Do I have a cold or allergies?

Runny nose.......
Cough......
Congestion.......

Which is it........a cold?  Or is it Allergies?

It's difficult to tell. 

Colds are caused by a virus:  When one of these viruses gets into your body, your immune system attacks it. Some of the effects of this immune response are the classic symptoms of a cold, such as congestion and coughing.

Allergies are caused by an over active immune system.:  For some reason, your body mistakes harmless substances -- such as dust or pollen -- for germs and attacks them. Your body releases chemicals such as histamine, just as it does when fighting a cold. This can cause swelling in your nasal passages, a runny nose, coughing, and sneezing. Allergies are not contagious, although some people may inherit a tendency to develop them.

information provided by WebMD

Here's the problem.....they pretty much have the same symptoms but the treatment is not the same.  You cannot take cold medicine to relieve allergy symptoms and vice versa.

So what can you do for Allergies?  There is a treatment, Subcutaneous Immunotherapy, that requires you to get weekly shots for THREE years.  Maybe this is why only about 40% of patients ever complete this treatment.  (Dr. Sutton Premier Back Rehabilitation Center)

Luckily there is an alternative to WEEKLY shots:  Sublingual Immunotherapy:  Immunotherapy treats the cause of allergies by giving small doses of what a person is allergic to, which increases “immunity” or tolerance to the allergen and reduces the allergic symptoms. Unlike SCIT – Subcutaneous Immunotherapy, which is given as shots, sublingual immunotherapy is given as drops under the tongue.

How it works:  The first step is to confirm allergies through allergy testing. Then a vial of drops is prepared for the patient. The patient takes drops under the tongue daily. During the first two months, called the “escalation phase,” the dosage is gradually increased. After that, in the “maintenance phase,” the patient takes the same dose of drops each day.

Here is the best part of Sublingual Immunotherapy (drops) vs. Subcutaneous Immunotherapy (shots) and that is the drops cost about $1600.00 LESS per year!!!

Premier Back Rehabilitation Center, PC located in Pueblo Colorado has these shots available.  Like them on Facebook.

Comment on how you treat your allergies.