20 / 48
How often do you have these symptoms?
20
SHINE
Winter 2015–2016
Everywhere you turn
this time of year,
it seems like you’re dodging someone
with a stuffed-up nose, scratchy throat,
or cough — assuming you don’t have
all three yourself.
If you’re like a lot of people,
you’ll guess that you have a cold or
the flu and will load up on over-
the-counter remedies to make
yourself feel better. But what if your
symptoms are actually caused by
allergies, not illness?
“Just like it’s not uncommon for
people to think that they have the flu
when they really just have a cold or
low-grade respiratory illness, many
people mistake winter allergy symptoms
for infection-based illness,” says Amber
Hyde, MD, family medicine physician
at Methodist Mansfield Medical Group.
“Some of my patients are surprised
to learn that they can have allergies
this time of year,” she says. “The fact
is that allergies can affect you at any
time, not just in the spring when things
are blooming.”
COMMUNITY
TAGLINE HERE
HEALTHY HOLIDAYS: ALLERGIES
SOYOU’VE
GOT A COLD
—
or do you?
COLD
FLU ALLERGIES
SNEEZING
Sometimes Rarely
Always
COUGHING
Frequently Frequently Sometimes
RUNNY/STUFFED-UP NOSE
Always
Always
Always
SCRATCHY/SORE THROAT
Sometimes Frequently Frequently
ITCHY EYES
Sometimes Rarely
Frequently
FEVER
Rarely
Always
Rarely
BODY ACHES
Rarely
Always
Rarely
CHECK THE CHART
The chart below can help you tell if there’s
more to your symptoms than you think.