The heating’s on, my nose is running: is it a cold or an allergy in autumn?

The windows stay shut, the heating’s on – and your nose starts running straight away. Many people think this is the first cold of the year. But anyone who usually suffers from hay fever in particular should take a closer look now. Because autumn is by no means a quiet lull after the pollen season. It brings with it several sources of discomfort that can lurk behind a seemingly harmless runny nose – and which can even overlap with one another.