{"id":231434,"date":"2026-04-02T06:46:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/231434\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T06:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:46:29","slug":"health-officials-urge-caution-as-austin-undergoes-allergy-and-flu-season-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/231434\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Officials Urge Caution as Austin Undergoes Allergy and Flu Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p lang=\"EN-US\">AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Coughs and sneezes are taking over Austin as our community is\u00a0in the midst of\u00a0both Cedar\u00a0allergies\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0flu season. Health officials\u00a0encourage\u00a0the public to\u00a0treat them both seriously\u00a0and understand the subtle differences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Knowing the difference between allergies and respiratory illnesses is important so that sick people don\u2019t accidentally spread viruses to others who may be vulnerable to severe illness or hospitalization, such as infants, the elderly, or those who are immunocompromised or pregnant.\u00a0 When in doubt, remember:<\/p>\n<p>Get vaccinated.Stay home if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0experiencing symptoms.Cover your coughs and sneezes.Wear a mask.See a doctor if symptoms persist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPost-holiday gatherings\u00a0are\u00a0when we see\u00a0many people experiencing symptoms, including runny noses and coughs, which could come from allergens, the flu, COVID-19\u00a0and\/or RSV.\u00a0This is\u00a0unfortunately\u00a0peak allergy season as well,\u201d said Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes. \u201cOur recommendations for each are similar.\u00a0If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0feeling sick,\u00a0stay home,\u00a0wear a mask if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0out of the house,\u00a0wash your hands often,\u00a0and speak with a doctor\u00a0if the symptoms worsen.\u00a0Timely treatment is important, and people should seek medical advice promptly.\u00a0Allergies and viruses can both be treated by healthcare providers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More people in\u00a0Austin and Travis County are\u00a0visiting clinics and hospitals with influenza-like illnesses.\u00a0This trend\u00a0aligns with data\u00a0observed\u00a0for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/texas-respiratory-illness-dashboard-txdshsea.hub.arcgis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">state of Texas<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluview\/surveillance\/2025-week-52.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">United States<\/a>\u00a0as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Figure-2-25-week-52.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"501\" alt=\"Figure-2-25-week-52\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Symptoms<\/p>\n<p>Symptoms of allergies and respiratory viruses can be similar.<\/p>\n<p>Stuffy nose.Coughing or sore throat.Runny nose.Sneezing.Partial loss of smell or taste.Fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>While allergies and\u00a0respiratory viruses\u00a0may share symptoms, there are subtle differences:<\/p>\n<p>Allergies do not cause fever, while\u00a0respiratory viruses\u00a0often\u00a0do.Allergies typically cause itchy eyes, whereas respiratory viruses are less likely to do so.Allergy symptoms often improve with antihistamines, while RSV symptoms do not.<\/p>\n<p>Treatment<\/p>\n<p>If you experience symptoms for more than a few days or they worsen, contact your healthcare\u00a0provider\u00a0and schedule an appointment.\u00a0Doctors will be able to\u00a0determine\u00a0the cause of your symptoms and prescribe the\u00a0appropriate treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Vaccinations<\/p>\n<p>Vaccines for COVID-19, flu and RSV are available at pharmacies and doctors\u2019 offices.\u00a0Vaccines are also available at Austin Public Health\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austintexas.gov\/services\/get-free-or-low-cost-vaccines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Shots for Tots and Big Shots clinics<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Coughs and sneezes are taking over Austin as our community is\u00a0in the midst of\u00a0both Cedar\u00a0allergies\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0flu&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-231434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}