{"id":1738,"date":"2020-02-12T08:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/?p=1738"},"modified":"2020-02-17T11:22:57","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T16:22:57","slug":"how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-cold-and-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-cold-and-allergies\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tell the Difference Between a Cold and Allergies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Does your cold feel like it is sticking around for longer than usual? That may be because your <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/allergy\/allergy-symptoms\/\">runny nose and sneezing<\/a> are not symptoms of a cold at all, they\u2019re from allergies. Knowing how to tell the difference between these can help you seek treatment faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding Cold\n&amp; Allergies&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ent-nose.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-964\" width=\"415\" height=\"274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ent-nose.jpg 788w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ent-nose-768x507.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A cold is a result of a viral infection while allergies are your\nbody\u2019s immune system response to allergens in your environment. When your\nimmune system detects danger, it releases a chemical called histamine, which\ntriggers your symptoms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do you know if your problems are related to a cold or\nallergies? \u201cThis may be one of the most common questions,\u201d says Kirk Waibel,\nM.D., former Allergy Consultant to the Army Surgeon General.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colds and allergies share a lot of the same symptoms, making it tricky to distinguish them from each other at first. Shared symptoms include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Sneezing<\/li><li>Eye irritation<\/li><li>Runny nose<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Where they differ is with the addition of fever, body aches and a\nsore throat, which are symptoms a viral infection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/viralinfections.html\" title=\"MedlinePlus | Viral Infections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"viral illnesses  (opens in a new tab)\">viral illnesses <\/a>and bad allergies can result in a sinus infection that can be chronic and last for months,\u201d Waibel confirms. \u201cPatients with chronic sinusitis often complain of upper tooth pain, bad breath, a poor sense of smell, pain or pressure over their face, or chronic discolored drainage in the back of their throat.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, cold symptoms will last for seven to ten days. During\npollen season, allergies can last for weeks at a time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cold\nTreatments&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/health\/a19530973\/10-ways-to-stop-a-cold-in-its-tracks\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Men's Health | How to stop a cold\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">no cure for the common cold<\/a>, home remedies on top of getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of fluids can help you recover faster.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allergy Treatments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Allergies, on the other hand, can be treated. But first, your Augusta ENT allergist must determine what is causing your symptoms. To do so, they will order a set of <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/allergy\/allergy-testing\/\">allergy tests<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Skin prick test<\/li><li>Intradermal skin test<\/li><li>Blood test<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the cause has been determined, your allergist will work with\nyou to put together a treatment plan. Avoidance is the best treatment, but this\nis not always a viable option.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allergy Medication&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a number of allergy medications available. Your doctor\nwill recommend the best one based on your symptoms. The most common options\ninclude:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Nasal corticosteroids<\/li><li>Antihistamines<\/li><li>Mast cell stabilizers<\/li><li>Decongestants<\/li><li>Corticosteroids<\/li><li>Epinephrine<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Immunotherapy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the only long-term option\navailable to treat allergy symptoms. Immunotherapy involves introducing a small\namount of the substance you are allergic to over a long period of time so your\nbody gets used to it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immunotherapy is available as allergy\nshots (subcutaneous immunotherapy) or allergy drops (sublingual immunotherapy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/about\/our-practice\/\">experts at Augusta ENT<\/a> today to learn which allergy treatment is right for you.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have you tried these at-home remedies?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/foods-that-will-help-soothe-a-sore-throat\/\">Foods That Will Help Soothe a Sore Throat<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/will-a-saltwater-gargle-help-a-sore-throat\/\">Will a Saltwater Gargle Help a Sore Throat?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does your cold feel like it is sticking around for longer than usual? That may be because your runny nose and sneezing are not symptoms of a cold at all, they\u2019re from allergies. Knowing how to tell the difference between these can help you seek treatment faster.\u00a0 Understanding Cold &amp; Allergies&nbsp; A cold is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"(706) 868-5676 | Your runny nose and sneezing may be from a cold or allergies. Knowing the difference between these can help you seek treatment faster.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1738"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}