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LIN BRINGS US THE LATEST WORD FROM MEDICAL EXPERTS. >> SUNLIGHT FILTERS THROUGH THE BUDDING TREES AT PEACE PAVILION IN SACRAMENTO THIS DAY, PICTURE PERFECT, FOR A STROLL AMONG THE FLOWERS. AND EXPOSURE TO ALLERGY TRIGGERING POLLENS, GRASS, FUR AND DUST, LEAVING SOME WONDERING IF THEY HAVE GOT A OR SOMETHING ELSE. >> LET’S START WITH COVID-19, WHICH STARTS LIKE ANY OTHER COLD >> DR. DEAN BLUMBERG STUDIES INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT U.C. DAVIS. HE DESCRIBED SOME OF THE KEY SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19. >> STARTS WITH FEVER, COUGH, SORE THROAT, AND THEN IT CAN PROGRESS INTO THE OTHER SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING SNEEZING. INSTEAD OF THE COUGH AND THE FEVER GRADUALLY RECEDING, THE COUGH GETS WORSE, AND YOU END UP WITH SHORTNESS OF BREATH. THEN THERE’S ALLERGIES. THEY CAUSE RUNNING NOSE, ITCHY, RUNNY EYES SNEEZING. USUALLY DON’T CAUSE COUGH UNLESS THERE’S A POST NASAL DRIP. >> AN ADDITIONAL TIP-OFF, ALLERGIES ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH FEVER. >> IF YOU HAVE A FEVER, DON’T BLAME ALLERGIES FOR THAT ONE. >> WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF AT THIS TIME? >> THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF IS TO NOT BE AROUND SICK PEOPLE. WE BELIEVE AROUND 90% TRANSMISSION COMES FROM SYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE. I STILL AM RECOMMENDING ATTENTION TO HAND HYGIENE. >> SOAP AND WATER IS THE BEST, BUT SECOND BEST, AND A CLOSE SECOND IS THE ALCOHOL BASED HAND GELS. >> SO, TO RECAP, MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY COVID-19 STARTS WITH A FEVER, COUGH, SORE THROAT AND SNEEZING. THE DISEASE CAN CAUSE PNEUMONIA AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH IN THE LATER STAGES. ALLERGY SYMPTOMS INCLUDE RUNNY NOSE, ITCHY EYES, AND SNEEZING. IF YOU ARE RUNNING A FEVER, IT IS LIKELY YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT AN ALLERGIC REACTION. >> WE ARE DOING A GREAT JOB OF THE SOCIAL DISTANCING. IF WE DO DIAL BACK TOO SOON, THAT WILL RESULT IN A RELAPSE AND AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES. >> A SITUATION WE ALL WANT TO AVOID, IN THE ONGOING RACE TO FIND A CURE FOR COVID19. REPORTING FROM SACRAME

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Nowadays, every cough and runny nose can make a person wonder if they have coronavirus or just a bad case of allergies. KCRA 3's Stephanie Lin asked medical expert Dr. Dean Blumberg of UC Davis how to tell the difference. Q: What are the differences between COVID-19, seasonal allergies and the flu? A: Let’s start with COVID-19, which starts like any other cold. It starts with fever, cough, sore throat, and then it can progress into the other symptoms, including sneezing, and can get worse and cause the shortness of breath and the severe disease. Influenza, or the flu, starts really suddenly. You know when you have influenza. You feel like you’re suddenly hit by a train. It starts with the high fever, muscle aches, fever symptoms and gastrointestinal symptoms.Then there’s allergies. They cause running nose, sneezing and itchy, runny eyes. Allergies usually don’t cause a cough unless there’s a post nasal drip. Allergies are not associated with fever. So that’s a real tip off. If you have a fever, don’t blame allergies for that one. Q: Can you further explain the progression of COVID-19 in the body? A: Instead of the cough and the fever gradually receding, the cough gets worse, and you end up with shortness of breath. And that’s an indication that its no longer a cold, but it’s gone to the lower respiratory tract, to the lungs, and caused pneumonia. Once its caused pneumonia, that’s a severe case, and that’s where the patient has trouble getting oxygen into their lungs, and that’s what causes the shortness of breath.It also depends on the person. Some people get infected and are completely without symptoms. Some people have a mild cold, others have a severe cold, and in the worst possible case, it starts like a cold but you don’t get better.Q: What is the best way to protect yourself at this time? A: The best way to protect yourself is to not be around sick people. We believe around 90% transmission comes from symptomatic people. The social distancing measures were put in relatively early compared to other parts of the country. We haven’t seen that sharp peak of people in NYC or Italy that completely overwhelmed hospitals. We don’t have that in California, because we are doing a great job of social distancing. That also means we have this transmission at a lower level for a longer period of time. If we dial back too soon, that will result in a relapse in the number of cases. Q: We are starting to see more people wearing gloves. How helpful are they in protecting the user against COVID-19? A: You don’t need gloves. All you need to do is wash your hands. If you and touch contaminated surfaces, then your face, you can get infected by the contact. But if you wash your hands before you touch your face, you’ll be fine. A lot of people use the gloves and don’t use them correctly. They touch their face with the contaminated gloves. I don’t think we need gloves in public. I’m not recommending that, but I am recommending attention to hand hygiene. Q: So is soap and water the best form of hand hygiene? A: Soap and water is the best, but second best, and a close second is the alcohol-based hand gels. When you make your trip to the grocery store, come back to your car and use that gel before you touch your steering wheel.