Before contacting an allergy testing clinic, please consider the following points:
1. What are my symptoms?
Symptoms like congestion, sneezing, and runny noses are common signs of both colds and allergies. This is why it’s very easy to make the mistake of assuming you have a cold. However, there are differences in the symptoms. With a cold, you have a nagging cough, sore throat, and yellow mucus. An allergy, on the other hand, is characterized by itchy eyes and clear mucus.
2. When do my symptoms show up?
If you suffer from an allergy, the symptoms will often show up at the same time every year. People with allergies experience worsening symptoms during certain seasons of the year, when common outdoor allergies tend to thrive. So if your cold “shows up” in April, it probably isn’t a cold at all.
3. How long do my symptoms last?
If you’ve got a common cold, then the symptoms will consistently go away after one or two weeks. Allergy symptoms, on the other hand, will last as long as the allergy trigger is present. Make a note of when the symptoms show up and how long they last. If it’s allergies, they tend to last from as short as a few hours to as long as a few months.
4. Where am I when I experience my allergy symptoms?
With a cold, symptoms are persistent no matter where you are. You will always feel lousy whether you are at home in bed, dining out at a restaurant, or working at your office desk. Allergies are different. If you go to a home with dogs and your symptoms clear up after you get home, it’s most likely allergies.
If you are looking for an allergy clinic, or a doctor, then your preferred clinic should be one that has In office allergy testing. That way you will get checked and diagnosed in one place, no need to go to a special lab for more tests and you will get the right kind of treatment for your persistent allergy.
