CNN: Coronavirus symptoms: A list and when to seek help

[Mike 03]

Updated 7:58 AM ET, Tue March 31, 2020

The main list of acute symptoms at this time is actually quite short and can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We're emphasizing fever plus a notable lower respiratory tract symptom -- cough or trouble breathing," said infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. Being able to identify those symptoms and act upon them when necessary is critical.

Here's what you need to know.

Fever

Fever is a key symptom, experts say. Don't fixate on a number, but know it's really not a fever until your temperature reaches at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) for children and adults. "There are many misconceptions about fever. Average daily temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), but we all actually go up and down quite a bit during the day as much as half of a degree or a degree," said Dr. John Williams, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. "So 99.0 degrees or 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit is not a fever," he stressed.
When you check for fever, don't rely on a temperature taken in the morning. Instead take your temp in the late afternoon and early evening.

"Our temperature is not the same during the day. If you take it at eight o'clock in the morning, it may be normal," Schaffner explained. "One of the most common presentations of fever is that your temperature goes up in the late afternoon and early evening -- it's a common way that viruses produce fever."

Cough

Coughing is another key symptom, but it's not just any cough, said Schaffner. It should be a dry cough that you feel in your chest.

Comprehensive, nuanced list: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/health/coronavirus-symptoms-list-what-to-do-wellness/index.html

[Dave in VA]

1. Thanks for the post!

[dewsgirl]

2. K and R

[barbtries]

3. thanks.

it's frustrating to me because my normal temperature is below 98. i know when i have a fever because my skin feels like tissue paper and if i take an aspirin i sweat when it breaks. i am not the only person for whom this is true. i have had the experience of a doctor dismissing my claim because my temperature was "only" 99 after taking tylenol. i don't think she really believed me when i said for me that's a fever.

bottom line though is that it really appears that this virus causes a fever in people. it seems to be almost universal.