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PHOTO: G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR

COMMON COLD? The symptoms of a cold and allergy are often the same

For not only does your sneezing turn more violent and increase double-fold, but you are further besieged by a runny nose, sore throat and cough.

Cursing your fate you desperately pop in some tablets for cold and leave the rest to fate. But hang on. How do you know it is a cold? It could be an allergy. For symptoms like running nose, sneezing, cough, watery eyes etc. occur for both. So how do you differentiate a cold from an allergy?

Dr. Krishnakumari of Mata Amritanandamayi Hospital explains, “symptoms of cold and allergy are similar. But there are ways to differentiate. A cold usually lasts its course of seven to 10 days while an allergy will continue as long as we are exposed to the allergen.

An allergen is the substance triggering the allergy. Allergies are becoming more common due to the rise in pollution levels. Besides pollution many individuals are prone to a host of allergies. Living in coastal areas can cause allergies to those who are sensitive to such atmosphere. Occupational allergies affect many who work in mills; factories etc. where the substance used in production be it chemicals or dyes form the chief allergen.”

There are also other vital differences, which can be noted if one examines carefully. Dr. C.P. Jayanand, chest specialist says: “A cold is an infection caused by virus, while an allergy is caused by the allergen. The nasal discharge thus in a cold turns thick with a yellowish or greenish tinge. But in an allergy the nasal discharge remains clear, thin and watery. Fever can sometimes occur in a cold but not in an allergy. Also in a cold the symptoms like sneezing followed by runny nose and congestion occur one after the other while in an allergy the symptoms occur together all at once.”

Further it has been observed that allergies very often recur at the same time every year due to climatic changes. Pollution accompanied by dust in summer is a major cause for different types of allergies in different persons. Aches and pains are more common in a cold than in allergies.

One can also detect a cold for being infectious as it spreads to other family members. An allergy on the other hand is not infectious.

But is it important to know these differences? Does it matter as long as we treat the symptoms and stop them? Dr. T.K. Anoop, an ENT emphasizes, “It matters a lot for both are treated with different medications. A cold is treated with a decongestant to shrink the swollen nasal tissues that will give relief to the nasal blockage and mucous secretion. An allergy on the other hand is treated with an antihistamine. An antihistamine is a medication that prevents sneezing, runny and itchy nose by blocking histamine. A histamine is a substance released by the body’s immune system after being exposed to an allergen.”

So next time when you are bothered by sneezing, runny nose etc. wait, observe and confirm if it is a cold or an allergy before popping in medications. For one is often mistaken for the other.

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