Knowing the difference between symptoms of seasonal allergies & COVID-19
UNDATED (KTIV) – Allergy season has been especially bad this year. But, some allergy sufferers want to know if what they’re experiencing are simple allergies, or COVID-19.
“What are some differences between allergy symptoms, and symptoms of COVID-19?” asked Matt Breen.
“Allergy symptoms are going to be primarily runny nose, congestion… you may have a cough,” said Dr. Larry Volz, Medical Director for MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center. “It’s the runny nose, congestion that are the main parts, in addition to burning, red eyes. The symptoms for COVID are going to be far different than that. You’re going to have shortness of breath, muscle aches, low grade fever, some GI symptoms. So, there’s a fair amount of difference between the symptoms. But, the runny nose part gets people concerned. But, there’s really no way to differentiate that symptom alone. So, if you’re concerned that your symptoms are different that your usual allergies you probably need to get tested.”
“Can certain vitamins, vegetables, or fruits help keep you from getting COVID?” asked Breen.
“There’s really no ‘magic bullet’ of things that we have that we can eat to really fight or hold off on getting COVID ,” said Volz. “Most of all it’s about having a healthy lifestyle. Try to eat fruits and vegetables. Fruits that are high in Vitamin C, such as citrus fruits. Or, take a multi-vitamin, or vitamin supplement like Vitamin C, or Vitamin D, which would be beneficial. But, those are helpful for fighting a virus in general, not particularly for COVID.”
“Is it necessary to sanitize and wipe off everything you buy from a store? Even groceries? What about fresh produce? How should you clean that off?” asked Breen.
“Early on in COVID, there was a lot of talk about cleaning everything that we brought home,” said Volz. “But, we’ve learned a fair amount through this. The current CDC guidelines do not suggest washing all of those items when we bring them in. Most COVID is spread through aerosol and close contact. So, when you are bringing food home… fruits and vegetables… it’s a good idea to clean them when you bring them home even on a routine basis and not specific to COVID. Even just washing them with water… they don’t need those fruit cleaners or any other chemicals to clean them. Really, just wash them thoroughly with water when you bring them home.”
