If you are wondering if you have an allergy or a cold - read on
What is cold?
Colds are caused by hundreds of different viruses. When any of the cold viruses get into our body, our immune system attacks it. The germs that cause colds are contagious.
You can pick them up when an infected person sneezes, coughs or shakes hands with you. After a couple of weeks, at the most, our immune system fights off the virus and we should stop having symptoms.
What is an allergy?
Allergies are caused by an overactive 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.
Differences between Colds and Allergies:-
| Characteristic | Cold | Allergy |
| Duration | 3-14 days | Days to months as long as exposed to allergens |
| Time of Year | possible at any time | Any time of the year -- although the appearance of some allergens are seasonal |
| Onset of symptoms | Symptoms appear after some | Symptoms appear immediately |
To confirm whether you are allergic or not, you can go for an allergic test (PHADIA TOP).
Phadiatop is a test to confirm whether you are allergic or not.
The major use of the test is to help rule out any allergies (IgE-mediated disease) as the cause of a patient's symptoms. Since inhalant symptoms can be elusive and may resemble a bacterial or viral infection, a reliable atopy or allergy screen is often very cost-effective.
Once Phadiatop comes positive then go in for Rhinitis Immunocap panel to confirm whether allergen you are allergic to.
Rhinitis panel includes the following allergens:-
| 1 | Acacia | 13 | Sorghum Halepense | 25 | Cladosporium Herbasum |
| 2 | Eucalyptus | 14 | Paspalum Notatum | 26 | Aspergillus Fumigatus |
| 3 | Gum tree | 15 | Juniperus Sabinoides | 27 | Candida Albicans |
| 4 | Grey Alder | 16 | Quercus Alba | 28 | Alternaria Alternata |
| 5 | White pine | 17 | Ulma Americana | 29 | Setomelanomma Rostrata |
| 6 | Common Pigweed | 18 | Populus Deltoides | 30 | Ambrosia Elatior |
| 7 | House dust mite | 19 | Prosopis Juliflora | 31 | Artemisia Vulgaris |
| 8 | Cockroach | 20 | Cat Dander | 32 | Plantago Hanceolata |
| 9 | Cynodon Dactylon | 21 | Dog Dander | 33 | Chenopodium Album |
| 10 | Lolium Perenne | 22 | Horse Dander | 34 | Salsola Kali |
| 11 | Phleum Pratense | 23 | Cow dander | ||
| 12 | Poa Pratensis | 24 | Penicillium Crysogenum |
There are different panels that you can test for if your Phadiatop comes positive.
- If You have symptoms like Itching, Skin rashes, and redness, Patchy skin, then go in for Eczema Panel.
- If You have symptoms like Musical or whistling Sound then go in for Wheezing Panel. If You have symptoms like Tingling or itching in the mouth, Hives, itching or eczema, Swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat or other parts of the body, Wheezing, nasal congestion or trouble breathing, Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting.then go in for Food Panel. In food, we have both a Veg and a Non-Veg panel.
- If You have symptoms like Sneezing, Runny nose, Itchy, Red or watery eyes, Nasal congestion. then go in for Dust Panel.
- If You have symptoms like Sneezing, Runny or stuffy nose, Facial pain (from nasal congestion), Coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing, watery, red or itchy eyes, Skin rash or hives. then go in for Animal Panel.
- If You have symptoms like similar to the mentioned in the food panel,& if you suspect it could be because of Nuts then go in for nut Panel.
- After administration of any of the drug, if you have any allergic-like symptoms then go for Drug Panel
- If you have any of the above symptoms & not sure what is causing the allergy then go in for the comprehensive panel.
If there is any other test you would like to know about or need any of your questions answered, please let us know below.
For more information, you can log on to www.phadkelabs.com