How to tell a cold from the flu

CINCINNATI, March 31 (UPI) -- Parents often have a hard time in the spring determining whether children's sneezing is due to a cold or allergies, a Cincinnati pediatric allergist says.

"Runny, stuffy or itchy noses, sneezing, coughing, fatigue and headaches can all be symptoms of both allergies and colds but when parents pay close attention to minor details they will be able to tell the difference," Dr. Michelle Lierl of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center says in a statement. "Children who have springtime or fall allergies have much more itching of their noses; they often have fits of sneezing and usually rub their noses in an upward motion. They also complain about an itchy, scratchy throat or itchy eyes, whereas with a cold, they don't."

Lierl says nasal discharge for allergy patients is usually clear and is watery, while cold patients usually have yellowish mucus discharge.

There is a blood test -- the Immunocap -- that can screen for allergy to specific foods or airborne allergens and can be ordered by any doctor, but it is important patients or their parents to talk with their doctors.

"Children experiencing seasonal allergy symptoms should be tested for environmental allergens present during that season and not for food allergies or allergens present during seasons when they had no symptoms," Lierl says.