{"id":437,"date":"2022-10-21T02:55:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T02:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/?p=437"},"modified":"2022-11-04T23:12:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T23:12:46","slug":"covid-vs-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/allergy-medications\/covid-vs-allergies\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID vs. Allergies: Similarities and Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Highlights\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>COVID produces many symptoms similar to influenza and allergic reactions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Fever is the best indication that you are dealing with COVID, not an allergy.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>COVID symptoms vary from one variant to another, making it difficult to settle the COVID vs. allergies question.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>If you suspect you may have COVID, seek medical help and follow your healthcare provider\u2019s recommendations.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>You can treat your allergies with widely available allergy medications.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 has coexisted for over two years now with seasonal allergies, the flu, and other allergic reactions. Many of its symptoms coincide with those of allergies. However, there are also subtle and not-so-subtle differences between them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>COVID vs. Allergies: The Most Telltale Difference<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, due to the similarities in symptoms, you can\u2019t tell COVID apart from allergies. Your top clue, however, is fever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>COVID Fever Is Common<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A COVID infection often involves fever, though not always. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0249788\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an early COVID study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, over 79% of COVID-19 patients develop a fever. In some cases, this fever can last for around ten days, subsiding when the body overcomes the viral infection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID fever tends to be a medium- or low-grade fever. 44% of adult patients develop a medium-grade fever, and 38% a low-grade fever. Only 14.7% have a high-grade fever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have persistent low- or medium-grade fever, you probably have COVID (or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/influenza-medications\/what-is-influenza\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">influenza<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or other illness), not an allergic reaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In children, fever is a less relevant clue. Most pediatric COVID patients (54.1%) do not develop fever as a symptom of the infection. Still, if your child comes down with persistent fever, it is more likely that you are dealing with COVID, the flu, or another ailment than an allergy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a little over 14% of adult COVID patients, chills accompany fever. Like a fever, chills may mean that you may have COVID instead of an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/allergy-medications\/allergic-reactions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allergic reaction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>Allergies Don\u2019t Cause Fever<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although we may call allergic rhinitis hay fever, the condition, like other allergic reactions, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/acaai.org\/allergies\/symptoms\/fever\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">does not cause fever<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inflammation in allergies is different from the effects of viral infections. Allergies cannot cause fever, but they can cause health complications that can lead to fever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, a stuffy nose resulting from hay fever may degenerate into a sinus infection, and sinus infections can cause fever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Other Significant Differences Between COVID and Allergy Symptoms<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a fever, your best bet to tell COVID apart from an allergy is the sudden and complete loss of smell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/0194599820929185\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of smell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of the prominent early symptoms of a COVID infection. It was one of the first telltale symptoms people spotted early in the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some loss of smell can occur with allergic reactions, but it is usually a consequence of a stuffy nose and only partial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_442\" style=\"width: 522px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-442\" class=\"wp-image-442\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2.jpeg-87.jpg\" alt=\"Woman eating a mandarin\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-442\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A COVID infection can cause you to lose your sense of smell without a stuffy nose<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a COVID infection, a stuffy nose doesn\u2019t accompany loss of smell. Patients have reported being able to breathe normally through the nose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to researchers, the loss of the sense of smell as a COVID symptom affects more women than men. Loss of taste may accompany it. Older people are less likely to experience this COVID symptom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In later COVID variants, the loss of smell affected a smaller percentage of patients. In early COVID infections, 65-70% of patients experienced a loss of smell.\u00a0 In Omicron infections, this percentage dropped to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/alr.22995\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">12-23%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>COVID vs. Allergy Symptoms: Subtle Differences<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allergies affect the organism in different ways than viral infections. The two conditions trigger many symptoms with subtle differences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Itchy and watery eyes, itchy inner ears, nose, and mouth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Allergies irritate the areas allergens affect. It is common for allergic reactions to irritate the eyes, inner ears, nose, and mouth. COVID does not irritate these organs and does not cause itchiness. It may cause conjunctivitis (pink eye), like some allergies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Diarrhea<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. COVID is a far-reaching systemic disease affecting the body in more ways than we know. It can sometimes interfere with digestion, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7141637\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">causing diarrhea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Allergic reactions do not cause diarrhea. Only anaphylactic shock, the most severe allergic reaction, can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/anaphylaxis\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cause diarrhea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Nausea and vomiting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. COVID can cause extreme nausea and vomiting. Some COVID survivors struggle with these symptoms for a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0260259\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">long time after<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they recover from the infection. Except for anaphylaxis, allergic reactions seldom cause nausea and vomiting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sneezing. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it may occur as a COVID symptom, sneezing is not a hallmark of the infection. Allergic reactions often involve sneezing, especially when the allergen-affected area is the nose, eyes, or mouth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sore throat. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some COVID variants can cause <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/joim.13470\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sore throat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This symptom is not particularly frequent in COVID infections. And it happens rarely as a result of an allergic reaction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Headache. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headache is the hallmark of many viral infections, including the flu and common cold.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7272895\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID is no exception<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It frequently causes headaches as well. Allergic reactions seldom cause headaches.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Muscle aches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Fever tends to cause muscle aches and weakness. COVID often causes these symptoms, but allergic reactions do not.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>COVID vs. Allergy Symptoms: Similarities<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the COVID and allergy symptoms that are similar are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cough<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. COVID cough is dry and persistent. Allergic reactions may cause coughing as well. Those that affect the respiratory system may also cause tightness around the chest as a result of persistent coughing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Stuffy or runny nose. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early COVID variants did not cause a stuffy or runny nose, but the Omicron version <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/375\/bmj.n3103.long\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attacks the upper airways<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, causing stuffiness similar to the symptoms of some allergic reactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fatigue. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID is an aggressive disease that takes a high toll on the body. It taxes the immune system and drains you of energy. Allergic reactions can have similar effects, especially if you leave them untreated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Different COVID Variants Cause Different Symptoms<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early COVID variants did not cause a runny and stuffy nose and didn\u2019t resemble the common cold or influenza as much as later variants. As the virus mutates, new variants may produce new symptoms that can make it even more difficult to distinguish between COVID and allergy attacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider the context when you don\u2019t know whether you have an allergy or COVID. If you just finished mowing the lawn or exposed yourself to other allergens, you are more likely to have an allergic reaction than COVID. If you are unsure what you have, seek medical attention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have an allergy, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/allergy-medications\/reference-guide-to-allergy-medications\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allergy medications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can help you manage your condition and improve your quality of life. Some allergy medications can be expensive. And if you have to use them regularly, they can upend your finances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Find the Lowest Price for Allergy Medications<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/3.jpeg-84.jpg\" alt=\"Happy woman holding a spray\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BidRx specializes in helping customers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/Contents\/medication\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">find the lowest prices for allergy medications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0 BidRx.com lets users create bids and have pharmacies compete to deliver your medications for the best price.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To get your allergy medications at the lowest price:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create an account and locate your medication on our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/Contents\/medication\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">medication page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a bid.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wait for your offers, then choose the best one.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have your medications shipped to you or pick them up locally, depending on the offer you choose.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ordering your medications through BidRx is fast and easy. Create your bid today!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights\u00a0 COVID produces many symptoms similar to influenza and allergic reactions. Fever is the best&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allergy-medications","post_format-post-format-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":448,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions\/448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}