SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) –As we move from summer to fall, things change, including allergies.

As the leaves begin to change colors, many of us are feeling the changes in the air, too. But this year, some of those changes can be easily confused with the symptoms of COVID 19.

“If you have got a job like I do where you have to go out to people’s places of work and you start sneezing or coughing, then you wonder, should I be going to these places with allergies and then that part makes it really confusing,” said Mark Wilson.

Mark Wilson lives and works in Sioux City. He said since the pandemic, he has gotten strep throat three times and allergies.

“COVID-19, they don’t know, it doesn’t seem like they know everything about it so you just have to go with your gut sometimes and air on the side of caution when necessary,” said Wilson.

“We are getting a lot of comments from people that they thought that some of the symptoms they were having were allergies when in fact they were COVID, there is some overlap in the symptoms, I do think that some of the symptoms that people are experiencing right now because of their allergies are probably increasing the tests, our test numbers have been increasing the past few weeks regardless,” said Tyler Brock, the deputy director of Siouxland District Health.

According to the CDC, itchy or watery eyes and sneezing, which are common with allergies, are not symptoms of COVID.

Brock says when in doubt, call a doctor.

“COVID is more infectious in the early stages of symptoms and because of some of the allergy crossover symptoms, that we have people are tending to think that this is allergies when it is actually COVID, and they are not staying home from school, they are not staying home from work, they are not staying home from their activities because they think it is allergies,” said Brock.

The CDC also says seasonal allergies do not usually cause shortness of breath. So if you are experiencing that symptom, consulting a doctor is also a good idea.