Allergies or a cold

[wvjules]

How can you tell the difference?

DD started with a mild sore throat yesterday. Today she wakes up and is really congested and has a sore throat and headache. Is it allergies or a cold and how can you tell?

 

[goofy4tink]

When my dd gets a cold, she is usually achy and has a low temp. If she only has the sore throat, congestion and drippy nose, we assume it's allergies.
Especially this year..the allergies are awful.

 

[FINFAN]

last week I posted about my allergies manifesting as a sore throat this year vs the usual sinus/stuffy/ sneezy crud...then 3 days ago...BAM! Full blown cold, knocked on my butt, hurts my head to sneeze sinus is so bad. Chapped lips are my signal that I have a cold vs allergies...but to be honest, I believe I haev a cold in addition to my allergies and I am insanely miserable today

 

[Christine]

I have both.

For me, a cold comes on with a "sudden" irritated/scratchy throat. That might last a day and then the cold symptoms start. It is more sudden than an allergy and I usually feel achy and tired.

With an allergy, I get more "itchy" in my eyes. I might not feel good but I don't feel "flu-like" if that makes sense. Most colds make me feel ill, while the allergy just makes me feel tired and sneeze. Also, with the allergy, I will get bouts of feeling better when I go indoors.

 

[krcit]

I wish I knew, lol!! I took my oldest dd to the Dr the other day because of a horrible cough due to her allergies(so I thought) but now my other 2 are coughing and my throat hurts. I don't know if we all have allergies or colds Everyone feels ok except for the throats and the coughing.

 

[Golf4food]

If the mucous is colored (yellow or green) then it is a cold.

If the mucous is clear it is allergies (or otherwise not a cold).

 

[wvjules]

I'll have her check her mucous. lol

I really think its allergies since she has no fever.

 

[simonsmom]

take her to the mall for a few hours or somewhere that has air conditioning. if the symptoms clear up- it's allergies

 

[Wishing on a star]

My son has multiple allergies, and has had occasional colds....

I have begun to see the little nuances that tell me, hey, this is a cold he is coming down with.

First, is your daughter on allergy meds?
My son does a maintenance dose of Zyrtec, every single night...
When I notice that he is showing some pretty bad symptoms, I first ask him if he has remembered his Zyrtec the past couple nights... When he says he has taken it, then usually, YEP, he has come down with a cold, and it works it course over the next few days...

For my son, a cold leaves his nose running so much more than allergies, which aren't quite as 'runny'.

If it is allergies, Zyrtec will help.
Use it like a maintenance med...
After a few days you will see the difference.

When I suspect a cold, my son takes his Zyrtec at night, and the next morning gets OTC motrin-COLD with the pseudephedrine.

If your child is often like this, kind of systemic, then I would suspect allergies. (if it only occasionally hits out of the blue - I would suspect a cold)

I always knew my son had allergies, especially in Fall, with Spring and Summer as well. When we had him in for testing, OMG, he looked like he had chicken pox or hives, or had been attacked by a huge swarm of angry mosquitoes or something... so many of the scratch/needle pricks whelped up on him.

 

[luvmy3]

take her to the mall for a few hours or somewhere that has air conditioning. if the symptoms clear up- it's allergies

This isn't really true, her dd could be alergic to mold spores found in the vents. She could still have allergy sypmtoms, not to mention that her body has already started the process of defending itself against the allergen, she will still experience symptoms for a bit after being exposed, and that pollen can be tracked in on hair, clothes and shoes so she wouldn't really escape it.

I only have a sore throat when I have a cold, so I guess it depends on what symptoms she normally shows when she has a cold. My ds just got over one, but he had a mild fever so it was easy to tell.