catch the Same Cold Twice?
Sometimes it sure feels like it.
After slogging through a cold, you can finally breathe again...right as you start to hear sneezes, sniffles, and throat clearing from your partner, cubicle mate, or someone else who’s basically always in your space. Looks like your old cold has a new home.
The last thing you want is to get steamrolled again by the very illness you just kicked. But is that even possible? Here’s the science behind catching the same cold twice.
First, you should know that several different and extremely disrespectful viruses can cause the common cold.
They include rhinovirus (the usual source of the common cold), respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, coronavirus, and metapneumovirus.
Each virus also has subcategories of genetic diversity called serotypes. Rhinovirus, for instance, has over 100 serotypes!
You’re not going to catch a cold from the same virus serotype again right after getting better. However, you can still get another cold from a different virus serotype or a different virus.
When you get sick, you develop antibodies for the virus serotype you’ve caught. This keeps you from catching it again right away. But those antibodies won’t necessarily protect you from other forms of the virus.
Say you catch the serotype HRV (human rhinovirus)-A60, then improve right as your partner catches HRV-C17. You could get the common cold again if your body is vulnerable to that new rhinovirus serotype.
Alternately, you could have just triumphed over a coronavirus then come down with a rhinovirus from your cubemate soon after. Yes, it seems unfair. File your complaints with evolution and let us know when you hear back.
This doesn’t mean that you’ll always get sick if you’re exposed to a virus or virus serotype that’s different from the one you just got over. You may have developed antibodies for some circulating virus serotypes thanks to previous colds. Also, even though it’s not a guarantee, sometimes antibodies for one virus serotype do protect you from closely related serotypes.
Although it’s possible, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll catch two colds back-to-back in the same cold and flu season.
It’s rare that two cold-causing virus serotypes are circulating with the exact same intensity at the exact same time of year in a community. So, if you get sick and someone in close proximity gets sick right after you, you may both have come down with the dominant serotype, against which you’re already protected. (Of course, they may have traveled and caught a different dominant illness from somewhere else, but generally speaking, they probably just caught your cold.)
This can be true even if you two experience different symptoms. If your cold mainly made your nose run and your throat feel scratched raw, but your partner has a cough, congestion, and body aches, that’s not a sign that you had a different virus or virus serotype.
Instead, it could simply be that your immune systems are focusing their efforts on fighting off the same virus serotype in different parts of your bodies, creating different symptoms. That’s the beauty of genetic diversity between two people. It could also be that you two have the same core symptoms but are experiencing additional ones due to “referred pain”, which is basically when one part of your body causes discomfort in another part since all your systems are interconnected.
Without lab testing, it’s basically impossible to know for certain whether or not you and another person got the same virus or virus serotype. You’re still totally welcome to blame your cold on that one person who came into work although they clearly should have been piled under blankets in bed.
If you’re feeling sick again after just “getting over” a cold, you may actually not have gotten over it to begin with.
You might be feeling residual symptoms from the original virus. Maybe your body is rebelling because you pushed yourself too hard without being fully healed, or maybe the cold is just hanging around more than you’re used to.
It’s normal for a cold to stick around for anywhere between a week to 10 days. If your cold is causing drastically worse sinus pain, headache, or throat soreness than you’re used to when sick, or if it comes with a fever over 101.3 degrees, a fever that lasts more than five days, or a fever returns after a fever-free period, it’s time to seek medical attention. That also stands if you start experiencing wheezing or shortness of breath. A doctor’s appointment can help rule out or treat issues like a secondary bacterial infection.
FYI, it is possible to get the same virus serotype when the next cold and flu season rolls around (not that you’d really know it, anyway).
Viruses mutate just enough that sometimes the immunities you’ve developed are no longer effective. Rhinovirus is known to mutate quickly.
Influenza viruses, which cause the flu, are another example. But it does typically take time for viruses to evolve to the point where you’re no longer protected against a serotype. It would be rare for it to mutate enough in your community that you could catch it again in the same season.
Taking steps to avoid getting sick is much easier than trying to figure out if someone caught a different cold than you, putting you at risk of a repeat cold.
You might have heard that you should throw away your toothbrush, wash your sheets, or disinfect the house after an illness in order to avoid getting sick again. Since you don’t need to worry about getting sick from the same serotype, these steps aren’t necessary to prevent re-infecting yourself.
If you’re trying to prevent a partner or anyone else you may live with from getting sick with your cold, frequently disinfecting surfaces you touch all the time, like doorknobs, is a good idea. You’re usually no longer contagious after about a week, so that would be a good time to wash shared items like bedsheets.
Other tips to follow:
Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom and blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. On a related note, cough and sneeze into tissues or your upper shirt sleeve to avoid spraying your germs through the air. Stay home from work if it’s at all possible. If not, try to avoid touching other people, back away from them when you need to cough or sneeze, and disinfect the items you touch frequently.
Oh, and before I forget it…. The way you blow your nose could be doing you more harm than good.
It can be tempting to give your nose a good blow to clear your airways. That's what we were taught to do as children, after all - and we've been doing it ever since. But the way we blow our nose can be bad for us and can actually make symptoms worse or create more problems.
Granted, that blocked feeling in your nostrils is usually down to a build-up of mucus, but mostly it's a sign that our nasal passages are swollen and inflamed.
Blowing your nose hard is not a good idea, as it can irritate the inside of your nose and damage the lining of the nose and sinuses. This can cause discomfort and potentially make one more prone to something like sinusitis.
How can we relieve symptoms without causing damage?
Blowing your nose hard can force air down tubes connected to our ears and eyes, causing more pain.
What should we do when our noses are blocked?
- Press a finger against one nostril, leaving the other one clear, and blow gently into a tissue. This should help clear the mucus in your nostrils.
- Whatever you do, avoid blowing hard or straining yourself to clear your nose - this is what will worsen your symptoms and potentially cause damage.
- Steam from a shower or steam treatment in the sink can help relieve symptoms.
Can Wearing a Mask Help With Seasonal Allergies?
There may be a bonus to wearing mask, and may protect you if you suffer from seasonal allergies.
How does wearing a mask reduce allergy symptoms?
Masks create a physical barrier that filters the air around us when we inhale. Particles that are too big to get through the filter, like most allergens, won’t make it to our noses or mouths.
A standard surgical mask can filter particles larger than 3 microns, while an N95 mask can filter 95% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. Pollen is typically 120 microns or bigger, making it likely that a mask would filter it.
What’s more, wearing a face mask increases the temperature and humidity of the air you breathe, which can suppress a strong nasal reaction.
Does mask fit and type matter?
Masks can only do their job if they cover your nose and your mouth.
Taking the time to put a mask on correctly will help protect you from seasonal allergies, and if it’s on correctly, you’ll be less tempted to adjust it. Because allergens may be on your hands, the less you touch your mask, the better.
Masks will help your allergies, but they won’t be a perfect solution. Since pollen gets to us through the air we breathe, filtering that air by wearing a mask will help most allergy sufferers.
It’s also worth noting that masks won’t likely offer you much relief if you experience itchy eyes from allergies.
Here’s some more tips to reduce your symptoms during allergy season:
Consider covering or rinsing your hair at night to prevent pollen that lands on your hair from getting onto your pillow and then into your nose or eyes.
When you spend time outside, the pollen can stick to your clothes. Consider changing clothes when you get home from your trip outdoors.
If you deal with irritated eyes from allergies, wear glasses to protect your eyes from direct contact with allergens such as pollen.
Pollen counts in the air are usually higher in the morning so consider saving your time outside for the late afternoon.
If your allergies are severe, talk with me about whether UVBI treatments may help.
When should I see a doctor?
If you aren’t sure if it’s a cold or allergies, or if your symptoms are severe or long-lasting, it’s best to connect with our office to get an official diagnosis and treatment plan.
Can allergies turn into a cold?
If your allergy symptoms are left untreated, you could become more prone to getting sinus infections or other upper respiratory infections, or may lead to poor asthma control.
Also, a common cold can turn severe. So, if your cold has had you laid up longer than a week or two, get in touch with us.
What did I do to finally stop my allergy symptoms?
I know as a previous allergy sufferer you are looking for that “magic bullet”, the one thing you can do to cure your allergies, but fortunately everyone is different and there are several options, or combinations of things, you can do to cure your allergy problem.
I attended a seminar in Dallas to learn more about Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation (UVBI) therapy for patients with systemic infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria who had run out of drug options. After watching and learning about the results, including patients at risk of death from sepsis, I made the decision to bring this therapy to my practice.
In 2017, after (36) rounds of UVBI treatments over a period of nine weeks, my allergy symptoms were gone. Over the past (5) years, if I felt any scratchy throat symptoms, I would do a few treatments and all would be back to normal. This year, I’ve already scheduled a proactive treatment to keep myself running full stride without any interferences.
We have patients that after only one UVBI treatment, their allergy symptoms have been gone completely for two years. Of course, keep in mind, none have been just getting UVBI treatments alone for their allergies. All these patients come in for their regular chiropractic adjustments, keep to an organic healthy food diet, and exercise. They are doing their part in keeping their immune systems as healthy as possible. With the help of UVBI treatments, it’s a full-spectrum, pro-active, healthy approach to winning over allergies.
The Bottom Line
I hope today’s newsletter has been informative and you are excited and hopeful about enjoying Spring and Summer outside this year.
Whether you use some of the natural natural treatments for your colds or allergies described above, or come into the clinic for (UVBI) therapy, I hope you will be able to enjoy the fellowship and peace of being outside in nature without your allergies taking control of your life.
There are NO LIMITS of what you can create, you are POWERFUL and there is nothing that you can not have or achieve! Believe in your power, believe in yourself and let go of what no longer serves you! ♡ design your life, create your reality…
This is life changing!
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