Allergies - Skindoc | Dr Jennifer Yip | Dermatologist | Sydney

Allergies vs Coronavirus: How to tell the difference?

Can I Have Both Allergies and Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Yes.  People with spring allergies are not immune to coronavirus.  If you typically have allergy symptoms, pay close attention to their type and severity – do you feel differently than in prior allergy seasons?

Do you have a fever, aches, or a sore throat?  Does your cough or sneeze feel different than it usually does?  Have you noticed that your allergy medicines are not helping reduced or relieve your symptoms?  It’s important to stay vigilant about what your body is telling you.

What Are Tips For Allergy Sufferers During Coronavirus?

These allergy tips will be even more important this spring due to coronavirus:

  • Sneezing: Like always, if you are sneezing, cover your sneeze in a tissue (and then throw the tissue away into a bin or closed container), sneeze into the corner of your elbow, or wear a mask.
  • Allergy Medicine: Take your allergy medicine early and consistently.  For instance, start using an allergy nasal spray 2 weeks before the allergy seasons starts, or take an antihistamine daily once the season starts.  Over the counter products, available from your local pharmacy should be your first line of defence for
  • Allergies and are typically sufficient for most people.  Of all years, it is particularly important to treat spring allergies because your allergy symptoms may be misconstrued as coronavirus.  Being aggressive and proactive in your allergy treatment is extremely important.
  • Pollen Counts: Spring allergy symptoms spike with pollen counts.  Pay attention to the pollen counts in your area, and that may help you figure out if your symptoms are due to seasonal allergies or coronavirus.
  • Know Your Sneeze:  Typically, allergy sneezes occur in bouts where you just can’t stop sneezing.  People with coronavirus are typically not experiencing a not-stop sneeze.
  • Stay At Home:  If you are not sure, please stay at home just to be safe.

What If People Think My Spring Allergies & Sneezing are Coronavirus?

One of the best ways to give yourself peace of mind about whether you could have coronavirus will be to take your allergy medications consistently.  If your symptoms go away and you don’t have other coronavirus symptoms, you are not likely infected with coronavirus (although a lot of people are asymptomatic).  When frequenting public places, it may be a matter of common courtesy to treat your allergy symptoms so that people don’t misconstrue your sneezes and coughs as coronavirus.