Cold or Allergy: Parents and Teachers Should Know the Difference

If I had a dollar for every teacher who mistakenly told my child to "go home" because they don't understand the difference between a cold (that is contagious) and an allergy (that is not), I’d be a near-millionaire by now.

Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating. But there was one teacher in particular who really made me struggle.  She told my son to go home on two separate occasions...in front of the entire class.  The first time was innocent enough.  Michael's allergies were really acting up.  He had itchy eyes, runny nose and a constant cough.  The teacher told him that he needed to go home so that he wouldn't get the other kids sick.  I asked Michael what he had said in return.  "Nothing," he replied.  The second time really annoyed me though, because it was after I had taken Michael to his pediatrician in order to get a medical confirmation and treatment for his allergies after they had worsened.  The same teacher told him to go home ...in front of the entire class again.  When Michael responded that he had gone to the doctor who said that it was allergies, the teacher's response made me livid.  She said that she "didn’t care" and that he sill needed to go home.  I wrote a (restrained) letter to Michael's homeroom teacher to alert her of the situation. (Even if he did have a cold, the other teacher should have contacted me - the parent - rather than embarrassing my child in front of the entire class!)  Fortunately, the homeroom teacher was very sweet and sympathetic about the whole situation because her son has allergies also.  Her consolation words: "Don't worry.  That teacher is retiring this week anyway."  I was so happy about that.

Recently, I attended an event where a leading pediatric and adult allergist Dr. Paul Ehrlich spoke.  Below are four tips which he shared regarding how to tell the difference between colds and allergies. Parents and teachers, please listen up!

1. The average cold lasts 5 days while allergies last 6 to 8 weeks.

2. Allergy sufferers tend to have symptoms like restless sleep, itchy and watery eyes with dark under-eye circles, itchy and runny noses, frequent sneezing and/or persistent coughs. 

3. Although the nose runs with both colds and allergies, there is a difference.  With allergies, the mucus color is different.  I know that this topic is gross, but this is the tip that helps me the most. When the mucus is clear and constant, it is usually an allergy.  With colds, the mucus tends to be a little thicker with a yellow to greenish color  

4. Allergies are genetic.  Parents who have allergies have a greater chance of passing them on to their children.  (My son can thank his father’s side of the family for his “gift”.)

In any event, I hope that the above tips will come in handy for sneezing kids and their parents on playdates and in classrooms everywhere.