Is it a cold or allergy?

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t takes Dr. Harvey Schwartz a week to figure out if his sneezing fits, watery eyes and runny nose are caused by a cold or an allergy even though he knows the symptoms for both.

"If my symptoms come on during the season, I know it's allergies," says Dr. Schwartz, an allergist and immunologist at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital who is allergic to ragweed and has other low-grade allergies. "If I get symptoms off season, I can't tell."

Seasonal allergic rhinitis, or seasonal allergies, can cause a sneezing spell or attack of three to five or more sneezes at a time, while colds can cause minor sneezing of one to two sneezes at a time, metro-area physicians say. Allergies and colds both can cause a runny or stuffy nose and headaches, they say.

Symptoms that differ include watery eyes and itchy throat, eyes and ears for allergies and low-grade fever and body aches for colds, the physicians say.

"The general thing is, most allergies follow a repetitive pattern. Viruses are more sporadic," says Dr. Andrew Shorr, pulmonologist at Washington Hospital Center in Northwest.

Allergies can occur year-round or are seasonal, peaking in the spring and summer, when pollen from various plants becomes airborne, Dr. Shorr says.

Colds can occur any time of the year and peak in late fall and early spring, says Dr. Alkis Togias, section chief, asthma and inflammation, at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda.

"Sometimes it's easy to confuse because early spring is a time for allergies, particularly tree allergies," Dr. Togias says.

The average adult gets three to four colds per year, while children get seven to eight a year, Dr. Togias says. Thirty percent of the population has seasonal and perennial allergies, he says.

Seasonal allergies tend to last a short time, usually three to six weeks, and are caused by seasonal allergens such as tree pollen in March and April, grass pollen in May and ragweed in September, Dr. Schwartz says.