SEASONAL ALLERGY SYMPTOMS VS COMMON COLD AND FLU

If you have recently been experiencing sneezing and runny nose, these might as well be seasonal allergy symptoms. However, you may also have either a cold or the flu. Knowing the difference between these ailments can save you money on OTC allergy medication. Taking a trip to the doctor can help you to quickly get the right diagnosis, but there are ways to determine which symptoms you really have by paying close attention.

Seasonal allergies almost always cause people to feel congested, stuffy and produce excess mucus. Additionally, you may have watery eyes, redness and irritation around the nasal passages and develop a slight fever. By contrast, flu suffers have body aches, extremely high body temperatures and severe sore throats. Those with the common cold are likely to feel stuffy, have a runny nose and feel exhausted. Note that natural allergy remedies will not work on flu or common cold sufferers.

The first thing that you can do to determine whether you have seasonal allergy symptoms, the common cold or the flu is to take your temperature. Those with seasonal allergies should not have a temperature over 99 to 100 degrees. People with a cold or the flu also naturally begin to feel better within two to seven days. On the other hand, seasonal allergy symptoms can last for months at a time.

Unless you are prone to developing Allegra side effects, you can safely take this drug and then record your response. If you have allergies, you will start to feel better within minutes. If you have responded negatively to any allergy medication, you may also feel unwanted Claritin side effects.

The good news is that seasonal allergy symptoms can be alleviated with careful changes to your environment as well as over the counter medication. There are also drugs that you can take to eliminate the symptoms of the flu and the common cold. It is important to find out which of these three ailments that you are afflicted with in order to get the right treatment. You do not have to suffer needlessly with congestion as long as you are able to perform this simple cold and flu versus allergy test.