Sore throat, then congestion: Common Covid symptoms follow a pattern now, doctors say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Sept. 16, 2023, 8:00 AM EDT


Doctors say they're finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish Covid from allergies or the common cold, even as hospitalizations tick up. The illness' past hallmarks, such as a dry cough or the loss of sense of taste or smell, have become less common. Instead, doctors are observing milder disease, mostly concentrated in the upper respiratory tract.

"It isn’t the same typical symptoms that we were seeing before. It’s a lot of congestion, sometimes sneezing, usually a mild sore throat," said Dr. Erick Eiting, vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City. The sore throat usually arrives first, he said, then congestion.

The Zoe COVID Symptom Study, which collects data on self-reported symptoms in the U.K. through smartphone apps, has documented the same trend. Its findings suggest that a sore throat became more common after the omicron variant grew dominant in late 2021. Loss of smell, by contrast, became less widespread, and the rate of hospital admissions declined compared to summer and fall 2021.

Doctors now describe a clearer, more consistent pattern of symptoms. "Just about everyone who I've seen has had really mild symptoms," Eiting said of his urgent care patients, adding, "The only way that we knew that it was Covid was because we happened to be testing them."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-symptoms-mild-follow-pattern-doctors-say-rcna105090

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Link to study publication - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2822%2900327-0/fulltext

[Novara]

1. It's exactly what I just had but I tested negative. Twice.

Could have been RSV. Or just a stupid cold with a 102-degree fever.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. It's possible it was just a cold (which can be caused by a number of different viruses)

But sometimes the viral load is enough to trigger some symptoms but not enough to trigger a positive on a test.

[mercuryblues]

5. My guess is you had an unknown virus

I had the same thing. Because of my health issues, I went to the ER. There are about 100 things I could tell you I didn't have, but I can't tell you what I did have.

Runny nose, sore throat, aches and pains, vomiting, 103+ temp. The Drs had no clue what I had.

[Happy Hoosier]

22. Ran through our house...

None of us ever tested positive.

We didn't get the high fevers, though.

[Delphinus]

44. Fevers

are not usually associated with colds though.

[Novara]

45. Exactly, and that's why I suspect it was a bit of COVID or RSV

Three weeks later I am still dealing with the crud in the back of my throat.

[justgamma]

2. Daughter just got over it.

Her only symptom was dizziness. She was dizzy for about 10 days. Couldn't focus her eyes.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Did she get any paxlovid or just toughed it out?

[justgamma]

21. Not sure what they gave her

but it sent her sugars through the roof. Took a couple of weeks to get that under control.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. Okay

If she is on meds like metaformin (or similar), there might have been a known negative interaction if she had been given paxlovid.

[oldsoftie]

6. Dizzyness was my wife's biggest issue Lasted about 4 days.

Vision was ok but her head was kinda "swimming". Apparently I never got it.

[onlyadream]

40. Wow, I'm glad you and another posted about dizziness

My son, 24, just tested positive for Covid. His fever is 102 and he’s very dizzy. He actually fainted this morning (gashed his chin and chipped a back molar). I was worried about the dizziness. I called the doctor and they said to go to the ER, which is not happening. Sitting for hours in a room full of people when he can’t do anything but lay still and sleep.

[Richard D]

7. The Lancet study . . .

. . is rather old. April 2022

[BumRushDaShow]

10. The article was using that data to validate the changes that happened between 2021

and 2022, through to date, and how the reported symptoms shifted compared to what they were in 2020.

I.e., how "Omicron" changed the whole ballgame. The current circulating variants all branch off from Omicron.

And that includes the fact that the originally insisted-upon "no break-through" infections, DID happen, even when vaccinated. So the messaging shifted to "prevents severe illness and death".

[Marthe48]

8. I think I have allergies but-

I don't know for sure-either allergies or irritated sinus or Covid.

I am vaxxed and boosted, waiting to be eligible for the next booster, the one in the news lately.

I sure wish the symptoms were easier to decipher. I read a long time ago that clear mucus indicates allergy, thicker, colored mucus means a cold or sinus. I think I have an allergy. Taking otc meds for the symptoms I have.

Hope everyone who is under the weather improves, and doesn't have lingering symptoms.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I think your information about mucus is accurate.

I have allergies, am constantly sneezing an blowing my nose. Clear mucus.

In my younger days (I'm now 75) when I had a cold it was always accompanied with thick yellow or greenish mucus.

There are a couple of hundred different cold viruses, and once you've had a specific cold virus, you're permanently immune from that particular one. Which is why young people, especially children, get lots and lots and lots of colds. If you get enough, and live long enough, you almost never come into contact with a new to you cold virus. Hooray! I think I had my last cold at least five years ago. I've probably had no more than three or four colds in the last 15 years.

I do have the remarkable good fortune to be extremely healthy overall. I fell about a month ago and got a compression fracture of the ulna on my left arm. I'm now completely healed. I was in a splint for three days, and went to a PT assessment three days ago. By then I had gained full mobility of that arm. The PT person didn't exactly say, "Why are you wasting my time here?" I said that for her, and she laughed. An assessment scheduled for 45 minutes lasted less than 15.

I know that many other people my age simply don't bounce back this quickly, and I constantly remind myself to be grateful and appreciative.

[Marthe48]

14. Thanks for the information about catching colds

I am rarely lay-down sick. I am around my grand kids a lot, and even though they bring home anything floating around school, I don't usually get symptoms. They get pretty sick, but snap out of it pretty well.

I get sinus pretty often, but it doesn't usually slow me down. We call it the Marietta Crud.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. "waiting to be eligible for the next booster, the one in the news lately."

Unless you had COVID within about the last couple months or had a booster less than about 2 - 3 months ago, then you are eligible "now".

This is what CDC approved -



So recommended for anyone 6 months and older.

They are beginning to transition away from the term "booster" and just indicating what will be a particular season's vaccine (like how they do the flu shot).

[MLAA]

15. Husband and sister both well over 65 got booster that became available in early July.

I didn’t qualify so very relieved we all 3 got the new one along with flu shot on Thursday.

[Marthe48]

16. Thanks for the info.

I just checked, and I got my last booster in June.

I have a well check coming up, and want to get a flu shot, kind of space out the GPS devices entering my body

[BumRushDaShow]

26. Yeah sometimes

the chips migrate so good to get one in a different spot.

[Marthe48]

28. We can say we injected some levity

into the thread

[Novara]

30. That's what's so frustrating

I think I am having some fall allergies as well, confounding everything.

I rarely get sick, and what's more, I never get sick in the summer, during the warm months. This came on fast and hard so I assume it was something quite infectious - like a new COVID variant or RSV - to hit me that hard.

I am still having issues with crud in the back of my throat, three weeks later. Not much of a cough, but a little. All of these symptoms are unusual for me and a normal cold.

I've always tested negative every time I've taken a COVID test but I'll bet I've had it at least once.

[TomSlick]

9. That describes my experience.

I would have thought I had a bad cold, or maybe the flu, except for my father's diagnosis of Covid pneumonia. When dad was diagnosed, I tested and was - sure enough - positive for Covid.

I was quickly treated with Paxlovid. At this point, I don't know what of my symptoms were caused by the Covid and which by the Paxlovid. I can't recommend the experience.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Paxlovid has side effects?

Perhaps I need to look more closely at the giant rock I'm living under, but somehow I wasn't aware of that.

[TomSlick]

19. The listed adverse effects are also Covid symptoms.

Diarrhea and a strange metallic taste in the mouth.

I think the Paxlovid was effective. The symptoms were relatively mild and had subsided in five days. I tested negative after a week.

[keep_left]

25. Yes, as TomSlick says (post #19), there is an unusual taste sensation that most...

...everyone reports. It's like the bitterness from some alcoholic drinks (IPA beer, Campari) except that it hangs on for the entire time you take Paxlovid--plus an additional day, give or take. Also as mentioned by TomSlick, GI upset isn't uncommon. Nausea that is usually mild should be expected as well (the weird metallic taste for six days doesn't help).

Paxlovid is quite helpful in suppressing the virus, however. I tested all the way through a course of Paxlovid (five days), and after the first day, the virus was undetectable on a home test. That's despite the fact that all my previous home tests were lighting up bright blue. There is one other unfortunate side effect of Paxlovid: Covid rebound. After a five-day course of the drug, my home tests started lighting up again. That's not unusual, however, and my understanding is that there is talk about extending the course of treatment to ten days. I just put up with the rebound and didn't bother calling the doctor, as it seemed that five days of Paxlovid dealt a pretty serious blow to the infection and helped me fight it off more effectively. So despite somewhat unpleasant side effects, I would recommend asking a doctor about taking Paxlovid for a Covid infection, particularly if you fall into one or more of the risk groups for Covid complications.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

36. Thank you for this information.

I vaguely recall seeing something about the taste thing, but had forgotten about it.

Even though I'm 75, I don't have any risk factors for Covid complications. I am extremely healthy, and recently recovered from a minor broken arm in record time.

[dflprincess]

17. My nephew tested positive last week

no respiratory symptoms at all just a low grade fever and extreme fatigue. He's not a guy that ever misses work but he said even if he were dumb enough to go in when sick (he's not) he wouldn't have been able to drag himself down to his car.

He hasn't had any fever for a few days and tested negative yesterday & today. If he's negative Monday morning his doctor said it's okay to go back to work if he feels up to it.

[brer cat]

18. I had the same reaction to Covid: just extreme fatigue. I think I slept

day and night for 72 hours, then was up for about 8 hours total for another couple of days.

[JohnSJ]

20. Not sure how many read Medscape, but whenever they have a report on vaccines, and covid vaccine

in particular, I am amazed and astounded how many antivax comments come out of the woodwork, spewing the “evils” of vaccination, and blaming them for a host of their maladies they say are because of the vaccine, including some who profess to be doctors, which I am skeptical since some push quack cures with no scientific basis or evidence

They also conveniently ignore the millions who have been vaccinated without issues, nor the actual scientific data.

While some people have legitimate reactions from vaccines, those people are screened out with appropriate questions before the vaccines are administered, and one of the important reasons why those who can be vaccinated should be to protect not only the vaccinated person, but those who cannot be vaccinated.

That antivaxers go out of their way to spread lies and misinformation on many public platforms and right wing outlets is disgusting and dangerous. The interesting outcome is that it appears that the majority affected by the anti science garbage are magas and republicans, though they poise a risk to all of us

[Novara]

31. For as long as I live I will never understand why people are against taking measures NOT to get sick

Or against masks. A couple of co-workers were bragging about not wearing masks. Why is endangering your friends and family something to be proud of?

I will never understand it.

[JohnSJ]

34. Same here, and I have never seen it as bad as it is now.

[live love laugh]

23. That's my recent experience. VERY slight, hardly noticeable scratchy throat but

SUPER congested nose for a few days which dissipated when I drastically increased the fluids.

[mahina]

29. My family got it last month and were horribly ill.

Its just going away. Glad it was easier on others.

[milestogo]

32. I had something like that too

but I assumed it was seasonal allergies.

I guess I'll never know.

[czarjak]

24. Testing negative still.

[Mz Pip]

33. I had a stuffy nose

And a bit of a cough. Didn’t think much of it. We were traveling and the symptoms disappeared after a couple of days. I did a test after we got home a week later and tested positive for another 5 days. No symptoms.

[Unwind Your Mind]

35. We've got it right now

My parents, my sister and hubby and I

It’s been pretty mild. Headache, fatigue, congestion. Mom and Hubs report loss of smell and he and I do feel the swimming head. I’m on day five and the headache is better but I’m still pooping out and needing an afternoon nap. Hubs has been in bed and is binging Grey’s Anatomy

[Bayard]

37. Maybe I should test again.....

I get respiratory infections at least a couple times a year. Asthma. So the pulmonologist takes my word for it and calls in a prescription for antibiotics. That seemed to clear it up for a few days, but back again now. Sore throat and more gunky lungs than the usual.

[4lbs]

38. I think I may have been exposed to someone with COVID within the past 5 days.

Last edited Mon Sep 18, 2023, 07:22 AM - Edit history (1)

So far, my only response(s) have been some brief sniffles and a runny nose, and maybe an elevated temperature (not even really a fever). My temp got to maybe 99.3, for most of a day, and then subsided. It was about the same time as the sniffles and runny nose. My temp is back down to around 98.2.

No body aches, no sore throat, no breathing problems. I had more of a response when I got vaccinated those times. Sore arm, slight fever (temp got to nearly 100), and body aches, for almost two days then.

Everything lasted about a day with this exposure, and then gone. Barely anything.

I credit my multiple vaccinations for helping greatly with this extremely muted response. I was doubly vaccinated, first with Moderna, and then about 4 months later, with Pfizer. There were extras left over and it seems some didn't want it. So, I figured, what the heck, might as well get vaccinated again, instead of those vials going to waste in some bin. With these, once they are taken out of the "cooler", they must be used the same day, or else be disposed (can't 'refreeze' or re-refrigerate). I waited until late in the day, for others to get theirs first, and then I got mine.

Then I got a booster last year. Right at the same time I got my flu shot. Early November. They were free.

I'll be getting another booster, along with the flu shot, next month. Total cost will be at most $20 for both, if not free.

[Aussie105]

39. No body aches, no sore threat, no breathing problems?

Last edited Sun Sep 17, 2023, 06:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Lucky you!

Got all three at the moment.

I have been blaming seasonal allergies, spring here and lots of trees in full bloom.

Better drag out a COVID test kit, just to check.

But from a Biologist's view point, this virus is doing what most viruses do:

A virus appears out of the blue, either a pre-existing human virus that has mutated into something nasty, or one that has jumped the species barrier.
At the start it's highly effective at killing its host, but doesn't get much time to spread.
Less virulent varieties get more time to spread, so they take over.
The most effective virus at spreading to new hosts is a variety that leaves the host in some doubt he/she has it, so it gets lots of time to travel to other hosts.

Effectively, that virus becomes part of the background viral load we all have to cope with.

The influenza pandemic of last century went the same way. Went from killing lots to being a common background virus that only kills some of the immunocompromised members of our species.

I'm off to find a COVID test kit just to be sure.

EDIT: Negative test result.

[mahina]

43. Good news!

[JCMach1]

41. These last variants last almost exactly 8 days

In my experience...

I found the current variant several magnitudes worse than Omicron tough... even with Paxlovid to help.

[Deminpenn]

42. There's a head cold making the rounds of my county

Sinuses completely stuffed up along with cough resulting from gunk dripping down from the sinuses.