Allergies or COVID? Doctor weighs in

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Springtime means spring allergies, and the past few years have been a bit rougher, in terms of allergy season.

Dr. Denise Sanchez with Rochester Regional Health said there are a number of factors that contribute to it, including climate change.

With warmer weather, you do see pollen counts rising in the air, and with COVID cases going up again, how can you tell if it’s allergies, or something else?

Dr. Sanchez said the biggest indicator is how sick you feel.

"Allergies are a little different they’re characterized by a lot of itching, itching watery eyes, itchy nose, itchy throat," Sanchez said. "Allergies are annoying but you should not feel really ill. I think that’s the main point you know. if you feel super sick chances are it’s probably not allergies. If you have a fever, GI [gastrointestinal] complaints, body aches, those are just not things that are really characteristic of allergies."

Some things Sanchez said you can do if you have seasonal allergies include medication, staying indoors if the pollen count is particularly high one day, keeping the windows closed and washing your hands.