As the weather cools, cold and flu season brings a wave of stuffy noses, sinus pressure, and postnasal drip. Because these conditions share so many symptoms, it can be hard to know whether you have a cold, the flu, allergies, or a sinus infection.
At Sinus & Snoring Specialists in Austin, TX, our ENT team helps patients sort out what is causing their nasal and sinus symptoms and which treatment makes sense. Here is how to tell these four common conditions apart.
What Is the Quickest Way to Tell a Cold, the Flu, Allergies, and a Sinus Infection Apart?
The quickest way to tell them apart is to look at how fast symptoms start, how long they last, and which symptoms are strongest. Each condition follows a fairly predictable pattern.
- Cold: Starts gradually, with congestion, sore throat, and sneezing, and usually improves within about a week.
- Flu: Comes on quickly, with high fever, chills, and body aches that are often stronger than nasal symptoms.
- Allergies: Cause itchy eyes, nose, and throat, with no fever, and last as long as you are exposed to the trigger.
- Sinus infection: Causes facial pain or pressure and thick green or yellow mucus, often lasting more than 10 days.
- Sinus infection after a cold: Symptoms improve and then get worse again.
How Can You Tell If It’s a Cold?
A cold usually causes nasal congestion, sore throat, postnasal drip, and sneezing that begin one to three days after exposure to a virus. Colds are caused by any of roughly 200 viruses that target the upper respiratory tract.
Common cold symptoms include:
- Nasal congestion
- Sore throat
- Postnasal drip
- Sneezing
- Cough
- Low-grade fever (around 100°F)
Cold symptoms usually last about a week before improving. Treatment focuses on relief, including hydration, pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, and oral decongestants used as directed.
How Is the Flu Different from a Cold?
The flu comes on faster and causes more intense symptoms than a cold. It is caused specifically by an influenza virus.
Signs that point to the flu include:
- Sudden onset of symptoms
- High fever (above 102°F)
- Chills
- Body aches
- Nasal congestion or postnasal drip, though these are less common than with a cold
Treatment for the flu is often similar to treatment for a cold. However, antiviral medications started within 48 hours of the first symptoms can help shorten the illness and reduce the risk of severe symptoms.
How Can You Tell If It’s Allergies?
You can usually tell it’s allergies if you have itchy eyes, nose, or throat with no fever, and symptoms that last as long as you are around a trigger. Allergies are not an infection but inflammation of the nose and other parts of the body caused by an allergen, such as pollen, pet dander, or dust.
Typical allergy symptoms include:
- Nasal congestion
- Sneezing
- Postnasal drip
- Itchy eyes
- Itchy nose or throat
Allergy symptoms usually last as long as you are exposed to the allergen, which can mean weeks or even months. Treatment can relieve symptoms with over-the-counter antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays, or address the cause with immunotherapy, which helps the body retrain its response to allergens.
Meet Our Physicians
Double Board-Certified Specialists
At Sinus & Snoring Specialists, our clinic brings together a dedicated Sinus & Nasal Center, Snoring & Sleep Apnea Center, Allergy Testing & Treatment Center, and Ear & Hearing Care services—all under one roof. Sinus & Snoring Specialists works very hard to provide one center that has everything needed for a full evaluation and treatment in one location.
How Do You Know If You Have a Sinus Infection?
You may have a sinus infection if you have facial pain or pressure and thick green or yellow mucus that lasts more than 10 days. A sinus infection is infection and inflammation of the air-filled cavities in the facial skeleton and skull base that connect directly to the nose.
Sinus infection symptoms include:
- Facial pain or pressure
- Headache
- Postnasal drip
- Thick green or yellow mucus
- Symptoms lasting more than 10 days after a cold
- Symptoms that worsen after a period of improvement
Sinus infections can follow any upper respiratory infection or even allergies. Hydration and nasal saline rinses can help, and antibiotics and occasionally anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed if bacterial sinusitis is suspected.
Still Not Sure What’s Behind Your Symptoms? Schedule a Visit with Sinus & Snoring Specialists
You should see an ENT if sinus symptoms last more than 10 days or sinus infections keep coming back. At Sinus & Snoring Specialists in Austin, TX, our team helps patients get to the root of the nasal and sinus concerns that put a damper on the season.
Consider scheduling a visit if you have:
- Sinus symptoms lasting more than 10 days
- Sinus infections that keep coming back
- Facial pain or pressure that does not improve
- Allergy symptoms that over-the-counter medications do not control
Call (512) 601-0303 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.