Hay fever or a cold?

Admittedly - it is not always obvious whether a runny nose heralds a cold or is already the first indication of an allergic reaction 

Whoever reacts to pollen with a runny nose for the first time has a particularly hard time. Because a pollen allergy is not for nothing also called hay fever.

Both are expressed by typical symptoms, such as:

• frequent sneezing
• running or stuffy nose
• itching nose and eyes
• watery eyes
• sore throat and sore throat
• fatigue
• exhaustion
• headache

Only as it progresses does an allergic rhinitis  From a cold:

• In a cold, the symptoms increase within a few days, in a pollen allergy they appear suddenly and violently, but can disappear just as quickly.
• A cold lasts on average 7 to 14 days, a pollen allergy can drag on for several months or even subside after a few hours, as soon as the mucous membranes no longer come into contact with the allergens. The pollen calendar shows which pollens are in season and when and fly particularly strong.
• With a cold, it usually comes to the secretion of viscous, yellowish mucus, but with a pollen allergy, the nasal secretion is liquid and clear.
• With hay fever, violent sneezing attacks occur, usually with a change of location. With a cold is sneezed only now and then.
• With hay fever, the symptoms occur particularly strongly outdoors and improve indoors. A cold remains the same indoors as outdoors.
• When it rains, the symptoms of hay fever disappear or improve significantly, the cold continues to hold.
• An allergic rhinitis occurs every year again at the same time, a cold only sporadically.

The clear diagnosis, however, can only make the doctor. If you suspect an allergy behind the cold, you can have an allergy test [https://www.polli-allergie.de/behandlung/allergietest/]. From this, the doctor can see whether and if so, to which allergens you react. The result of the examination is decisive for the therapy of the complaints, because a pollen allergy is treated differently than a cold.

In contrast to the common cold, which is triggered by viruses and bacteria, the runny nose and frequent sneezing in hay fever are defensive reactions of the immune system to allergens. In the case of pollen allergy, these are pollen from trees, grasses, cereals or herbs. If they enter through the mucous membranes, the body wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible and produces increased secretions that transport the foreign bodies to the outside.

Near a birch, a hazel  or in the freshly mowed grass then the typical sneezing fits occur due to the high concentration of pollen, and all dams break in the nose and eyes.

Although the symptoms are almost the same, the treatment is fundamentally different. For while a cold can be alleviated by conventional home remedies such as herbal tea, inhaling and plenty of rest, these measures have little effect on allergies and only serve to improve the general condition. Only a nasal douche with salt water helps in both cases to cleanse the mucous membranes.

In the case of hay fever, anti-allergics are needed, which are available in the form of nasal sprays, eye drops and tablets. Nasal sprays and eye drops are available with different active ingredients that fight the allergy. Azelastine blocks the action of the allergy-triggering neurotransmitter histamine and relieves symptoms in acute cases It is contained, for example, in Pollival® nasal spray and Pollival® eye drops . Cromoglicic acid, such as that found in Pollicrom® Nasal Spray and Pollicrom® Eye Drops, on the other hand, kicks in earlier and, when used early enough, reduces the release of histamine before symptoms even occur.

If the hay fever is manifested by very severe symptoms, preparations with cortisone-like active ingredients or antihistamines in the form of tablets will help. Those who want to get rid of pollen allergy permanently can undergo specific immunotherapy (SIT) after consulting their doctor. This hypo- or also desensitization pulls itself however usually over three years and is thus no solution with acute complaints.

While a cold usually subsides also untreated after few weeks again, hay fever can lead without sufficient treatment in 40 per cent of the cases to a "floor change". That is, the symptoms move from the upper to the lower airways and allergic asthma occurs.