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Is it allergies or is it COVID-19: what to look for

This time of year is typically when people experience fall allergies, and they could be wondering if they’re actually experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr. Brian Lamb, an internal medicine physician with AHN says patients have been contacting their doctors to ask how they can tell the difference between fall allergies and COVID.

“Everyone calls in, how do I tell the difference between allergies and upper respiratory infection? One of the things to look at is the symptoms you’re having,” Lamb said.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Allergies can have any number of symptoms.

“The best predictive model is what do you normally experience? If you experience what you normally do, consider treating as your allergies,” he said. “If something seems different or more severe, then you need to let your doctor know so we can test you and we can figure out what’s going on.”

As we get into flu season, Lamb said it’s going to be even more of a struggle to determine if someone is sick with that virus or COVID-19.

“There is almost no way for you to tell if it’s flu or COVID. If you’re having symptoms of either, you should get tested for both,” he said.