Skip to Content

7 Signs Your Seasonal Allergies Are Actually Something Worse

by Markham Heid For RodalesOrganicLife.com
woman with headachepinterest
Vanessa Clara Ann Vokey/ Getty

This time of year, when the temperature ticks up and the air is filled with pollen, it's natural to assume your runny nose, watery eyes, or sinus pressure are reactions to seasonal allergens. But some symptoms people mistake for run-of-the-mill allergies could actually be signs of other health issues—some of them quite serious.

Especially if your allergy medications aren't doing any good, and if you don’t notice the symptoms abating when you head indoors, you may want to reconsider your self-diagnoses, says Brett Comer, MD, a surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Kentucky. 

Paying close attention to your symptoms can help you tell if you're dealing with something other than allergies. Here's what to watch out for.

(Banish pain and halt nagging health symptoms with Prevention's breakthrough new program, The Whole Body Cure!) 

Clear fluid dripping from one nostril

runny nose
Eugenio Marongiu/ Getty

"If a person has clear drainage from their nose that tends to be only on one side, and tends to happen more when they lean their head forward, that could indicate a cerebral spinal fluid leak," Comer says. 

He says there's a thin plate that separates your sinuses from the parts of your brain where this cerebral spinal fluid flows. If a hole opens in that plate, the fluid can leak through. While the fluid drip in itself isn't dangerous, the hole that accounts for it could lead to a life-threatening brain infection. 

"It's not that common, but in my world as a rhinologist, I think I saw 5 cases just last month," Comer says. "Some people come in and say they've had the dripping for more than a year and thought it was just allergies."

MORE: 3 Essential Oils That Can Ease Your Allergies

Green snot and cheek pain

cheek pain
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/ Getty

If you have cheek pain—especially if the pain is on one side, in the sinus areas below your eyes, and accompanied by green snot—that's more likely an infection than some kind of allergy issue, Comer says. "The pain can also radiate up into the forehead and temple," he says. "What's happening is the maxillary sinus below your eye has become infected and blocked off." (Here are 4 foods to avoid if you have spring allergies.)

You recently started on a new medication

woman holding pill
GP Kidd/ Getty

"Some medications can cause symptoms that mimic allergies," says Janna Tuck, MD, a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "Heart medications, and beta blockers in particular, can cause pretty serious congestion." She adds that birth control pills—as well as pregnancy—can cause nasal symptoms some might mistake for allergies. 

MORE: 7 Natural Home Remedies For Spring Allergies

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Losing your sense of taste and smell

woman smelling apple
AMe Photo/ Getty

Allergy-related congestion usually won't lead to loss of taste and smell. "If you're experiencing that, it may be related to something structural like nasal polyps, which are small noncancerous growths," says Sana Hasan, MD, an assistant professor of immunology, allergy, and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine. Apart from killing your sense of taste or smell, those polyps can cause congestion, and in some cases require surgery to remove, she says. 

Another structural issue that can cause congestion is a deviated septum, or a misalignment of the bone and cartilage that separates your nostrils, Hasan says.  

Pain or pressure in your face

woman with pain in face
Tetra Images/ Getty

Another condition that can cause cheek pain and discolored snot is something called allergic fungal sinusitis. "It's a fungal buildup in the sinuses," Comer explains. "It can seem like an infection, but it's from fungal particles getting into the sinuses where they can cause inflammation, which traps in more fungus, which promotes more inflammation—it's a vicious cycle." He says this condition is common in the South and places that are hot and humid all year. "You need surgery to clear out all that fungus and debris," he adds. (Watch out for these 10 foods that make inflammation worse.)

Chronic hives

hives on arms
AboutnuyLove/ Getty

"People come in with chronic hives and think it's due to allergies," says Princess Ogbogu, MD, of Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. "But usually if the hives last for more than 6 weeks, that's not from anything external like an allergy." She says chronic hives are more likely to do with your thyroid or some kind of immune system issue. See your physician. 

MORE: What's That Rash On Your Body?

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Headaches

woman with headache
Vanessa Clara Ann Vokey/ Getty

Yes, allergies can lead to sinus pressure-related headaches. But if a bad headache comes on very suddenly, and especially if it's severe enough to wake you up at night or cause nausea, you'll want to let your doctor know about it, says Isha Gupta, MD, a neurologist with IGEA Brain and Spine. She mentions a tumor, stroke, or even an aneurism as potential causes of a sudden and horrible headache. (Here are 7 signs your headache isn't normal.)

The article 7 Signs Your Seasonal Allergies Are Actually Something Worse originally appeared on Rodale's Organic Life.

Watch Next
 
preview for Prevention Watch Next
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Weird Health Symptoms

3d illustration of a constricted and narrowed artery and the blood cannot flow properly called arteriosclerosis

8 Signs of a Blood Clot You Should Never Ignore

Early morning in the city

Your Hormones May Be Why You Can’t Lose Belly Fat

reasons youre losing weight

15 Reasons for Unexplained Weight Loss

leg cramps at night

13 Reasons Your Legs Keep Cramping at Night

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Logo
youtube
facebook
instagram
pinterest
Hearst Lifestyle and Design Group - A Part of Hearst Digital Media

A Part of Hearst Digital Media

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.

©2024 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy NoticeCA Notice at CollectionYour CA Privacy Rights/Shine the LightDAA Industry Opt OutTerms of UseSite Map