Aug 28, 2009 9:26 pm US/Central
Think You've Got Flu? Maybe Not
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Patients who think they have the flu may actually be suffering from allergies, according to Dr. Joseph Leija of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.
CBS
Patients are flooding some doctor's offices in the Chicago area, convinced they have the H1N1 virus.
But doctors say many of them have something totally different.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones explains what it is.
"It seemed like an awful cold that you couldn't get rid of," one patient said. "It felt like I had a flu."
Dr. Joseph Leija of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park is sifting through a sea of symptoms many believe sound like the flu.
"They have runny nose, post nasal drip, and they feel miserable," he said. "They feel achy. They really feel bad."
But he says the people filing into his office don't have fevers.
"Really it's not the flu -- it's really an allergy that the patient has," Leija said.
The physician climbs to the roof of Gottlieb every day to open a machine that pulls allergen samples from the air and drops them onto microscope slides.
He says tiny particles of mold and ragweed pollen are both on the rise after the heavy rain we've had.
"The rain washes everything down to the ground," he said. "But as soon as we get a little wind and (things) dry, the pollen comes out and the mold comes out."
Dr. Leija's advice: Sleep with an air conditioner running and keep your windows closed. If your symptoms don't go away, see your doctor for medication. Controlling the symptoms is key.
"In allergies, we don't cure -- we control," he said. "But we control the patients efficiently enough to live a normal life."
Leija says people who fight these kind of symptoms a lot should see an allergist. Sometimes the foods we eat during a certain season make the allergy worse. And pay special attention to allergies in children because they often lead to problems like asthma if left untreated.
Gottlieb Hospital tracks daily allergen counts
here; it also sponsors an Allergy Help Line at (866) 476-5536.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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