{"id":8815,"date":"2021-05-18T16:40:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T23:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/?p=8815"},"modified":"2021-05-18T16:41:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T23:41:01","slug":"is-it-allergies-or-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/is-it-allergies-or-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It Allergies or COVID?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the Before Times, a scratchy throat or stuffy nose during this time of year was almost certainly allergies. But now that we\u2019re living in the age of COVID-19, you can\u2019t be too cautious. No matter how careful you are when masking up and socially distancing, it\u2019s still possible to catch the virus at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salemcommunitymarkets.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Salem Saturday Market<\/a> if you\u2019re not fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below we review the symptoms of COVID-19 and seasonal allergies so you can decipher which is <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/allergy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the most likely culprit<\/a> behind your symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">COVID-19 Symptoms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/woman-allergies-stuffy-nose-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Woman with cough lying down.\" class=\"wp-image-8817\" width=\"265\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/woman-allergies-stuffy-nose-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/woman-allergies-stuffy-nose-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/woman-allergies-stuffy-nose-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/woman-allergies-stuffy-nose-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems like every week we learn about a new COVID symptom or side-effect. Currently, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/symptoms-testing\/symptoms.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CDC lists the following symptoms<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Fever or chills.<\/li><li>Cough.<\/li><li>Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.<\/li><li>Fatigue.<\/li><li>Muscle or body aches.<\/li><li>Headache.<\/li><li>New loss of taste or smell.<\/li><li>Sore throat.<\/li><li>Congestion or runny nose.<\/li><li>Nausea or vomiting.<\/li><li>Diarrhea.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The hallmark signs of COVID include a dry cough, fever, body aches, loss of taste and smell, and gastrointestinal problems. If you experience one or a combination of these symptoms, get tested right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allergy Symptoms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Allergy symptoms are caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/allergy\/allergies\/types-of-allergies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">your immune system overreacting to a normally harmless substance<\/a> by producing histamine. Histamine causes you to experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Runny nose.<\/li><li>Congestion.<\/li><li>Sore or scratchy throat.<\/li><li>Cough.<\/li><li>Shortness of breath.<\/li><li>Itchy, watery, red eyes.<\/li><li>Sneezing.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you experience a cough from allergies, it\u2019s usually the result of postnasal drip and contains phlegm rather than being dry. If you experience other symptoms like itchy eyes or sneezing, you can rest assured your symptoms are likely the result of allergies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to Seek Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If this guide doesn\u2019t clear up what condition your symptoms are related to, the best thing to do is consult with your physician. They can ask you questions about the nature of your symptoms and possible exposure to COVID in order to decide if you should be tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you experience any of the following symptoms, seek immediate medical attention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Trouble breathing.<\/li><li>Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.<\/li><li>New confusion.<\/li><li>Inability to wake up or stay awake.<\/li><li>Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds (depending on skin tone).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information or to schedule an appointment with an allergist, call Willamette Ear, Nose, Throat and Plastic Surgery today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Allergies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/how-spring-allergies-affect-your-ears\/\">How Spring Allergies Affect Your Ears<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/is-climate-change-making-your-allergies-worse-2\/\">Is Climate Change Making Your Allergies Worse?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/the-creation-of-allergy-free-wheat-and-peanuts\/\">The Creation of Allergy-Free Wheat and Peanuts<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Before Times, a scratchy throat or stuffy nose during this time of year was almost certainly allergies. But now that we\u2019re living in the age of COVID-19, you can\u2019t be too cautious. No matter how careful you are when masking up and socially distancing, it\u2019s still possible to catch the virus at the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_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":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}