Coronavirus symptoms vs. allergies: How to know the difference as school year begins

Excerpted from Fox News by Amy McGorry

The coronavirus and seasonal allergies have some common symptoms that can raise concerns for school kids’ parents as they head back to the classroom. To help distinguish between the two, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided some guidance as the school year begins.

“It can be difficult to differentiate allergies from infection from COVID, especially when both can be prevalent at the same time of the year like it can be this fall,” Dr. Fred Davis, an emergency department physician at Northwell Health Long Island Jewish medical center on Long Island, N.Y., told Fox News.

One key difference is that a fever typically occurs with COVID-19 and not seasonal allergies, according to the CDC and health experts.

“Both can lead to a runny nose, cough, and congestion. The big differentiation is usually fever, those with symptoms from allergies tend to not have a fever, whereas those with a viral infection like COVID will tend to have a fever (i.e. a temperature greater than 100.4)”, Davis, also the associate chair of emergency medicine, continued.

Additionally, itchy, watery eyes and sneezing are symptoms commonly associated with allergies and not novel coronavirus, per the CDC
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