
Seasonal allergies are nothing to sneeze at: You feel stuffed up, have a scratchy throat, and your head feels like it's full of cotton. On the other hand, maybe you have a cold instead. Knowing the difference will help you determine treatment, experts say.
"The big difference is that with allergies, you always have itchiness," says Dr. Cliff Bassett, vice chairman for public education for the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, who practices at Long Island College of Medicine in Brooklyn. "You nearly always have itchiness with allergies – your eyes, your nose, your throat." And, he adds, a seasonal allergy to ragweed or pollen does not cause a fever, while a cold can.
Finally, a cold comes on gradually, starting with sneezing, headache, lack of appetite and a sore throat,
To be truly miserable get a cold while suffering allergies.
Ouch.
I'm very thankful not to have allergies. Hoping I don't develop any either!
You are lucky, Chum, and I am glad to hear you don't suffer allergies.
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