Clues for allergies, colds nothing to sneeze at

(ATLANTA, Georgia) - Spring is here and breathing is hard. You've tried a slew of over-the-counter drugs but still feel sort of lousy. And when you describe what's wrong, the list sounds like roll

Friday, March 22nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(ATLANTA, Georgia) - Spring is here and breathing is hard. You've tried a slew of over-the-counter drugs but still feel sort of lousy. And when you describe what's wrong, the list sounds like roll call for the one of the Seven Dwarfs and his bothersome cousins -- sneezy, itchy and scratchy.

Is it a cold? Or is it an allergy? How do you tell the difference and what will make you feel better?

The onset of spring and the pollination of some plants that occurs during this time of year tend to raise those sorts of questions.

The quick clues in determining the difference between an allergy or a cold are duration, texture and color, said Dr. William Dolen, an allergist at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. That means how long the symptoms last and how thick and what color the, um -- how should we say it? -- how dense and colored the mucus is.

At the onset of the discomfort, a sufferer's nose may be kind of runny and itchy, and some sneezing may be involved. At that point it could be either a cold or allergy, Dolen said. The diagnosis becomes more clear about 48 hours later, he said.

"If after two or three days of infectious contamination, those nasal secretions get sticky and messier," Dolen said, and they change color to green or yellow, then it's a cold. About the fifth day, the symptoms should become less severe, and by the second week, the discomfort should have dissipated.

If nasal secretions remain watery, clear and persist longer than two weeks, the problem is likely an allergy, Dolen said.

Another clue of a cold is the presence of low-grade fever. Someone suffering from an allergy will not have a fever, Dolen said.

Particular regions of the country may create greater discomfort for allergy sufferers depending on what irritates them, said Dr. John Zora, an allergist with Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Atlanta.

"The dust allergen is a perennial one so it's year-round," Zora said. "And the microscopic organism that produces that allergen, the dust mite, needs a certain amount of humidity to thrive.

"So people with that allergy might do better in places with relatively low humidity. Actually, any place where humidity is 50 percent or below, the dust mite does poorly."

Ragweed is abundant in the South, but there are certain areas in the Midwest, Zora said, where the plant is just as plentiful and can be equally problematic for people with that sensitivity.

Rain and runny noses might be springtime hallmarks, but this time of year is not necessarily the season of suffering.

"There isn't really an allergy season," Dolen said, "because it depends on what you are allergic to.

"Some trees [in the South] start pollinating at the end of winter before spring starts. And then in the summer, the grasses start. But when the grasses stop, then the weeds start in the fall," Dolen said. "Some people are allergic to pets or dust mites or cockroaches. People who have seasonal allergies are the fortunate ones."

Various regions of the country have different irritants, Dolen said, and it is possible to move from one area seeking relief only to incur a new problem.

"It is possible to develop specific allergic sensitizations later in life. If you live in the Southern United States and are allergic to ragweed and then decide to move to Arizona to get away from the ragweed, you can become allergic to things that are in Arizona," Dolen said.

"The only way to escape it is to go to Antarctica or somewhere like that where there is no pollen at all. But you'd be so lonely, you'd get a cat to keep you company, and then you'd get allergic to that."