Do you have whooping cough, FLiRT Covid strains or hay fever? Key clues to look out for

WHEN we feel With a bit of a cough forming, most of us assume we have a cold.

But how likely is it to be hayfever, or Covid, or even whooping cough?

With the UK facing a whooping cough outbreak, new strains of Covid circulating and pollen levels rising in the coming days, your ticklish throat could be caused by any of the above.

Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, previously warned that we could be on the brink of the worst whooping cough epidemic in four decades.

“It used to be much more common in the last century, until the introduction of the vaccine,” he said.

“However, this year it looks like we could see more cases than we have seen in any of the last 40 years.”

As for Covud, cases have risen again since the highly contagious new FLiRT variants began spreading rapidly across Britain.

The Met Office has warned that pollen levels are expected to rise in southern England over the weekend, as temperatures are expected to reach 20C in some places.

Although some symptoms of whooping cough, Covid and hayfever overlap, there are some critical differences in how each condition manifests.

Here’s how to find out what’s really behind that annoying cough.

Is it whooping cough?

As the UK is experiencing an outbreak of whooping cough, there is a possibility that you could be a carrier of the disease.

The bug, known as whooping cough, is a bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the lungs and respiratory tubes.

Dr Simon Theobalds, a GP in Manchester, said: “Most viral infections [like whooping cough] They last one to two weeks, but for some people it may take longer.

“There are several reasons for this, including different levels of immunity against infections.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the notoriously long illness progresses in three stages.

Symptoms usually start five to 10 days after you catch the virus.

At first, symptoms are often similar to those of a common cold, but after about a week, patients experience coughing spells that last a few minutes and worsen at night.

Young babies may also emit a characteristic “scream” or have difficulty breathing.

Coughing can produce thick mucus, which can make people sick.

Young children or babies may turn blue or gray due to difficulty breathing, while adults may become red in the face.

If your or your child’s lips, tongue, face or skin suddenly turn blue or gray, call 999 or go to A&E immediately.

The disease spreads easily and can sometimes cause serious problems, including broken ribs, pneumonia and seizures.

By the eighth week, the violent cough will usually have progressed to something milder.

But for some, it can last several months, which is why it’s often nicknamed the “100-day cough.”

“If symptoms persist or worsen and you feel worse or have a high fever, we recommend a doctor’s appointment to get a full evaluation and rule out more serious conditions such as pneumonia or sepsis,” Dr. Simon added.

Request an urgent appointment or call NHS 111 if:

• Your cough is very bad or gets worse very quickly
• You feel very bad
• You have chest pain
• The side of the neck is swollen or painful
• You find it difficult to breathe
• You cough up blood

If you have whooping cough, antibiotics can help – but only if you start taking them within three weeks of your symptoms starting, says the NHS.

4

Is it hay fever?

With pollen counts rising in England over the weekend, there’s a chance your itchy throat could be a sign of hay fever.

Hay fever – also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis – is an allergic reaction to pollen.

As your immune system reacts to antigens like pollen by releasing histamines, here are some typical symptoms you may experience:

• Sneezing
• Cough caused by postnasal drip (mucus running down the throat from the back of the nose)
• Runny or blocked nose
• Itchy, red, or watery eyes
• Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears

Less commonly, you may also experience:

• Loss of smell
• Pain in the sides of the head and forehead caused by blocked sinuses
• Headache
• Earache
• Tiredness

Seasonal allergies don’t usually cause a fever, but you can catch one with a cold.

4

Is it Covid?

Health chiefs have raised the alarm over the risk of Covid cases over the past month, driven by new variants and waning immunity built up from vaccines and previous infections among the public.

The FLiRT variants, known individually as KP.2 and KP.3, had their combined share of UK Covid cases reaches 67 per cent on May 5, the last day for which data is available.

The variants involve two main mutations of the JN.1 virus, meaning they can spread more quickly.

Both have now become the new dominant variant, replacing JN.1 in a matter of weeks.

The most common symptoms of Covid include:

1. Runny nose (31.1 percent)
2. Cough (22.9 percent)
3. Headache (20.1 percent)
4. Weakness or tiredness (19.6 percent)
5. Muscle pain (15.8 percent)
6. Sore throat (13.2 percent)
7. Trouble sleeping (10.8 percent)
8. Worry or anxiety (10.5 percent)

But loss of taste and smell – once a hallmark of the virus – is only reported by two to three per cent of infected Brits, according to the UK’s winter Covid report. Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom.

Fever, another typical symptom of older variants, was only felt by 2% of people.

ONS scientists suggest that anxiety could also be a sign that someone has the virus, as 10% of Brits with Covid have reported anxiety, excessive worrying or difficulty sleeping since the start of November.

Meanwhile, 23% of people reported having a cough and 20% a headache.

Almost 20% of people with the disease reported weakness and fatigue, 16% reported feeling muscle pain and 13% had a sore throat.