Allergy, Cold, or Flu: How to Tell the Difference

You or a family member starts coughing one morning, or perhaps you have a sneezing attack that leaves you with a stuffy nose. And you wonder, as you have many times before, what you’re in for — is a cold brewing, has the flu taken hold, or are allergies to blame?

These three conditions, and we’re going to throw in COVID-19 under the flu heading for good measure, all affect your respiratory system, so they share many symptoms, which makes telling them apart a little tricky.

To help, the team here at Michigan Avenue Primary Care and our urgent care clinic want to provide you with a few rules of thumb that can help guide you. 

Let’s look at allergies

Around 100 million Americans have allergies, with food allergies and seasonal allergies (hay fever) leading the charge. The leading symptoms of seasonal allergies are very close to those associated with colds and flus and include:

• Watery eyes
• Sneezing
• Stuffy or runny nose
• Congestion 
• Coughing
• Post-nasal drip
• Sore throat
• Fatigue

And these symptoms aren’t confined to seasonal allergies as they also accompany dust mite allergies, pet allergies, and even food allergies.

One of the first ways to determine whether your symptoms are due to allergies is to look at the time of year — is there a lot of pollen in the air (springtime) or leaf molds (fall)? Do you get these symptoms often during these times of the year? If so, the odds are good you’re dealing with hay fever.

Another point of differentiation is itchy, watery eyes, which typically only occur with allergies.

Also, if the symptoms don’t extend much beyond the list above — they don’t worsen, and they stay in your head and don’t travel down into your chest — it’s probably allergies. People often describe allergy symptoms as being on the brink of a cold or flu but never crossing over.

Flus and colds — similar, but not the same

While 100 million Americans deal with allergies, between 9 and 41 million people get the flu each year, and most adults average 2-3 colds annually (kids get many more).

Now let’s take a look at the differences between colds/flus and allergies, as well as some distinctions between flus and colds.

Colds and flus are respiratory infections, as opposed to allergies, which are immune responses in your body. Our point here is that respiratory infections often travel down into your chest and involve more of your body since it’s a viral infection. For example, body aches and headaches are often part of the picture when it comes to colds and flus.

Duration of your symptoms also plays a role — colds and flus last a couple of days to no more than two weeks, on average, while allergies last until the allergen clears, which could mean six weeks or more during spring and fall for seasonal allergies.

When it comes to figuring out whether you’re dealing with a cold or flu, a good rule of thumb is that flu symptoms are more severe, often come on quickly, and can include fever and chills.

The bottom line is that the best way to tell the difference between allergies, colds, and flus is to come to see us, especially if your symptoms are disrupting your life or causing you discomfort. Our team can quickly diagnose what you're dealing with so that you can get on the right treatment path.

If you have any questions about how to proceed, please don’t hesitate to contact us at our Chicago, Illinois, clinic, which is located in The Loop. You can also visit our urgent care center anytime during operating hours, M-F, 8 am to 4 pm.