How did we get a cold??

[RapidRainbow]

We've been in lockdown for 3 weeks. I pulled my kids out of school a week before they closed as I could see what was going to happen.

Shopping has been delivered to door, brought in, disinfected, repackaged and surfaces cleaned after and hands washed etc.

This week there was a problem with delivery so we were asked to Click & Collect. I went, put shopping in car (onto towels which were washed after unloading) from the trolleys brought outside then unloaded at home and carried out the same disinfecting routine. Something was missing so DH and I went to collect it the same way (store expecting us). Again staff brought trolley, stood back and we unloaded. I then filled the car up with fuel and paid on card. At every step I/we -

• Used dis wipes to press the button to call staff/pay at punp/hold pump and put straight into a bin bag/bin

• used a high quality hand gel after each action (hand gel provides 2-4 hours protection after use)

After disinfecting we also dropped food off to in laws, we put it on their garden bench and then they collected, keeping about 4m distance at closest point and all outdoors. Again wipes used to open gate and handgel etc.

Friday night I get that nose/throat niggle of a cold brewing. DH was sneezing a lot the day before. How did we catch this?

I bleach and wipe around a lot. We open letters and parcels over the bin and wash hands straight away.

If we go to the outside bin, same routine, shoes removed in house and sometimes cleaned (even though it's just our driveway)

When we do go out, it's only into our back garden. We've not even bothered to go for walks, cycling etc. to keep risk even smaller.

If all of this has still resulted in us catching a cold, are we wasting our time?!

[Mooserp]

Could it be hayfever?

[WSsmum]

Could it be allergy? Tree pollen is irritating atm

[Whereismycatnow]

Sure it's not hayfever? Tree pollen count is very high and I'm sneezing loads.

[Carrie7469]

I’m exactly the same. I haven’t been out of the house for 2 weeks and have got a cold. I don’t know how

No, you’re not wasting your time. It’s frustrating but do what you need to do to stay safe

[kimlo]

my hayfever always starts at this time of year.

[thepeopleversuswork]

Probably allergic. I am in exactly the same position as you wrt lockdown - in for three weeks apart from v occasional essential shopping - DD started sneezing yesterday while in the garden but has since subsided. Think it must have been pollen.

[onemouseplace]

We’re the same and have all had a stinking head cold. I’m guessing one of the DC was incubating it from school, otherwise I have no idea where we could have caught it from.

[HarrietOh]

Hay fever! Pollen count is due to be high today too

[Derbygerbil]

I have the same symptoms... Quite probably it’s hay fever. Having suffered from hayfever for years I know then symptoms can be hard to distinguish from a cold sometimes. Do you often suffer from “colds” at this time of year?

[TheSheepofWallSt]

Hay fever/ allergies.

DS is asthmatic and he’s started clearing his throat a lot the last few days- Always a sure sign of high pollen.

[Snorkelface]

I've had hay fever for the last three days, pollen count is officially high today due to the temperature and wind. It's tree pollen so it's just in the air. My hay fever always feels like a cold, it's just the timing of the sneezing which sets it apart (mad sneezing morning and evening and just general snivelling during the day).

[Itwasgoodwhileitlasted]

Also are you run down maybe? Ds1 always wakes up sniffly if he hadn't had enough sleep.

[RapidRainbow]

I am a hay-fever sufferer but DH isn't, it's grass pollen that sets me off. I'm open minded to it being hay-fever but hay-fever for me is usually itchhy throat, eyes and sneezing. This is kicking in at night and is more snotty(sorry!) and feeling like my glands are up. But still very low level, I'd barely have noticed it if Covid19 wasn't causing me to pay so much attention to how I feel.

[RapidRainbow]

I'm open to it being Hayfever. Maybe this is a usual symptom for me ahead of sneezing etc but I'm not usually paying attention to it. It could be being tired too, but things like this can't just manifest can they? There has to be an infection point?? Or am I wrong? I always thought being cold caused sniffles, it does for me, but apparently that's not true and it's more the cold air makes you susceptible to a cold? I can't sleep with wet hair though as I always wake up with a sore throat and snuffles, it can't mean there is always a cold in the air in my home?! You can see the internal dialogue here

[AntennaReborn]

My friend's DS has just caught chicken pox.
They have been very strict with hygiene and following all the rules to the letter.

[mumwon]

chicken pox has a three week incubation period

[JustOneMoreStep]

It's difficult, it could be hayfever (my eyes are streaming) but it could also be a cold or virus. Dont forget for a (small) amount of time most virus are airborne. You can disinfect all you like but it wont help if you breathe it in. I think you are overdoing the disinfecting, we need a baseline of microorganisms to stay healthy and keep our immune system fighting. If you are constantly disinfecting you are reducing the wirkload of you immune system but it also means that it will take (slightly) longer to get to work when some germs do get chance to take hold. It's why soap and water are being recommended and not antibacterial products. Soap gets rid of the virus but leaves some of the bacteria we need to keep healthy, whilst anti bacterial products kill the bacteria but possibly not the virus (depending on alcohol content basically).

[Caramel78]

I bet it’s hay fever. Me and DP have also been on lockdown and he is sneezing loads and feels stuffed up after being in the garden. The pollen count is high across England this weekend

[middleager]

A stab in the dark, but there have been outlier incubation periods for cv, exceeding 3 weeks.

My son went skiing to Italy in Feb with school and was feverish 25 days later (of course, he could have picked it up from school in the meantime). I then had his fever 14 days later.

[FiveShelties]

Not sure whether you are wasting your time, but you do seem to be going to great lengths to avoid any infection and it does seem odd that you have colds.

Do you usually take such care to avoid infection? Do you normally get lots of coughs and colds? Is it that the more you protect yourself from infection the more susceptible you become?

[DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon]

What disinfectant wipes/hand sanitiser are you using? Why are you wiping doen your shoes?

Its probably allergies. Could be a cold with a very long incubation period. Or it could be thay you picked it up when at the petrol station/shopping.

[Siameasy]

I didn’t think I had hay fever but as I’ve got older I’ve developed it. Wake up every morning thinking I’m getting a cold (or Covid in these times) and feeling Crap. By afternoon it’s gone.

[DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon]

Also what are you buying that you can repackage? You cant repackage everything!

[oralengineer]

Could be a cold that you have been incubating for 3 weeks. The figures given for Covid-19 are the average time from infection to first symptoms. There have been some outliers where infection has occurred up to 27 days after contact.
One of you or your children may have a very mild form that has been asymptotic for a couple of weeks but has passed it onto you.
Who knows it a new virus? Up to 80% of the population may never know they have had it. It’s too early to know.
This is why isolating households is so important. It contains the virus and once everyone has had it it cannot jump to a new host.

[Callimanco]

What I want to know is how you got delivery and click and collect every week. That's more of a mystery to me!