Suggest Treatment For Cough And Runny Nose In A Teenager

Posted on Fri, 29 May 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 29 May 2015 Answered on

Fri, 19 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : My son 15 has a runny nose and conitnue cough he has been under the weather for a week is this allergy or flu?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rovena (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
detailed below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.

Welcome to Healthcare Magic.

Seasonal allergy and common cold can be hard to distinguish because they can present with same symptoms (runny nose, water eyes, cough etc).
In his case it might be just a common cold and in this case the symptoms will get better gradually and go away completely in 1-2 weeks.
In case of an allergy ,the secretions tend to be water and thin.He might have watery and itching eyes too and the symptoms get worse when he is contact with the possible allergen (like going outside etc).
If it is an seasonal allergy ,the symptoms tend to last longer and they don't usually go better without treatment.
I would suggest to give it some more days and if the symptoms don't improve consult a physician.If it is an allergy ,he can prescribe some medications to relieve the symptoms.

Hope it helps.
Let me know if you have any question.

Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar