GREENSBORO, N.C. — You wake up in the morning with a scratchy throat or a fever. You may be wondering if it is allergies, COVID, or Strep. Which one is it?
Dr. Christopher Ohl is an infectious disease expert with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. He said as COVID cases decline since a peak in January, other illnesses are now on the rise.
“We're seeing some strep throat going around, there's a lot of common colds still going around that are due to several different viruses,” Dr. Ohl said. “By and large, I would say we're leaving our respiratory viral season and unfortunately entering our allergy season.”
Symptoms for common illnesses:
Covid: stuffy nose, sore throat, cough
Strep: sore throat
Allergies: eye irritation, scratchy throat
Flu: fever, headache, body aches
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of overlap between these and so we have to often times test to know for sure,” Dr. Ohl said.
As far as the common cold goes, Dr. Ohl said there’s no test for that.
“If you don't have COVID, if you don't have the flu, and it doesn't look like you have strep you've got a cold,” Dr. Ohl said. “That's going to run its course. Chicken soup and rest and lots of fluids is still the best thing you can do."
Lastly, Dr. Ohl said most of the milder respiratory illnesses don't require a trip to the emergency department. He recommends going to your primary care physician or an urgent care clinic. Rule of thumb, if you think you're sick, be a good citizen and stay home from work or school.