You sneeze for the first time that day. What’s the first thing to cross your mind? Is it just an irritation? Or the onset of a cold? And then the sneezes continue. For much longer than it’s expected. Is it still a cold or something else? What if it’s an allergy? If asked, can you differentiate between a cold and an allergy? It’s a question that puzzles many but only a few can answer. Although the duration of symptoms can be a huge giveaway, there are also multiple factors that can help you differentiate between the two.
Firstly, the causes of either are totally different. A person gets cold when a virus enters the body. Different viruses can lead to different things and there are hundreds of them out there.
A person can be infected with cold on exposure to the people with the same infection” The virus responsible can generate immune response such as coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose etc. Cold is highly contagious. A cold usually lasts for a week and most of the times the symptoms subside beyond this period”. In other words, our immune system erroneously considers substances such as dust, pollen, mould, etc. as harmful substances. These are termed “Allergens”.
But allergies are different, they are the result of an overactive immune system. In other words, they occur when your immune system considers a harmless material as harmful such as dust, pollen, mould, etc. As soon as an allergen enters your body, the immune system releases certain chemicals as a response. These chemical substance triggers symptoms just as during a cold such as sneezing, coughing, swelling in the passageways of nose etc.
Common cold is caused by a virus infection, while allergic rhinitis is a specific immune system response to an allergic trigger. Allergic rhinitis symptoms like repeated sneezing, postnasal drip and nose stuffiness begin immediately upon exposure to a trigger, while common cold symptoms do not start until 2-3 days after virus exposure.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD
Although some of the symptoms of cold and allergy are similar to each other. While a cold can only cause discomfort lasting a couple of days, an allergy can be much severe and sometimes fatal. Here’s how you can differentiate between them:
Nasal Allergies | Cold | |
Symptoms | Sneezing & itchy eyes | Clear nasal discharge that turns into yellow or green. |
Duration | Only until the individual is exposed to the allergen and a few hours after it. | Lasts only a week or two. |
Sneezing | Rapid & multiple times in sequence. | Not as frequent. |
Season | Summer, Monsoon, Spring. | Most common during winter. |
Nasal discharge | Thin, watery or clear. | The thick residue is usually yellow or green. |
Fever | Never. | Rarely. |
Also read: Debunking Myths: Does Your Heart Really Stop When You Sneeze?
Cold urticaria is a rare condition that causes an allergic reaction to cold temperatures. It usually triggers a rash or hives after exposure to cold air, water, food or drink. Get yourself tested and take precautions whenever you come across any weather changes.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
While cold can be prevented through personal hygiene and avoiding contact with those infected. It’s best to drink a lot of fluid until the symptoms subside if you do get infected. If it’s the flu, it’s advisable to take proper medication to treat it in a better way.
However, an allergy can be prevented by avoiding triggers when possible or ensuring the environment around you is hygienic. Allergy treatment doesn’t exist, but it can be managed with certain steps. Determining the allergy types via allergy testing is essential as it helps to manage them better. Understanding the difference between cold and allergy can be confusing, but if your symptoms last for more than two weeks, it’s recommended you seek proper medical attention to determine the allergy.
Also Read: Montair Lc
For more information on how you can identify and manage allergies, visit http://bit.ly/allergy_free
Very common in children, an allergy march is when a kid starts to get allergies in a specific order. It’s a condition that starts from eczema, then food allergies and hay fever, eventually leading to asthma. A lot of times people misunderstand mild symptoms which may lead to severe ones, but the development of these diseases is strongly influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. So, let’s look at how this allergic march or atopic march develops in children.
The first stage is allergic sensitization, where a child shows IgE reaction to the food proteins during the first weeks or months. Most commonly developed from egg or cow’s milk, these strong IgE antibodies that respond to food proteins can be considered as triggers for atopic reactivity. Reaction to environmental allergens comes at a later stage as the outdoor allergens require exposure as well.
Dry, red, irritated and itchy skin is the most common symptom during atopic dermatitis. The skin develops small, fluid-filled bumps that ooze a clear or yellowish liquid. Gender difference also plays a role here as the reactions in boys are seen quite early in life, whereas the reactions in girls persist later in adulthood. The elevated rate of total IgE levels and a high degree of sensitization to food protein, has led to the misunderstanding that eczema triggers food allergy. But in most cases, the sensitization is only a complication of atopic march rather than a trigger to another condition.
Food allergy symptoms are far and many but most certain foods such as peanuts, tree nuts, fruits, vegetables allow a risk and potentially life-threatening anaphylactic reactions with significant IgE-responses. So far, the only treatment of food allergy in children is an elimination diet, which is necessary to be carried out for a few years. But high IgE levels from egg or cow’s milk have a less favorable outcome and longer persistence of the disease.
Seasonal allergic rhinitis generally doesn’t show up during the first two years of life. However, it’s possible for children to develop specific IgE-antibodies years before they manifest into something severe. An early reaction in children to grass or pollen allergens can indicate a high risk of rhinitis manifestation in the latter years of life. In some cases, children suffering from allergic rhinitis are known to be at high risk for future asthma manifestation.
Also Read: What Happens If You Eat Mold: Decoding the Potential Health Risks
Signs of asthma can be observed during an early stage of a child’s life. A majority of cases show symptoms of asthma such as asthmatic wheezing but very rarely does it persist throughout school-age and adolescence. The wheezing is not because of allergen-specific sensitization but because of virus infections such as RSV or rhinovirus, and the pattern may change later during school-age. Persistent wheezing shows a connection to indoor allergens like house dust mites and mold etc.
Prevention of allergic diseases and symptoms is the best possible way to fight off the allergic march. Early prevention is recommended which heavily relies on the prevention of triggers in healthy infants. Allergy prevention can be done with certain measures such as avoidance of early allergen contact from foods and inhalants and avoidance of pollution mainly indoor pollutants such as cigarette/tobacco smoke. It’s not necessary that if your child has eczema, they are certain to get the allergy march. It just means there’s a higher chance of it happening if the signs do show up seeking medical attention as soon as possible for the necessary allergy diagnosis.
For more information on how you can identify and manage allergies, visit http://bit.ly/allergy_free
Allergies are recurrent in nature. It’s all about how your body functions during an allergic attack. An allergy happens because the immune system mistakes a harmless foreign particle to be harmful. The immune system, therefore, becomes overactive when an allergen enters the body. This leads to the releasing of chemicals (histamine) from the immune system. Normally these chemicals protect the body from viruses but during an allergy, it leads to unpleasant reactions. That is what makes allergies so hard to treat. An immune system has a specific way of reacting to things and it’s not only challenging but also impossible to change that process.
Managing allergies can be difficult. Seeking medical attention is probably the best way to get a proper allergy diagnosis. Identifying allergy types through allergy testing is important as it helps in receiving proper medication.
It’s easier to manage allergies by avoiding the triggers altogether. For instance, if you have a food allergy, refraining to consume that particular food item helps in keeping the allergy at bay. Something like a food allergy can be managed easily but what if you’re allergic to dust mites, mold or pollen? Limiting the exposure to the allergen is the best way to prevent yourself from discomfort. While regular vacuuming and dusting keep the dust mites away, limiting yourself indoors or wearing a mask during pollen high count seasons can help manage the respective allergies.
Here are some allergy home remedies that help in preventing and managing allergies.
If these remedies for allergies fail, you should seek the help of your doctor and work out an allergy management plan. Setting up an appointment every few months is advisable, so you can discuss if the symptoms have gotten worse or better or you’ve become prone to a new allergy. The medication for your allergy can be increased or decreased depending on the severity of your condition. Although allergies may not have a cure, there are plenty of ways in which you can manage them.
For more information on how you can identify and manage allergies, visit http://bit.ly/allergy_free
Also Read: What is the Cause of Nipple Pain? Understanding and Managing Discomfort
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Allergens are everywhere and you need to be mindful before coming in contact with them! Be it trees, grass, weed, pets, dust; an individual is prone to get an allergy anytime and anywhere. You can surely determine & beat them with allergy testing, but we’ve put down a few allergy tips on how you can beat them:
A gorgeous day can ruin your mood in a split-second if the pollen count is high. Especially during some seasons, the pollen count can be at its maximum, so ensure you stay indoors to keep the allergens away and take essential allergy care.
A nasal rinse cleans mucus from your nose and can give you relief from various signs & symptoms of allergies. It also can whisk away bacteria and thin mucus and cut down on postnasal drip. With some easy steps, you can get rid of the bacteria-
Do check with your doctor how to do this before trying it at home for the first time.
Each time you step out, you encounter millions of pieces that can trigger allergies.
A healthy diet always helps in allergy management when it comes to food allergies –
It’s better to know what the problem is before taking some of the steps. Make an appointment with your doctor who can help you identify your allergy triggers. It will make it easier to manage or avoid them.
For more information on how you can identify and manage allergies, visit http://bit.ly/allergy_free
