However, spring is a season with a large temperature difference, and it is easy to catch a cold, and it is easy to be exposed to allergic rhinitis caused by pollen. In particular, although the number of confirmed cases per day has fallen to around 200,000, concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 remain. For this reason, if you cough with a simple cold or allergic rhinitis, you are worried that you may be infected with COVID-19.
Jeon Yun-hong, a professor of pediatrics at the Catholic University of Korea Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, said, “If symptoms such as runny nose or stuffy nose appear during the changing seasons like these days, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether it is a simple cold or allergic rhinitis. “It happens often,” he explained.
Corona 19 is a respiratory infectious disease caused by a virus. Symptoms such as sputum, sore throat, headache, hemoptysis and nausea, and diarrhea may be present.
The biggest difference between COVID-19 and allergic rhinitis is fever. Allergic rhinitis is not accompanied by fever. Sore throat and muscle pain are also symptoms that do not appear in allergic rhinitis. Of course, there is a runny nose in Corona 19, but there is a difference that it is not the main symptom. In addition, COVID-19 causes frequent coughing, and allergic rhinitis causes sneezing rather than coughing.
On the other hand, allergic rhinitis is characterized by itching. If your nose is itchy, sneezing, and your runny nose flows like water rather than mucus, it is highly likely that you have allergic rhinitis. About 70% of cases show symptoms such as itchy eyes, tearing, and conjunctival hyperemia. In addition, there may be itching in the ears, face, and throat. Nasal congestion is usually severe at night, which can lead to mouth breathing, snoring, and sleep disturbance.
A cold shows a big difference in symptoms and allergic rhinitis, just like COVID-19. A cold is a viral disease, and it is often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as a runny nose and stuffy nose, which are the main symptoms, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, fever, and chills.
The duration and recurring pattern of symptoms are also different. Cold symptoms rarely persist for a long time. In addition, although it occurs all year round, it is most common from early autumn to late spring, and usually recovers spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks. On the other hand, allergic rhinitis often persists for several weeks or appears chronically for a long period of time, and has a characteristic that it occurs repeatedly in certain situations and environments.
Professor Jeon Yun-hong said, “In the changing seasons like these days, our children cannot adapt to rapid temperature changes, weakening their immunity and being exposed to various diseases. In particular, allergic rhinitis can worsen with temperature changes as well as indoor pollutants and stress.” he warned.
Fine dust is also a problem. Particulate matter is airborne material with a number of complex components with a diameter of 10 μm or less. It is mainly caused by automobile exhaust gas, air pollutants from the use of fossil fuels, and dust from yellow dust or smog from China. In particular, dust with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less is called ultra-fine dust, and the smaller the particle size, the deeper the lungs can be reached. can affect
Professor Jeon Yun-hong said, “Children continue to grow and develop following birth, and their detoxification system is immature, so the respiratory system impact of exposure to air pollution is inevitably greater than that of adults.” In fact, children are shorter than adults, so they are closer to the surface of the earth with high concentrations of air pollutants and inhale high concentrations of air pollutants. Also, because they breathe mainly through mouth breathing, the filtering function is less effective than adults who breathe through the nose. They breathe much more per minute than adults, and as a result, they inhale more air pollutants.
On the other hand, since children have a narrow inner airway, when exposed to air pollutants, airway obstruction due to airway edema is severe and respiratory symptoms are more severe because it is difficult to discharge secretions.
Fine dust contains components that are toxic to the human body, such as carbon, organic hydrocarbons, nitrates, sulfates, and toxic metals, and it is known that some of them enter the blood through the alveoli and can affect systemic diseases.
To minimize and prevent exposure to fine dust, it is recommended that people with respiratory diseases, the elderly and children, and pregnant women minimize outdoor activities such as refraining from going out when the concentration of fine dust is high. If you must do outdoor activities inevitably, wear a yellow dust mask and wash your nose and hands well following going out. Professor Yun-Hong Jeon said, “For indoor air management, it is good to close the windows to prevent fine dust from entering from the outside, and it is also helpful to use an air purifier equipped with a high-efficiency filter such as a HEPA filter. “You have to make sure you drink enough water and drink plenty of water,” he said.
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