Today, the National Health Commission held a press conference to introduce the relationship between seasonal solar terms and health (such as the Awakening of Insects and the Spring Equinox), and answered questions from reporters. At the meeting, a reporter asked how to distinguish between sneezing and runny nose in spring, as many people cannot distinguish whether it is an allergy or a cold? Ma Tingting, chief physician of Beijing Century Altar Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, introduced that the main differentiation is based on the following four points. One is to watch sneezing. Allergies usually involve sneezing five or six or even a dozen times in a row, often accompanied by itching in the nose, eyes, and throat. Colds usually do not involve sneezing continuously, and there are rarely symptoms of itching throughout the body. The second is to observe a runny nose. Allergies usually have a very large amount of runny nose, with a clear snot throughout the entire process, and some people have a human like appearance resembling a twisted faucet. Sometimes a cold can result in thick, yellow mucus. Thirdly, observe the accompanying systemic symptoms. Allergies rarely have fever symptoms, but colds usually have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and overall fatigue and soreness. Fourthly, it depends on the duration of the illness. Allergies usually come into contact with allergens, such as pollen allergies. Symptoms appear as soon as they come into contact with pollen, and the symptoms recur during this season, usually lasting for several weeks or even the entire pollen season. A cold usually resolves on its own within about a week. Ma Tingting stated that allergies are actually caused by the immune system's recognition bias, treating harmless substances as harmful enemies and triggering excessive immune reactions, releasing a large amount of inflammatory mediators and inducing related symptoms. Therefore, daily protective measures and regular medication should be taken. Ma Tingting reminds that allergies are a state of immune imbalance. There are some health products available on the market for allergies, which mainly supplement protein, vitamins and other nutrients. However, they rarely correct the immune imbalance and change the allergic constitution, and cannot replace related drug treatment. (New Society)