Common Seasonal Illnesses: How to Identify and Treat Them

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It’s a relatable scenario: You’re laid up on the couch with a headache, stuffy nose, sore throat, and body aches, but you’re not sure if it’s a cold, allergies, COVID-19, or the flu. Figuring it out can be tricky since many have overlapping symptoms. Understanding the differences, which may be subtle, is crucial to respiratory illness identification and getting the right treatment. Below, we’ll help you learn how to recognize these differences and give you management and prevention tips. As always, checking in with your Primary Care provider is a good idea—especially if symptoms persist.

Recognizing the Differences Between Illnesses

While colds, allergies, flu, and COVID-19 may have similar symptoms, there are key differences that can clue you in to what you’re dealing with. This table—or symptom checker for common viruses and allergies—offers a quick comparison of the conditions.

Breaking things down a little further, here are more ways to pinpoint what ails you.

Cold vs. Allergy Symptoms

• Cold symptoms tend to appear gradually and typically last 3-10 days, while allergies are triggered by environmental factors like dust or pollen. These symptoms can be seasonal or stick around even longer (depending on the allergen).
• Watery, itchy eyes are common with allergies but rare with a cold.
• Runny noses stay clear with allergies and tend to thicken with colds.
• Dry coughs and wheezing are more likely with allergies vs. the mucus-y wet coughs that usually accompany colds.

Flu vs. COVID-19 Differences

• The flu often comes on suddenly while COVID-19 symptoms may show up 2-14 days after exposure.
• There are many overlapping symptoms (see table above), but the flu tends to cause a higher fever.
• Unlike the flu, COVID-19 may come with a loss of taste and smell, as well as shortness of breath or breathing difficulty, nausea or vomiting, and, possibly, diarrhea.
• If you’re still uncertain about your symptoms, take a COVID-19 test to rule the virus out (or in).

Another helpful thing to keep in mind when determining your condition: how often you’ve previously experienced the symptoms. You can catch a cold several times a year, whereas you’re more likely to get the flu only once a year, and allergies usually recur seasonally.

Managing and Treating Symptoms

Once you’ve determined whether you have an ordinary cold or allergies, COVID-19, or the flu, it’s treatment time. If you’re still uncertain about the nature of your illness or you experience severe symptoms, contact your Primary Care provider.

Here are general treatment recommendations:

Common Cold

Most colds are harmless, even if they don’t always feel that way. While a cold will usually go away on its own, there are things you can do to help relieve symptoms: rest, drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated, and take over-the-counter pain relievers, and/or decongestants. Some folks also swear by chicken soup, aka grandma’s penicillin, as a remedy. (Can’t hurt, right?)

Allergies

Naturally, the best course of action is avoiding the offending allergens altogether—easier said than done. Otherwise, using antihistamines, nasal corticosteroids, and other over-the-counter allergy medications, or taking allergy injections, is the best way to manage symptoms.

Flu

Over-the-counter pain relievers (aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen) can help relieve body aches and headaches, and reduce fever. Antiviral medications, which require a doctor’s prescription, can also be an effective treatment, lessening symptoms and shortening the length of illness. For best results, though, they need to be taken within one to two days after first symptoms appear. Using a humidifier may also be beneficial, as increased humidity helps the body flush out the infection.

COVID-19

Those with mild COVID-19 can manage symptoms, relieve fever, and aches with over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. People with more severe COVID-19, older adults, and high-risk patients should immediately see a doctor, who will most likely prescribe antiviral medications like Paxlovid, Lageviro, and Remdesivir.

Prevention Is the Best Way to Stay Healthy

There are many common practices and things you can do to help prevent the spread of illness and protect yourself from getting sick in the first place—or, at least, minimize symptoms if you’re infected:

• Frequent handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Covering your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing; always use tissues if available
• Avoid touching eyes, nose, mouth, or face (especially when hands are not clean)
• Don’t directly touch public surfaces like doorknobs and ticket machines; skip shaking hands
• Stay home when feeling sick.
• Avoid close contact with sick people
• Clean home surfaces with disinfectant that kill viruses
• For both COVID-19 and the flu, getting vaccinated is the best prevention. Get flu shots as soon as they’re available every year for protection against the current strain.
• For allergies, controlling your environment where possible is key. Staying away from pets, heavy dust or pollen is always the goal.

When in doubt about any of your symptoms, the right course of treatment, or other health issues, make an appointment with your Primary Care provider for more guidance.