When it's spring, you might be inclined to write off that congestion, coughing, and sneezing as "allergies" rather than admit that you're sick. While an estimated 50 million Americans suffer from Real Seasonal Allergies, it's notoriously difficult to figure out what actually triggers certain symptoms. 

Pull the ol' allergy card, and you could end up ignoring a more serious diagnosis — and deter yourself from getting to the bottom of it ASAP. (It doesn't help that untreated allergies can trigger chronic sinus infections, ear infections, sleep issues, and asthma — which makes treatment even more complicated.)

"The treatment for allergies is so different from the treatment for the flu or a cold," says Beth E. Corn, MD, associate professor of clinical immunology at the Allergy and Immunology department of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. If you treat a viral infection with antihistamines (the go-to remedy for allergies), you subject yourself to side effects such as loopiness when all you really need is cough syrup and lots of liquids, Dr. Corn explains. 

"The quicker you find out what it is, the sooner you can make interventions to feel better," Dr. Corn promises. So look out for the signs your symptoms aren't allergies, but an actual, potentially contagious illness like a sinus infection, cold, or the flu.

5 Signs Your Symptoms Aren't Caused by Allergies

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Paramount Pictures

1. Your snot is green. It's not pretty, and it's a sign of infection.

2. You have a fever. Hot flashes and chills are symptoms that are never linked to allergies.

3. You feel pain in your cheeks. While allergies can trigger sinus pressure around the eyes and temples, pain that extends through the cheeks and even to the teeth can signal inflammatory build-up that's common in sinus infections — not allergies. And that could require antibiotics to clear up.

4. You have a cough ... but that's not all. "You have to look at the constellation of symptoms because it's very hard to differentiate between an allergic cough and one caused by post-nasal drip related to a virus," Dr. Corn explains. So a cough, plus anything else on this list = something more serious than allergies.

5. Congestion + bad breath.  Terrible congestion is the hallmark of seasonal allergies, but it can occur for a host of reasons. When paired with smelly breath or a foul taste in the mouth, it's probably a sign of infection.

If you think you're sick (aka it's not allergies): See your doctor to rule out an infection that requires antibiotics (or get a prescription), strep, and the flu.

4 Signs Your Symptoms Are Caused by Allergies

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Andy Roberts / Getty Images

1. You have a combo of nasal congestion, a scratchy throat, a runny nose, pressure around your eyes, and itchy ears and eyes. Looks like allergies, smells would smell like allergies too, if you weren't too stuffed up to smell.

2. Your symptoms last more than two weeks. If your nose runs on and on, with a scratchy throat and lots of congestion that gets no worse, but no better, it's probably just allergies. 

3. Your snot is yellow or clear. Even with pale yellow snot, you're OK. 

4. You're fine the rest of the year. Asthmatic coughing and wheezing that starts up juuust about the same time as the flowers bloom — in April, May, or June — is an unlikely coincidence. *Puts money on allergies.*

5. If you do think you have allergies: Consider taking an OTC antihistamine, or better yet, see an allergist who can tell you exactly what to take and whether you could benefit from a nasal steroid or a nasal spray. And feel better!

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Elizabeth Narins
Senior fitness and health editor

Elizabeth Narins is a Brooklyn, NY-based writer and a former senior editor at Cosmopolitan.com, where she wrote about fitness, health, and more. Follow her at @ejnarins.