Suffering with nasal congestion in August for the first time ever...
August 25, 2021 2:51 PM   Subscribe

Does anyone know if this a possible side effect of either covid19 OR the moderna vaccine? I have awful hay fever much earlier, late spring early Summer, but I've never suffered with nasal congestion (that's the only symptom) like I am this year.
posted by dance to Health & Fitness (19 answers total)
 
Yes, this is a symptom of the Delta variant. Anecdotally, multiple people I know who have tested positive have described it as feeling like bad hay fever or a sinus infection (which in some cases caused them to delay testing because they assumed that's what it was).

If you're in an area with high COVID numbers and/or you've been doing risky things lately, I would definitely get a test asap (preferably not a "rapid" test which aren't as reliable for detecting Delta), if only for your own peace of mind.
posted by fight or flight at 2:57 PM on August 25, 2021 [5 favorites]


@fight or flight: Do you have a source for 'preferably not a "rapid" test which aren't as reliable for detecting Delta'?
posted by caek at 3:28 PM on August 25, 2021


I'm fully vaccinated with Moderna (February and March shots), and I just got COVID. Students are back and I'm pretty sure that at a fully masked meet and greet I got it. My symptoms started just after 36 hours, I think, and I had lots of congestion, a sore throat, coughing and sneezing, and a fever that went up to 100.3F, but never actually bothered me. In short, it was mild, like a cold, and I never even felt achy or terrible like a cold would normally bother me. I don't really have seasonal allergies. I tested positive on my first test 28 hours after symptoms, and regularly tested positive until 8 days after symptoms, when I went back to negative (all PCR tests). The places I went also did rapid Antigen tests which somehow always matched my PCR results. I have also heard that rapid tests aren't as reliable as PCR; my workplace won't accept rapid test results as indicative of positivity or negativity.
posted by Snowishberlin at 3:45 PM on August 25, 2021


fight or flight appears to be correct.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/well/covid-at-home-test.html

"The rapid antigen tests are less reliable for finding Covid-19 in people with low viral loads compared to the “gold standard” P.C.R. tests you’d get from a health care provider. One study found that a rapid home antigen test had a 64 percent chance of correctly spotting the virus in people with symptoms who had tested positive on a P.C.R. test. (The test caught only about 36 percent of those who had the virus but didn’t have symptoms.)"

OP, I would also suggest getting tested. A global pandemic is exactly the time to pay attention to new symptoms like this.
posted by ZaphodB at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


Oh! My wife got her Pfizer doses about a month after each of mine. I quarantined in our guest room (only coming out for the bathroom, with a mask on) and she never tested positive, Antigen or PCR. She brought me food, and announced herself a few minutes ahead of schedule so that I could mask up and hopefully clear out the air. She also wore masks, and we had windows open, fans on, and she bought some air purifier things. Get tested! Do these things! Be safe! And good luck!
posted by Snowishberlin at 3:50 PM on August 25, 2021


Sorry, I should have provided more context to that aside. As ZaphodB pointed out, rapid tests do rely on a higher viral load (also detailed with links to scientific sources in this article). Someone who is vaccinated (like OP) is likely to have a lower viral load (though this may be balanced against Delta having a higher viral load overall, but the science is still in the early stages).

Anecdotally again (sorry), I have seen many people reporting that they never tested positive at all on rapid tests but got a positive PCR with Delta.

In any case, for full peace of mind it's better to go straight to the PCR test, which you should take anyway if you get a positive rapid test result. Better to be safe than sorry!
posted by fight or flight at 3:56 PM on August 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


Are you somewhere affected by wildfire smoke? My hayfever is much better since starting allergy shots but I get the same symptoms when our air quality starts to decline.
posted by arrmatie at 4:12 PM on August 25, 2021 [3 favorites]


Though the rapid antigen tests may not be as sensitive, they may be more specific: e.g if you test positive on an antigen test you are almost surely contagious whereas the meaning of a positive PCR test is less clear. It really depends "what decision is the test being used for?"
posted by soylent00FF00 at 5:26 PM on August 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


It is, but it could still just be a cold, even nowadays. I caught one, with bad congestion, a couple of weeks ago, confirmed not COVID via PCR and also sort of before that via rapid testing of my unvaxxed child who almost certainly gave it to me.

Only way to confirm is a test!
posted by damayanti at 6:48 PM on August 25, 2021


fight or flight: yes, rapid tests are less sensitive than PCR tests given a lower viral load (which is more likely to be true of vaccinated people). But that has nothing to do with Delta, and "aren't as reliable for detecting Delta" is not supported by the evidence as far as I can tell. Sorry for the derail, but obviously it's important to get this stuff right.
posted by caek at 7:21 PM on August 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


I don't want to dissuade anyone from covid testing, but I'm somewhat baffled that this was everyone's first thought. Just as climate change has brought more extreme weather, it has also aggravated existing allergies. In Vox's words: It’s not your imagination; allergy season gets worse every year. The annual pollenocalypse is here. You'll also note that the article includes a handy chart comparing covid symptoms with allergy and cold symptoms!
posted by Violet Blue at 11:09 PM on August 25, 2021 [8 favorites]


Yes to Violet Blue’s comment….get tested for sure, but don’t panic….I’ve taken at least 3 PCR tests for this exact reason since allergy season started this year, and every one came back negative for COVID.
posted by blue suede stockings at 12:15 AM on August 26, 2021 [1 favorite]


The Abbott BinaxNow home test has gotten good results in testing. It is said to have a low false positive rate, i.e. if the test says you've got it, you almost certainly do. Its quick. Its actually two separate tests you do 36 hours apart, but if you are positive you probably know with the first test.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:13 AM on August 26, 2021


Maybe blow your nose before doing a rapid test, though. Just had my kiddo get what was actually a false positive on the BinaxNow test. We followed up for the whole family with a clinic’s rapid tests and PCR, all negative; my best guess is that our very snotty swab was what led to the false positive.
posted by wyzewoman at 5:57 AM on August 26, 2021


Anecdotally, I'm in a different part of the world than you, but my (normally spring/fall) seasonal allergies have definitely been worse and more intense this summer than in past summers. I'm confident it's allergies because 1. It's been pretty much ongoing for most of the season; 2. I've had a couple COVID tests in that time, all negative; and 3. Allergy medications (antihistamines and nasal steroid sprays) have been pretty effective at helping me manage symptoms. Also, my dog's seasonal allergies (which typically align with mine) seem to be following the same pattern. I'm wondering how much of it is oak mites resulting from Brood X cicadas, although that probably wouldn't apply to you.
posted by mosst at 6:56 AM on August 26, 2021


Chiming in from NYC to say that I'm also having a spate of allergies right now as well. I've noticed over the years that for me they get triggered when things reach a certain very specific level of humidity and a certain very specific range of temperature, and New York City has been getting muggier and more humid over the years, and we're in a humid phase now, and sure enough....

If you want to "test" without....testing, try using your go-to allergy medication and getting an air purifier and running that overnight in your bedroom. I tried that one night when I was wondering "is this allergies or should I get a covid test", and when I woke up the following morning congestion-free, that settled that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:03 AM on August 26, 2021 [1 favorite]


Both of these things are true: allergies are getting worse and covid presents more like a cold/allergies in vaccinated people.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 8:13 AM on August 26, 2021 [1 favorite]


My entire family has been suffering from allergies in the Northeast US this summer.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 3:56 AM on August 27, 2021


I'm in Pacific Northwest on the ocean and I've had this for about 2 months. I'm Pfizer doubled vaxed. No other symptoms. I've never had allergies. I was chalking it up to dusty roads from the heat wave and smoke from wildfires.
posted by miles1972 at 12:07 AM on August 28, 2021


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