Allergies Or Coronavirus? Northland Pollen Count Is High

This weekend it was wonderful to finally see the sunshine after what felt like an eternity of cold, rainy weather. Even if we only had it for a few days, as we are in a cold front now that will last a while again. But, for my family the nicer days and spending some time outside left us all feeling pretty miserable. We checked in each other and were wondering if it could be something more than allergies.

My wife's head was completely congested like she had a cold. She and I both had runny noses and were coughing a bunch. Even our kids were stuffed up. With the symptoms being similar to a possible cold we had to ask ourselves if we needed to go get tested for COVID-19. My allergies usually aren't that bad.

According to Pollen.com, we are in a medium-high pollen count for mostof the Midwest. Some places in C

entral Minnesota are in the high category.  Duluth yesterday was at an 8.1 pollen level. Today we are at 7.7, and it's expected to stay high for several days.

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So I did a little research on how you can tell the difference, although the only real way to know is if you get a COVID-19 test.

The CDC says that COVID-19 will more likely have fever and chills, muscle pain, new loss of taste and smell, and or vomiting or diarrhea. If you are just sneezing and have itchy, water eyes, it's likely then just allergies. They both share symptoms of coughing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. You can compare it in the infographic below.

Hopefully this helps put you at ease if the seasonal allergies are kicking your butt like they are in my family.