SEASONAL SPOTLIGHT
BY CHRIS ILIADES, MD
Omicron, Hay Fever, or a Cold: What’s the Diagnosis? The COVID-19 omicron variant shares many symptoms with seasonal allergies and colds, so how do you tell the difference? When the flu season started last year and the delta variant of the coronavirus was still around, it could be hard to tell the difference between COVID-19 and the flu. Both could make you feel seriously ill, with symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, and severe fatigue. For a few people, the flu could be deadly, and the delta variant was deadly for many more. As we head into spring and summer, the delta variant has been replaced by the omicron variant, and the flu has become much less common than seasonal allergies. For most people, omicron is more like allergies or a cold than delta was, although omicron can still be dangerous for unvaccinated people. So how do you tell the difference? What tests should you use to make the right diagnosis?
At a Glance •
Colds, COVID-19, and allergies often have overlapping symptoms.
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When a patient presents with these symptoms, take a thorough history to tease out clues as to which condition may be present.
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If the symptoms and a physical exam do not lead to a diagnosis, diagnostic tests may be needed.
Similar Symptoms Early data shows that cold-like symptoms are the most commonly reported symptoms for people with omicron:1 • Runny nose. • Headache. • Fatigue, ranging from mild to severe. • Sneezing. • Sore throat. The ailment is more likely to be a cold if your patient has additional symptoms such as fever, cough, aches and pains, and congestion.2 Allergy Symptoms Omicron and colds are both caused by viruses that can be easily spread from person to person—usually by droplets coughed or sneezed into the air. Seasonal allergies, or “hay fever,” have a completely different cause. They are an immune system reaction in which normally harmless pollens in the air trigger an attack by the immune system, which treats the pollens as foreign invaders, attacking them much like it would a virus.3 The most common symptoms of hay fever are: 3 • Itching of the nose, eyes, throat, and mouth. • Sneezing. • Stuffy nose. • Runny nose. • Tearing. • Dark circles under the eyes. Symptoms that are not caused by hay fever are severe fatigue, aches and pains, and fever. Sore throat is rarely caused by allergies. On the other hand, colds and omicron do not cause itching, tearing, or dark circles under the eyes.2 You should also suspect seasonal allergies if your patient has had similar allergy symptoms in the past at the same time of year. When spring allergies start depends on where you live. In general, if you live in an area where trees and grass grow in the spring, spring allergies usually start when trees start to bloom. They continue into the summer as the grass starts to grow and pollinate. Later in the summer and fall, weed pollens become common.4
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APRIL/MAY 2022
5/10/22 10:07 PM
