Dr. Travis Stork has weighed in on what he said are the differences between knowing if you are suffering from allergies, the common cold , the flu or coronavirus.
“You cannot always tell the difference between influenza, a coronavirus infection versus a common cold versus allergies,” the 48-year-old host of the TV show ‘The Doctors” shared with E! News in a piece published Monday amid the pandemic. (RELATED: Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC)
Game show host Alex Trebek (L) and television personality Dr. Travis Stork…REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
“There are luckily some differences but the key — and this is where we’ve been a little behind the eight ball — is we haven’t had widely available testing,” he added. “On the other hand, the thing with allergies is if you get them seasonally you should know what that looks and feels like.”(RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
The TV personality continued, while explaining that when it comes to allergies, “it is your immune response responding to an allergen in the air.”(RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
Stork said those symptoms typically include things like getting “itchy, watery eyes” and “a runny nose.”
“You can get post nasal drip that causes coughing or irritation from that,” the doctor explained. “But by and large, you shouldn’t be getting fevers, body aches, or shortness of breath so that’s really an important distinction.”
When pressed further about how one knows whether it’s time to go to the emergency room, versus just self-quarentine, Dr. Stork said, “If you’re worried about whether or not you have it, but you feel great otherwise and you’re not concerned, Telemedicine is a great platform.”
“You’re using technology to interact with an informed source and if you live in a community that has mobile testing, figure that out now and that way if you do get to a place where maybe you feel pretty well but you think you might have it because you have a low-grade fever, body aches, cough—but again, don’t feel like you need the ER—then you can find out where you might be able to get tested,” he added.
The TV host finally explained, that the bottom-line is if you think you need to go to the ER, “call ahead and try to figure out what the policy is. ‘Hey, I think I might have coronavirus, I really feel like I need to be seen, what is your policy right now?’ And then we hopefully are able to treat you but also prevent you from potentially infecting others.”