For peace of mind, you should understand the difference between COVID-19 and other conditions, including allergies, influenza and the common cold, which could appear similar, at least initially.

However, if you are concerned you have coronavirus or have trouble breathing, use the NHS 111 coronavirus service

Coronavirus or hay fever?

Allergies can have chronic symptoms.Many people experience seasonal allergies or allergies to pets that can cause symptoms that might concern them in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sufferers of allergic rhinitis, or to use its common name, hay fever, can experience the following symptoms:

• itchy, watery, red eyes
• Itchy skin or a skin rash
• blocked or runny nose with thin, clear mucous
• sneezing
• wheezing in some cases

The primary way to distinguish between a COVID-19 infection and allergies is the presence of a fever and shortness of breath. Allergies don’t cause a fever.

Dr Dilraj Kalsi, the founder of Hippocrates Lounge, explained ‘colds and allergies do not involve fever, but allergies involve itchy eyes.’

People with allergies usually don’t have shortness of breath. The exception is in those who have asthma that flares up when they are in contact with allergens.

If you have sore muscles, body aches and fatigue, it won’t be due to allergies. These symptoms are associated with more severe viral infections like COVID-19 and the flu.

The difference between COVID-19, the flu and a cold

Different viruses cause all three of these conditions, which is why there is some cross-over in the symptoms. If you can easily mistake COVID for the flu or a cold, how can you tell the difference?

‘COVID-19, flu, the common cold, and allergies have a lot of overlapping features. There are a few characteristics, however, that may lead one to suspect COVID-19 over the others.’ Dr. Adam Wellikoff, Pulmonologist at the Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Disorders Institute of South Florida told NetDoctor.

He continues that ‘the triad of fever with a dry cough and shortness of breath should raise suspicions. Particular attention should be paid if a person has had recent travel or contact with a COVID-19 positive person.’

Some symptoms that you may be concerned about are not indications of COVID-19. Dr Wellikoff tells us that ‘other features such as runny nose [and] productive cough make something other than COVID-19 more likely.’

If you have respiratory symptoms and a fever, or any other mild symptoms, the only way to categorically tell if it’s a COVID-19 infection is to take a test. However, that’s not an option for many people so, instead, you should look out for the tell-tale signs of a fever combined with shortness of breath. Many patients display this common sign of COVID-19 before their health deteriorates, and they develop pneumonia.

The common cold rarely causes fever and generally is much less severe than the flu or COVID-19. People with colds usually have a runny or stuffy nose which is rare in coronavirus infections. Colds rarely cause serious health problems, such as pneumonia, secondary bacterial infections, or hospital admissions. Flu can have serious associated health complications.

Coronavirus symptoms

From what we know so far, the typical symptoms of COVID-19 are:

• A high temperature
• A new, continuous cough: coughing for more than an hour, three three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours, or if your usual cough is simply worse than normal.
• Shortness of breath

Other symptoms reported include:

• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Body aches

For most people, fever is the first symptom, followed by the dry cough, with shortness of breath developing in some people around 5-10 days following the initial symptoms.

Countless studies report that fever, shortness of breath and a dry cough are the primary symptoms that affect most COVID-19 patients. A study of 138 COVID-19 patients in China showed that 98.6% of the patients had a fever, and 59.4% had a dry or nonproductive cough. Around a third of the patients had difficulty breathing or dyspnea to use the medical term.

A fever is usually a raised temperature of at least 37.8°C in an adult but can simple be measured by being hot to touch on the chest or back. For most people, fever is the first symptom, followed by the dry cough, with shortness of breath developing around 5-10 days following the initial symptoms.

Shortness of breath means that you unexpectedly feel out of breath. If you’ve just done your daily workout, or run up and down the stairs, you would expect to feel a little short of breath. Some people feel breathless when they are anxious, but when they are calmer, their breathing returns to normal. These are examples of occasions when you shouldn’t worry if you have a little shortness of breath.

If you find that you need to breath harder under normal circumstances, you should talk to your doctor. Remember that if it’s your only symptom, the cause is probably not COVID-19.

When to see a doctor

Dr Ramprasad Gopalan, Infectious Disease Physician, and owner of First-Class Medicine tells us that the clinical course of COVID-19 is predictable. He said that ‘2-11 days after exposure (day 5 on average) flu-like symptoms start.’

He continues ‘the time to seek emergency medical attention is new onset of shortness of breath or when symptoms become unmanageable at home.’

If you think you may have a cold, flu or COVID-19, and you are having trouble breathing, you should contact your healthcare provider. Try not to panic because influenza and COVID-19 can cause almost identical symptoms.

Severity of symptoms

An interesting feature of COVID-19 is its broad spectrum of symptoms and variation in severity. Some people are entirely asymptomatic, which means they show no symptoms, feel completely well, and usually have no idea that they are infected.