Allergies or Covid? Here’s how to tell the symptoms apart

If the arrival of spring rhymes with sun and terraces, it also signals the return of allergies for one in 10 Belgians. But in times of pandemic, what should a runny nose or sneeze be attributed to? How to be sure that these are the symptoms of allergies and not of the coronavirus?

Last week, Sciensano officially announced the opening of the pollen season, earlier but also more intense than in previous years. A period that always promises inconvenience for people sensitive to these small vegetable dusts.

But when we know that the spread of Covid-19 is accelerating in our country and that the symptoms are relatively similar, how can we tell them apart? How do you know if the ailments you feel are indeed due to allergies, or if it is better to do a Covid test?

Confusing Symptoms

Stuffy nose or runny nose, sneezing, headaches, fatigue, itchy throat… are all symptoms of allergies, Covid but also the flu. But other signals allow us to differentiate them.

Breathing problems, cough, fever or muscle aches are more specific to coronavirus. Just like the loss of taste and smell.

While itchy or red and/or watery eyes are rather symptomatic of allergies, and not of Covid.

Environmental factors

In addition, other elements make it possible to find oneself there. On the one hand, it is advisable to follow the pollen peaks (for example via the site AirAllergy.be of Sciensano) to try to identify a link or not with our symptoms. On the other hand, when they are due to allergies, these symptoms intensify in certain circumstances: when you are outdoors and/or when the weather is nice and there is wind. On the other hand, the symptoms linked to the coronavirus are felt constantly, regardless of the environment.

In case of doubt, it is of course still advisable to carry out a self-test or a PCR test.

In addition, if you are unsure whether or not you are sensitive to pollens, there are also tests to detect these allergies.