Hay fever doesn’t give you a fever
Good question! In this section PlusOnline looks for answers to pressing questions. This time: do I have hay fever or corona?
Coughing, sniffling, sneezing, sore throat and shortness of breath: these are just a few complaints that you can suffer from both hay fever and the coronavirus. But what is the difference between the two? How do you know if you have hay fever or corona?
Hay fever patients often recognize the complaints themselves, but pollen and pollen allergies are becoming increasingly common during the year due to the changing climate. This can make it difficult to distinguish the differences, especially now that the coronavirus seems to remain in our country. The symptoms are very similar, but there are some important differences between the symptoms.
Hay fever or corona?
With hay fever you mainly sneeze a lot and you often have a stuffy nose and itchy or watery eyes. If you are infected with the coronavirus, fever (38 degrees or higher) or increase (37.5 to 38 degrees) is the most common in addition to a cold. That is also the most important difference by which you can recognize corona, because hay fever does not give you a fever, despite the name. Conversely, corona, as is now known, does not give you a stuffy nose or itchy or watery eyes.
Omikron variant
There is only a ‘but’. From several studies, such as the British King’s College London, it has since become apparent that the omikron variant of the coronavirus can cause other complaints than the current list of symptoms on the RIVM website, which is still based on the delta variant. For example, in addition to a cold, a runny or blocked nose, headache and (mild or severe) fatigue symptoms could be the most important complaints of corona in the future. If a fever or increase actually disappears from this list and a stuffy nose is added to it, it is a little more difficult to recognize the differences between hay fever and corona.
In both cases the following applies: are you in doubt? Then do a self-test, so that you at least know whether you have caught the corona virus. If the test is negative, there is a good chance that you have ‘just’ hay fever. In case of serious complaints, immediately call your GP or out-of-hours GP.
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