60 Seconds: Is It COVID-19 or Allergies?

Hi, everyone. I'm Dr. John Whyte, Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. There's a lot of pollen around right now. So how can you tell if that cough is COVID or allergies? Here's what you need to know in 60 seconds.

Seasonal allergies typically cause itchiness, itchy eyes, itchy throat. Sometimes you have a dry cough. It's also typical to have a runny nose or watery eyes. Another big difference, allergies don't usually result in a fever.

COVID often causes shortness of breath or trouble breathing. You might get body aches or muscle aches, which don't usually happen with allergies. You can get a runny nose with COVID as well as allergies, but you don't lose sense of smell or taste with allergies like you might with COVID. And if you're sneezing, it's probably not COVID and more likely allergies. If you're still not sure, consider getting a COVID test and talk to your doctor.