Allergies vs Cold Symptoms

It's important to know whether you're dealing with allergies or cold symptoms. Which one you have will determine how you treat your symptoms. When weighing allergies vs cold symptoms, one of the most important things to consider is how long you've had the symptoms. Cold symptoms usually last a few days to a week, while allergy symptoms last much longer. The following article contains charts to help you consider allergies vs cold symptoms.

Allergies vs Cold Symptoms: An Overview

Each year, millions of school and work days are missed because of colds and flu. How you can best treat your condition depends on what is ailing you. Since these diseases share many of the same symptoms, they're sometimes hard to tell apart (see Cold and Flu Symptoms).
 
Complicating the problem, the allergy and cold seasons often occur at the same time. Many people get bad seasonal allergies in the fall, when ragweed pollen is at its peak in many areas, and winter can bring its own allergies as people spend more time indoors around pet dander and house dust mites.
 
When the sniffles, stuffy nose, and coughing begin, the following charts can help you identify the cause of your symptoms, as well as which common cold treatment -- or allergy treatment -- to use. Additional charts list a few allergy and common cold prevention methods, as well as complications of the common cold and allergies.
 

Allergies vs Cold Symptoms: Which Do I Have?

Symptoms Airborne Allergy Cold
Fever Never Rare
Headache Rare Rare
General Aches, Pains Never Slight
Fatigue, Weakness Sometimes Sometimes
Extreme Exhaustion Never Never
Stuffy, Runny Nose Common Common
Sneezing Common Common
Sore Throat Sometimes Common
Cough Sometimes Common, hacking
Chest Discomfort Rare Mild to moderate
  
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
 
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