Spring has sprung and so have the allergies that come with it; however, allergy symptoms this year, in particular, have caused concern due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Symptoms of COVID-19 and spring allergies can be very similar, with some examples include sore throat, fatigue, weakness, and headaches. Normal symptoms of allergies revolve around the nose, eyes, and throat. Someone who is experiencing a fever, weakness, and or body aches may confuse these symptoms as typical of spring allergies when in fact they could be ill due to Covid. This year when spring allergies began, some were concerned about the possibility of having Covid, while others were not. Language arts teacher Andrew Litschgi said he was slightly concerned about his symptoms being Covid related. 

“I definitely had a slight moment of panic when my allergies first flared up this season. As someone who has dealt with some Covid anxiety, I definitely had to talk myself through it and remind myself that I experience these same symptoms every year, ” Litschgi said. 

Freshman Jack Dooley also deals with spring allergies and he said that he didn’t think he had Covid because he was used to having the same symptoms every spring. 

“I was not concerned about it being Covid I know I have allergies around this time of year,” Dooley said. 

Another issue that Covid has caused for people with spring allergies is having to wear masks. Wearing masks with allergies can be inconvenient for some, but others think that wearing a mask can help with their allergies. Freshman Lena Davis said that she thinks wearing a mask with allergies is difficult and can be gross. 

“A mask has made it difficult because if I have to sneeze or anything it gets all in my mask and it makes my mask all gross. Also I have to constantly pull it down just to blow my nose,” Davis said. 

Art teacher Jessica Hoban says that she believes that wearing a mask can help her allergies but sometimes it does not.

“Honestly, I feel it has helped keep some of the allergens out of my nose. Since the mask has helped a little, but not for everything, I bring extra masks with me wherever I go, because sneezing in a mask is not the best feeling in the world,” Hoban said. 

Studies have shown that wearing surgical masks can help filter out pollen while others think all masks can help. Dooley said that he thinks that masks can help but there are other ways that pollen can bother you while wearing a mask. 

“I do think it can help with filtering pollen but the pollen can get on our hands and when you touch your face or anything like that then the mask is mostly useless if you’re wearing it for pollen,” Dooley said. 

Hoban said that she thinks masks with filters are more beneficial than just normal cloth ones though she thinks those will help as well.

“Yes, I think all masks can [help], but only if you have a mask with a filter in it will it really really help.  A cloth mask, I’m sure will help a little but not as much as a mask with filters in them,” Hoban said.  

Litschgi said he thinks masks can definitely help filter out pollen and help his personal allergies overall. 

“I definitely think some masks can help filter pollen but I’m sure it depends on the fabric. I will say that I have felt wearing masks outdoors has helped with my allergies but that could very well just be a placebo,” Litschgi said.