Allergy season.

In a 2017 report, 27.3 percent of Canadians aged 12 and older reported having them, equalling roughly 8.5 million people.

The most common allergy by far is that of pollen or grasses at 40%. That makes this time of year; when plants are blooming and the scent of freshly mowed grass dominates the morning air, mathematically miserable for just under 3.5 million people.

With COVID-19 now making its way through the province, pharmacists have found themselves answering questions about a number of concerns, one of which is how to tell if your symptoms are just allergies, or whether they are something more serious, like COVID.

Jahnaya Mann is a pharmacist and the owner of Pharmasave in Swift Current.

Swift Current Online reached out to her to chat about dealing with allergy season during a pandemic.

"For the most part, symptoms of COVID are quite a bit more severe than an allergy-type symptom. very rare to see things like headache shortness of breath wheezing or coughing present in allergies."

She says that while some of the symptoms have similarities, for the most part, the two are largely distinct. While both will show sneezing and coughing, allergies will typically include an element of itchiness that doesn't appear in COVID, while the virus will typically include a fever, which allergies lack.

As well, most people who have allergies have had them in the past, they know exactly what it feels like for them and when it usually occurs, making the distinction clear.

"Allergies typically cause more nasal symptoms. Running nose and sinus congestion. But we don't usually see a fever of any type related to on allergies, which is common with coronavirus virus or the flu."

For those symptoms that are similar; sneezing and coughing, for example, she says that using regular antihistamine treatments to ease the symptoms could itself be a good indicator of whether you might have a mildly symptomatic case of COVID.

"Usually if you would get like a really good response to an allergy medication that would be a pretty good indicator that it is an allergy that you're suffering from. So if you're using an antihistamine, your symptoms completely disappear and you feel like yourself again, it's very unlikely that it would be COVID related."

It sounds simple and common-sense, but essentially, if you take an antihistamine and your symptoms go away, it's allergies.

Chances are, with fewer cases of COVID in Saskatchewan, allergies will be far more prevalent. But Mann still advises caution.

"Right now, of course, there isn't a lot of COVID circulating in this area that we're aware of. That could change at any time. It could change tonight, it could change next week. So it's best to just remain cautious and do all the things that are recommended by Health Canada and the CDC."

She adds that there are still a number of things that scientists don't know about COVIDl; whether it's going to follow the path of regular influenza where you would need a vaccine every year, or whether it will be similar to small-pox, where vaccination would eradicate it long term.

As with any ailment, any doubt as to what it is, or how it will manifest; the best course of action, according to Mann, is to reach out to a doctor or a pharmacist.