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Coronavirus Symptoms Or Hay Fever? How To Tell Them Apart

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Pollen levels are rising across the UK, much to the dismay of anyone who suffers from hay fever. A high pollen count is showing for Tuesday across England and Wales, with medium levels in Northern Ireland and low levels in Scotland, according to the Met Office.

Those with hay fever – particularly allergies to birch and ash pollen – will likely be feeling the effects already: the itchy, watery eyes; the runny nose; possibly even a cough. But hang on, aren’t some of these also signs of coronavirus?

Dr Diana Gall, a GP working with online service Doctor 4 U, says that because some of the symptoms can overlap it’s “imperative” that people do stay vigilant of how they’re feeling over the coming weeks. Here’s what you need to know.

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The key differences

The main symptoms of Covid-19 are a high temperature and/or a new, continuous cough – and while hay fever may leave some people with a cough, its main symptoms revolve around general itchiness – so itchy eyes, an itchy nose, itchy throat and in some cases itchy ears – and a runny nose.

Conversely, sneezing and a stuffy nose are common with hay fever but these symptoms are rare in Covid-19 cases, says Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots.

The fever element is also a good way of telling the two apart. Despite the name, hay fever doesn’t cause a high temperature and most people don’t feel unwell because of it, whereas coronavirus can cause a fever and achiness – like the flu.

“If you do find that you are sneezing a lot more and are worried it could be Covid-19 but you do not also have a fever, achiness or a sore throat then it’s likely that you are just suffering with allergy symptoms,”...

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