Keep thinking this has been the virus but symptoms don’t fit?

[MushroomKingdom]

I know no one can tell me and until there are the antibody tests I’ll be in the dark, but I just wanted to share mine/my husband’s symptoms and see if anyone thinks it’s possible.

Sorry if this is very boring! I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. I have to stress as well that it won’t make any difference to how we’re acting if someone does think it’s possible, we’ve been isolating for a month now, family have kindly brought us shopping and left it outside. And we will carry on, except he will go to the supermarkets every 10 days for essentials.

About a month ago I went out with my friend and her children for the day, this included a trip to a packed garden centre and lunch there, although I was very reluctant and was very careful with hygiene. She has two young children.

Three days later I developed a very dry throat, not sore but similar. I had severe leg aches and fatigue.
A few days later it turned into what I’d describe as a standard cold, my nose got blocked and I was sneezing etc. That all went away. A week later the dry throat came back along with even worse leg pains and diarreah. I had some blood in my nose when I blew it. I had a very hot face, it wasn’t like a full body fever but like facial flushing if that makes sense? It came and went.

A few days after that I had a very weird right feeling in my throat and chest, like I needed to cough but I was scared to. When I did cough it hurt but I only needed to cough a few times. My chest just felt weird but nothing too severe. That feeling went after about 5 days leaving the hot flushes and slight blocked nose. I’m back to normal now.

About two weeks after I got ill my husband got the same dry throat and cold type symptoms. He’s also had aches in his back, a hot face and ears(!) and blood in his nose plus a tight chest and weird breathing. He’s on the mend now.

When I’ve mentioned to family that it could be COVID they’ve said no way and that we’d ‘know it we had it’. I should add that I also have severe anxiety so I’m mindful that some of the symptoms could be down to that. Any thoughts welcome.

[LilyPond2]

There have been a very wide range of symptoms reported in connection with COVID-19, so I would certainly think it's possible you may have had it, but as you say, impossible to know for sure without testing.

[MushroomKingdom]

Thank you, yeah you’re right it’s impossible to ever know really unless they do these tests on the public.

[ofwarren]

It's possible. They symptoms you describe are what other people who have been tested have described.

[everythingisginandroses]

We think we've had it. Tight chest/heightened awareness of breathing and back pains (high up, presumably lungs?) is a thing, along with tiredness. Bright red flushed face for me too.

[MushroomKingdom]

@ofwarren really? I haven’t googled many symptoms because it triggers my anxiety so I don’t know much except for the repeated ‘Fever and cough’ line.

@everything oh wow that’s interesting you had similar, especially the flushed face. Does that count as a temperature do you know?

Sorry for asking on here, it seems less scary than just googling somehow.

[Theladyinpurple]

I tested positive last week (NHS). I had the aches and pains you describe, very lethargic and feeling not quite right. Very painful throat and ear pain too. Also had a cough.

[MushroomKingdom]

I hope you recover soon lady in purple ❤️
I forgot to mention I also had odd ear pains as well during all this.

Btw, thank you for what you do in the NHS.

[queenqueenqueen]

Omg sounds exactly what I'm having at the moment! Just hope , if it is covid, that it doesn't get any worse 🙁

[jewel1968]

Similar here. I had strange feeling in throat like someone was squeezing it for a few days then it disappeared and then back again. Very fatigued. DD had similar. I Kept crawling into bed to sleep. DH had heavy painful chest and difficulty breathing that got better then worse again. We both feel lots better now.
Our kids school did a trip to N Italy and lots of flu symptoms amongst the kids who returned.
The thing I find strangest about this virus is lots of people can have no symptoms and lots can have mild symptoms and then clearly a sizeable number can have extremely bad symptoms.

[queenqueenqueen]

I also over think things a lot so think I'm talking myself into half of this stuff! Feel like I'm struggling to breathe??

[MushroomKingdom]

@queenqueenqueen exactly! Any symptom at all is over analysed and we almost convince ourselves we’re feeling something even if normally we wouldn’t even notice!! That’s what makes this so difficult, I think everyone is so on edge and hyper vigilant.

And of course anxiety can make us feel we can’t breathe as well, just to make it more confusing! How long have you felt like this?

@jewel1968 the squeezing is exactly it, felt constricted inside and like there was a weird pressure there. I’ve heard this about Italy and kids returning, it must have moved the virus around a lot. It’s very odd about the range of severity isn’t it? And how some people have literally no symptoms at all.

[jewel1968]

The range in symptoms is what I find most intriguing. Icelandic research yielding some interesting stat:

Early results from deCode Genetics indicate that a low proportion of the general population has contracted the virus and that about half of those who tested positive are non-symptomatic,” said Guðnason. “The other half displays very moderate cold-like symptoms."

www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/coronavirus-testing-iceland

[MushroomKingdom]

Jewel that’s so interesting, I feel even more angry that we can’t manage to carry out testing here. It would change things dramatically if we could know where the positive cases are and isolate them.

[everythingisginandroses]

@MushroomKingdom - I have been running a low grade fever of about 38 continuously, although our thermometer is not the most accurate. Flushed face does seem to go along with temp spikes for me.

[MushroomKingdom]

Hope you feel better soon Everything- weird about the flushed face, I wonder if others have had that too.

[Whatisthisarghhh]

Yes I've had the flushed face too. But no temp. Also had headaches, mild aches and a cough. But generally felt OK. Definitely not great but been able to function

[Taffyapple8]

I've had the face flushes along with the full body ones. I suffer with anxiety and I find these symptoms particularly distressing. I am so had blood in my nose but since this began for me (currently on day 6 since fever, day 8 since feeling unwell) I've had pressure in my sinuses so facial pain. Also ear pain randomly. And diarrhoea.

[MushroomKingdom]

@Whatisthisarghhh and @Taffyapple 8 all that sounds familiar. I agree it’s distressing. Wishing you both a good recovery asap.

[GirlCalledJames]

Surely your husband would have caught it earlier if it were CORVID19? Unless you don’t have much contact.

[MushroomKingdom]

I don’t know, I possibly came into contact with whatever virus it was on that day out, then three days later showed symptoms, maybe it only got into his system a week or so after that and then another week for his symptoms? I’m not sure how it works but I think it might be possible for different household members to show symptoms at different times.

[GirlCalledJames]

It’s very infectious, so if you have normal levels of contact it would have been hard for it to take so long to get into his system.

[SwerfandTurf]

There are still zillions or regular bugs (flu, colds, and other viruses around), you’re just as likely to contract ordinary flu as C19.

And remember that most people who catch C19 will be fine and have only minor symptoms.

The media (and MN) have really blown this into some terrifying bogeyman. To read certain things you’d get the impression you can catch C19 from looking at an infected person and that it has a 99% death rate. I understand health anxiety but don’t listen to the hysteria online, and try to keep some perspective.

[MushroomKingdom]

We have normal levels of contact yes so I see what you mean and there’s obviously a higher chance that it’s been some other bug and not covid.

I’ve tried not to listen to any media on this since January, I’ve read independent scientific studies but had to stop a while ago as it was making my anxiety worse. I actually find the media reports less scary as I can see through the hysteria. With ‘proper’ news about this virus it’s calmer and yet more harrowing somehow.

Anyway it’s more my H who thinks we’ve had covid, I’ve been maintaining since the start that it’s probably just a regular cold but he’s convinced it’s not!

[jewel1968]

Same here mushroom. DP is convinced we have had it but I am not. To be fair his symptoms were worse than mine and very unusual. I am asmathic and what he was experiencing was very similar (he is not asmathic) but combined with fatigue. Even though I know mild symptoms are a thing with COVID I assume if we get it the symptoms would be more severe.

In a sense I wonder if it matters. We will never know until there are antibody tests and my behaviour is still as someone who hasn't had it (not going out etc....) so nothing changes until tested. And I don't expect testing to be available any time soon.

[jewel1968]

Oh and DP spoke to GP who said his symptoms weren't typical but possibly COVID. GP recommended he use my salbutamol (he already had) and sent presentation to pharmacy for more.