CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Allergy season is in full force in the Carolinas, and if your allergies are acting up you're not alone.
Many people are turning to Google for some answers. Data shows Google searches for the phrase "Spring allergy symptoms" are up 400% over the past month.
North and South Carolina are also among the top states searching Google for "Pollen". But that isn't where the searches stop.
Here are three of the most popular allergy-related Google searches right now.
Allergies or COVID
First, people are searching "allergies or COVID" -- the symptoms can obviously be similar, so how do you know the difference?
For this answer, we went to Dr. David Priest with Novant Health, and the Mayo Clinic.
The Mayo Clinic said sneezing is the one symptom that's rarely associated with COVID-19, so if you're sneezing it's more likely to be allergies.
Priest said you when it comes to this question, you have to take lots of things into account to figure out what's more likely.
"In some ways, you're playing odds when you're a clinician," Priest said. "You're looking at the patient in front of you, one size doesn't fit all. You have to say, 'OK, what's the amount of COVID activity in the community, has this individual been around someone that has COVID, is this individual vaccinated, have they had COVID before'... Those things might make covid less likely."
Can allergies cause a fever?
Another big search spiking: Can allergies cause a fever? That search has spiked 250% over the past month.
To answer this question, WCNC Charlotte looked to the Adult and Children Allergy Asthma Center. They said it's very unlikely that allergies alone would cause a fever.
However, experts say allergy symptoms can make you more vulnerable to viral or bacterial infections which could cause a fever.
Overall, doctors say if you have a fever, it's more likely caused by an infection.
Why does pollen make you sneeze?
Finally, searches for "Why does pollen make you sneeze?" have tripled just over the last week.
For this one, we turn to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. They explain that allergies are our bodies' response to something harmful. Our immune system overreacts.
So when pollen gets into your nose, your body is just responding to what it thinks is a threat.