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Allergies, Cold, Flu or COVID? Learn the Facts

In years past, a case of the sniffles was hardly reason to get excited. These days, however, it can send any ordinary person scrambling to Google to determine if they have a cold, the flu, or something more serious.

This is an understandable reaction during a global pandemic responsible for thousands of diagnoses and deaths every day. Unfortunately, COVID-19 shares many symptoms with more common illnesses like the cold and the flu, which can make it difficult to know right away how you should react to protect yourself and others around you. Should you quarantine? Medicate? See a doctor?

While COVID-19 shares some similar indicators with the cold, the flu and seasonal allergies, some symptoms are exclusive to each one of these conditions. Check out this handy chart to track your symptoms and help identity your condition.

Symptoms	Allergies	Cold	Flu	COVID-19
Cough	Sometimes	Common	Common	Common (dry)
Muscle aches	Never	Sometimes	Common	Common
Fatigue	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common	Common
Sore throat	Rarely	Common	Common	Common
Sneezing	Common	Sometimes	n/a	Sometimes
Runny/stuffy nose	Common	Common	Common	Common
Fever	Never	Sometimes	Common (not always)	Common
Nausea or vomitting	Never	Never	Sometimes (more common in children)	Sometimes
Diarrhea	Never	Never	Sometimes (more common in children)	Sometimes
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing	n/a	n/a	Common	Common
New loss of taste or smell	Sometimes	Sometimes (with a stuffy nose)	Rare	Common (early and commonly without runny or stuffy nose)
Conjuctivitis (pink eye)	Sometimes	n/a	n/a	Sometimes
Itchy nose, eyes, mouth or inner ear	Common	n/a	n/a	Never

Of course, the only way to know for sure if you have COVID-19 or something else is to get tested. If you feel any of the symptoms listed, even if you have a history of seasonal allergies, you should immediately self-isolate and schedule an appointment to be evaluated. Find a qualified provider here or call the Culbertson Memorial Hospital Registration Department at (217) 322-4321.