Is it hay fever, a cold or the flu?
Helping you understand your symptoms during the hay fever season.
Check your symptoms using the table below:1
Allergy, cold and flu have several things in common as they all affect the respiratory system. Match your symptoms to the table below, to help you understand if you have an allergy or perhaps a cold or the flu. If in doubt, consult your pharmacist or doctor.
| Illness (Cause) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | Airborne allergy (Trigger/allergen) |
Cold (Virus) | Flu (Virus) |
| Itchy & watery eyes | Common | Rare | Rare |
| Stuffy, runny nose | Common | Common | Sometimes |
| Sneezing | Usual | Usual | Sometimes |
| Sore throat | Sometimes | Common | Sometimes |
| Cough | Sometimes | Common | Common, can become severe |
| Fatigue, weakness | Sometimes | Sometimes | Usual |
| Headache | Uncommon | Sometimes | Common |
| General aches, pains | Very rare | Slight | Usual |
| Fever | Very rare | Rare | Usual |
Adapted from reference: 1. NIH News in Health. Cold, flu, or allergy? Know the difference for best treatment. October 2014. Available at https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/10/cold-flu-or-allergy. Accessed December 2019.
PM-UK-PIRI-20-00080