Coronavirus: Is it hay fever or COVID-19? How to tell the difference
Written by News on 29/05/2020
With Britain firmly in hay fever season, some people may be worried about confusing its symptoms with those of coronavirus.
A cough can be associated with both conditions, and hay fever can lead to a loss of smell – something that can affect those with COVID-19 too.
We have just entered the most difficult period for sufferers – the grass pollen season, which lasts from mid-May until July.
Asthma UK said the main difference between the two is that “hay fever doesn’t usually come with a high temperature”.
Hay fever symptoms may include a cough; but a new, continuous and dry cough is associated with coronavirus.
An allergy to pollen may cause a loss of smell, according to the NHS.
And loss of taste and smell – or anosmia – were also recently added to the UK’s official list of symptoms for COVID-19.
However, common hay fever symptoms such as sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, and itchy or watery eyes are not normally associated with coronavirus.
Royal College of GPs chair Professor Martin Marshall has also highlighted some of hay fever’s distinctive traits.
“Allergy symptoms tend to be milder and fluctuate depending on the time of day as pollen levels are often higher in the afternoon and evening,” he said.
“Similarly, wet weather may lead to patients experiencing milder symptoms.
“Patients who regularly suffer from hay fever will be familiar with the symptoms they usually get and the severity of them.
“In instances where a patient experiences a significant deviation from this, or have specific symptoms of COVID-19 – a new, persistent cough and a high temperature – we urge them to follow government advice and self-isolate.”
The charity Allergy UK says hay fever symptoms “are persistent and relatively predictable depending on the pollen count”.
“Symptoms of runny, itchy nose and sneezing which are typical of hay fever are not typical of coronavirus,” it says.
Next week from Monday to Thursday, Dermot Murnaghan will be hosting After the Pandemic: Our New World – a series of special live programmes about what our world will be like once the pandemic is over.
We’ll be joined by some of the biggest names from the worlds of culture, politics, economics, science and technology. And you can take part too.
If you’d like to be in our virtual audience – from your own home – and put questions to the experts, email afterthepandemic@sky.uk
(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Is it hay fever or COVID-19? How to tell the difference
