Is That A Cold Or An Allergy?

I never had allergies when I was a kid. However, I do remember my father telling me that his allergies only developed when he was older.

This all seemed like hypochondriac nonsense to me…until I developed my own allergies. As a singer, allergies may very well be a bigger pain in the ass for me than most people. Therefore, I have recently felt the need to learn all that I can about my own symptoms so that I can effectively tell the difference between a common cold and an allergy.

After all, you can’t fix something if you don’t know what’s broken, right?

Here’s the rundown of allergy symptoms versus common cold symptoms.

Both come along with a sneeze, but a sneeze from a cold is typically very loud and infrequent, coming more from the lungs than from the nose. The allergy sneeze is much more frequent and it stems from irritation in the nose.

You’ll have runny eyes with a cold, yes, but you will experience this symptom much more clearly if what you’re struggling with is actually an allergy.

The difference between the itchy nose you get when you have a cold and the one you get when you have an allergy is this: Allergies causes itches that really can’t be scratched. You feel them in the back of your nose and it makes you miserable. The cold, however, causes an itch that can typically be alleviated much more easily by, for example, blowing your nose.

Not sure yet what it is you have?

Check your snot.

SERIOUSLY! When you have a cold, it will be a gross yellow or green color. Allergies, however, are notorious for having snot tag along that is more or less clear.

Those suffering from allergies, instead of colds, will also notice dark circles under their eyes.

Although this may all seem very obvious to most people, there was a point in my life where these symptoms all got blurred together and I simply assumed I was always sick. That was until I realized I was allergic to cats AND dust. So before you run to the store and stock up on cold medicine…why not make sure you actually have a cold?