This awful winter virus

[WhatNoPeas]

Anyone else suffering?

My immediate family, half my wider family and loads of friends seem to have the exact same evil virus.

Fatigue, congestion, headache, insomnia (partly because can't breath through nose), hunger evolving to a runny nose, sore throat and cough.

Honestly it's worse than covid and doesn't seem to go. OK it's only been 5 days but it feels much longer as I've been awake so much.

Pretty sure it's the same virus for my relatives, even though they live 40, 60 and 150 miles away.

I'm also reasonably sure my winter colds have not usually been this bad, though to be fair I can't remember that well as it was pre covid.

The nurse who saw my 10 yo dd2 said to buy Difflam spray for an inflamed sore throat. It's about £8 from Boots.

Just to add @techmum99 I'm a sample of one, but I haven't had Covid before.

www.boots.com/ultra-chloraseptic-anaesthetic-throat-spray-blackcurrant-15ml-10164650?cm_mmc=bmm-buk-google-ppc--PLAs_HeroCompare--OTC-_-UK_Smart_Shopping_OTC&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkMGcBhCSARIsAIW6d0BdUycxll0rNfdLkmHjwMxvw-fkmaA55ON7zwdzp-8Mz4qKO-_xBc4aAmGBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or I just gargle with TCP!

Thank you so much for not making me feel as pathetic as I'm being.

@Meredusoleil can you still get TCP? I've not seen it in years!

I've got a huge bottle in my medicine cabinet that I bought awhile back. It's very strong and disgusting stuff, but heavily diluted it does work. Can't remember where I bought it from now 🤔

I’ve had it for two weeks and the kids also had it. I’ve been coughing so much rubbish up off my chest and also have endless snot fountain! I use one of those nasal irrigation things that clears the snot out of my sinuses. It’s very good, would recommend getting one if you have annoying snot that you can’t blow out.

I’ve had it for a week now with no let up. Every day seems like a new symptom joins the rest of them.
The cough is the worst though and my chest is just crackling like mad and I can’t seem to cough anything up so it’s totally frustrating and I feel so depressed with it too.

Yes I was suffering like that - I got antibiotics in the end. A phone appointment and got them quite easily. Clarthromycin. They kicked in quite quickly.

@Meredusoleil

After crying because it was so painful, I sent my husband to Tesco pharmacy. He returned with Difflam. It's not completely gone away but I can swallow without dreading it now. Thank you for the recommendation.

But fuck me, do I feel dreadful.

Hope you feel better soon!

I went back to work today, felt okay this morning then about lunchtime it hit me again like a truck.
When will this end

I'm n say 5 or 6 and I feel marginally better. I don't trust it though. Still full of snot, sore throat, fever and cough. But my balance is back to normal and my headache has slightly lifted so I'm taking that as a win

Have had this for a week. Not in the UK, so maybe it is also in mainland Europe.
Feeling wretched, completely exhausted, stuffed up and cannot sleep. It is worse than any cold, but does not seem to be like flu. Lost all sense of smell. Negative Covid tests.
Best wishes all for a swift recovery. Am glad though it is not just me with this. DH and DC shook it off quickly.

I'm day 6 now and feeling marginally better however my stomach has joined in on the action and I've been sat on the toilet most of the evening 😫 my joints are still really painful as well, especially my shoulders.

I want to go back to work next week so hoping I'm going to feel better soon!!

We all got it four weeks ago. All still coughing though no where near as bad. Asthmatic DS has the cough badly whenever he’s running around still so he’s on a course of steroids now and if they don’t fix it I need to take him back in incase it’s turned into a chest infection although he doesn’t have any fever or anything

its awful. Four weeks on we don’t feel right still, both shattered and also waking up congested with painful sinuses every morning

I’m on day 10, still feeling diabolical. I can smell the inside of my own face, and it smells poorly 😭

Been there! My dog was pointing out to me how poorly I was too, in case I hadn't figured it out for myself! The canine equivalent to 'You look dreadful!'

I bought one of these:

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08R9NTDHV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Which isn't the most pleasant to use but you do feel cleared out afterwards! Would recommend.

Hope you're all feeling slightly better !

I agree with those who say it appears to have improved then continues with more symptoms. I went out today and started with high temp again and can hardly speak now.

I'll join you all. I'm on day 7 and still not sleeping and feel awful.
Like all of you, I'm suffering with this much more than I did with Covid.
It's such a slow progressing illness. Took days of gradually getting worse and now had 3 days of equal symptoms. A cold usually moves on much quicker than this.
I had terrible stomach cramps for first 2 days and dry throat/cough. Then congestion started and now my sinuses are agony.
Negative covid tests here too.

Yep I've got it and been off work this week. It's less fluey than covid felt but the nose and cough is worse! Currently on day 6 since symptoms started and not improving yet. Eugh.

Earlier in this thread I said I felt rubbish. It just hasn't improved! This is a fortnight now, pretty much. Normally a cold lingers for me but just a bit of sniffles, not this hideous version! My throat has got worse I've this week and I've developed a stupid cough too. Still negative for COVID.

We’ve all just come down with this! 7 month old caught it first and it’s the first time she’s ever been ill so that was fun, then me and I was worried it was going to mess up my chemo but thankfully I just kicked it the day before - took 2 weeks to get rid of the damn cough and nasal congestion! And now my husband has it and he thought he’d gotten away with it 😩 evil!

I'm feeling a lot better! Still a bit tired and v snotty but not like death warmed up. I think I'm about day 10 but 7 days after I started to feel really rough (days 1 to 3 was me smugly thinking I'd avoided it).
That said I was awake for 2.5 hours in the night again.

Given some of the comments above I clearly need to still take it easy.

Solidarity with those still suffering!

Yeah I’ve had three viruses back to back so I’ve really struggled since early November, just constantly been sick and had a cough with all three which isn’t great. The last virus was indeed covid and it totally wiped me out, I could barely move for a couple of days. My DC have also had it and been fairly wiped by it, the two youngest needed antibiotics as a precaution with strep a I’m
guessing.

Lots of sleepless nights lately, it’s been totally wank. Praying no one else gets sick again before Christmas.