If you’ve had a sniffle attack in the last fortnight, you could be forgiven for assuming it was just a cold.
Or you could have easily pointed the finger at hay fever if you’re especially prone, given that Britain has been repeatedly mistreated by a pollen bomb.
But as the pandemic has progressed, Covid itself has become much milder.
And with the virus ravaging the country again, it means that the symptoms that leave you stuck on the couch with a box of handkerchiefs may have actually been caused by Covid.
So, given that all three diseases can affect people in a similar way, here’s the definitive guide to explaining what’s really behind nasal discharge, coughing, or pain.
The graph shows: common symptoms (green tick), occasional (orange circle) and never (red cross) of the common cold, hay fever and Covid
Covid infections have almost doubled in a fortnight in England, rising to about 1.4 million in the last week
Symptoms of covid
Common
- Fever
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
Sometimes
- Headache
- Secretion or obstructed nose
- sneezing
- Fatigue
- A sore throat
- Pains or aches
- Shortness of breath
- Diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
May
- Itchy, red or teary eyes
Covid
At the start of the pandemic, people were told to watch for three warning signs of Covid: a loss of taste or smell, a continuous cough, and a fever.
But as new variants evolved and vaccines and repeated waves reduced the threat of the virus, the official list of symptoms continued to grow.
The NHS now recognizes 12 symptoms associated with Covid.
According to the ZOE symptom follow-up study, the most common signs of the virus now are runny nose (66%), sore throat (65%), headache (64%), persistent cough (63%). and fatigue (62%).
But because of the variety of symptoms and the high prevalence of the virus, Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King’s College London who runs the study, encourages people to get tested anyway.
The virus is currently in its fifth wave in Britain, driven by Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 sub-strains, which are believed to be more infectious but as mild as their ancestor.
The most unique feature of Covid is the total loss of smell or taste, known as anosmia, which is rarely reported in colds and hay fever.
Researchers at Harvard University published a study in Science Advances in July 2020 that showed that the virus invades blood vessel cells and nasal stem cells that provide energy to the nerves that transmit the sense of smell. ‘smell in the brain.
However, Omicron is less likely to cause loss of taste or smell because the variant multiplies deeper in the lungs than in the nose, experts believe.
Of the newest symptoms listed for Covid, only diarrhea and nausea or vomiting are exclusive of the virus and are not caused by either hay fever or colds. Suggests that if you have these, as well as a cough, it may be Covid.
NHS instructions tell people to stay home and avoid contact with other people if you have symptoms of Covid, and to take a PCR test. People are no longer legally required to test if they are symptomatic, nor should they be isolated if they are positive.
Symptoms of hay fever
Common
- Secretion or obstructed nose
- sneezing
- Itchy, red or teary eyes
Sometimes
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
May
- Fever
- A sore throat
- Pains or aches
- Diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
Hay fever
High pollen levels in recent weeks have caused millions of people to suffer from hay fever.
Experts suspect that staying indoors more than usual during the last two years of the pandemic has left many unexposed to pollen, which strengthens their reactions this year.
Unlike colds and Covid, hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, rather than a disease caused by an infection.
This means that the symptoms are caused by the body’s immune system reacting excessively to a foreign body perceiving it as a threat, in this case pollen.
Having runny or itchy discharge, sneezing and itching, red or watery eyes are the most common signs of allergy.
But teary eyes are, in theory, the only unique feature that is not, at least, an occasional feature of Covid or colds.
The body naturally tries to wash away body pollen, causing the tear ducts to start producing fluids to help relieve the presence of dust produced by plants.
The eyes also become sore as the body causes inflammation, known as allergic conjunctivitis, when a thin, transparent membrane covers the whites of the eyes and the inside of the eyelids.
The histamine produced during the reaction also irritates the nerve endings, causing itching, while the blood vessels dilate and swell to combat the irritant, leading to redness.
Unlike the other two diseases, hay fever does not cause higher temperatures, said Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots, so it is safe to rule out allergies if those are his symptoms.
Donovan said: “Hay fever does not cause a high temperature and most people do not feel bad.
“Symptoms include sneezing, runny or runny nose, itchy, watery red eyes or itchy throat.”
He said you use barrier balms, such as Vaseline, around the nostrils to trap pollen and use surrounding sunglasses to keep pollen out of the eyes to control symptoms.
Antihistamine pills and nasal sprays can also be used to help combat symptoms.
Cold symptoms
Common
- Cough
- A sore throat
- Secretion or obstructed nose
- sneezing
Sometimes
- Pains or aches
- Fever
- Loss of taste or smell
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
May
- Diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Itchy, red or teary eyes
Common cold
The common cold, while less common in the summer, can affect people year-round, and is especially common during festival seasons when people return from live events mixed with thousands of people.
Two years of blockades have reduced people’s immunity to colds, while the hundreds of thousands who went to Glastonbury last week will inevitably have been exposed to viruses in full conditions.
Cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and sneezing are the most common symptoms caused by the hundreds of viruses that cause common colds.
Aches and pains, fever, headaches, fatigue, and loss of appetite can also be telltale signs, while loss of taste or smell is also an occasional symptom.
The absence of swollen, swollen eyes could be a sign that you are actually experiencing a cold instead of a seasonal allergy.
Meanwhile, having diarrhea, nausea, or difficulty breathing in addition to the previous symptoms could indicate that this is actually Covid rather than a simple cold you are experiencing.
Symptoms occur when any of the 200 different viruses cause inflammation of the membranes lining the nose and throat.
They are not actually caused by the cold, but the body is more susceptible to infection when the immune system is weaker, which can be caused by a drop in temperature.
Donovan said, “Colds can still occur during the warmer months and usually involve sneezing and coughing, along with sore throat, headache, and sometimes loss of taste and smell.
“You may consider taking painkillers to help relieve pain or relieve a clogged nose with a decongestant nasal spray or decongestant pills.”