To think I’ve had COVID 19, and it’s been here a while?

[VivienScott]

After Xmas I came down with what I thought was a terrible cold. Dry persistent cough, terrible fever, worse than I’ve ever had to the point I was delirious, difficulty breathing, though not pneumonia. Saw out of hours and they check oxygen levels, chest etc, said I was ok to be home, but I was not first case they’d seen like this and there was “something really awful going round this year”. Consequently had to see GP who said he’d had to hospitalise a lot more people than normal for breathing difficulties.
It all sounds exactly like coronavirus, it really felt like something dreadful to the extent I deliberately kept myself from others more than I would with a cold. I honestly believe it was, but it’s way before it was supposed to be in Europe let alone here in UK. What do you think, AIBU to think it’s been here longer than we’re aware?

@LetsSplashMummy but herefore is the thing we will never know if there was a milder version doing the rounds not so contagious. Until antibodies testing 🤷‍♀️. I am certainly not going to act as if i have had it i care for very vunerable people. I don't want people to act as normal i wish people would stop treating it as a paid holiday and keep coming down to the countryside and drive us all mad by putting us at risk .I want to do my job safely, keep my family and loved ones safe .I am asthmatic not the high risk but fully intend to carry on just being very careful just pray people would do the same but seeing pictures on our local Facebook pages that seems a big pray .

I know someone whose grandparent recently (this week) died having presented with typical COVID symptoms. They were not tested for COVID and so it will not be recorded as COVID. Wonder how many similar cases there are.

"However, if one person is reassured by this thread that they can carry on life as normal, then it becomes dangerous."

I haven't seen anyone on the thread express this idea. Not once.

Everyone is waiting for this test!

I’m reassured that if it’s been doing the rounds for far longer then it’s hopefully going to be over sooner.
But I’m not taking any chances with going out even so.
Even if I think I have had it

I think there were some dreadful cold and flu viruses going around this winter, that really floored people and resulted in persistent long lasting coughs....these viruses were not covid19.

The death rate would be far higher by this point if that was he case, we'd have been ahead of Chiba, Italy and Spain by now, which we aren't, we are a couple of weeks behind Italy.

It's science.

Lots of illnesses have these symptoms. Some of them might have been an awful lot worse than a coronavirus infection in a healthy young adult. But because all the discussion in the news is about COVID-19, everyone is convinced they've had it. It's the power of suggestion.

My child was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties and they found pneumonia. This was in October.

My Dad was really unwell over Christmas. He was treated for a chest infection but two lots of antibiotics did nothing. He had an awful cough where he couldn't catch his breath, said it felt like someone was sat on his chest. A high temperature, no appetite, no energy. He's improved slowly but still isn't back to normal.

My H is convinced he had this in December. Horrific cough, breathing difficulties and inability to work in someone who never takes time off.

At the time he was working in an area with a massive transitional population.

LetsSplashMummy
We have an idea where Dd picked up what ever it was.

People from all over the world (including, Italy, Spain and China) who came for a party and then returned home immediately afterwards

We were too ill to go anywhere over Christmas and New Year.

And don’t really have any elderly members of the family anyway.

I certainly don’t think we have super immune systems. The coughing and gasping for breath made me think I was going to die of either a heart attack or my lungs were going to explode

My partner and I have strange symptoms at the moment. Breathlessness, a feeling like someone is squeezing your throat and very fatigued. No temp and only the slightest of coughs. Self isolated to be safe but it doesn't fit the typical symptoms. Maybe the mild symptoms. One of our kids had similar symptoms and was at school where pupils had come back from skiing in northern Italy. Any other time I would ignore the symptoms.

Both myself and DH were really ill in December, I had a horrid, really persistent cough that wouldn't go away, I lost my sense of smell and taste and was really breathless. DH had similar but his temperature was much higher than mine, he soaked the bed through with sweat and his joints and muscles all became inflamed and incredibly painful. It was awful. Our DD was poorly as well but to a much lesser extent. I would not be surprised if one or all of us hadn't already had it.

The conspiracy theorists would say there was another virus in December which was weaker and not the same strain, produced in labs in China to infect the US.

It would be interesting to see which region people were located on this...

The death rate would be far higher by this point if that was he case, we'd have been ahead of Chiba, Italy and Spain by now, which we aren't, we are a couple of weeks behind Italy.

It's science.

People keep saying we're two weeks behind Italy because the numbers are similar, but we're not really. We both had the first case diagnosed on 31st January. Their number of cases then shot into the stratosphere for various reasons - lots of immigrants coming directly from Wuhan to work in the textile industry, an elderly population (and lots of inter-generational mingling, so asymptomatic youngsters could have passed it to granparents) smoking is rife and air quality is bad.

I think a fair bit of the "I had a terrible cough in December so I'm sure it was corona" is the power of suggestion - but I don't think it's impossible that it hit the UK much earlier than we think. They keep telling us you can have it with mild or no symptoms, maybe it was spreading for months and people just thought it was seasonal flu.

Until we compare the number of deaths with last year's flu deaths we can't say for sure.

Me and dh were really ill 2 weeks before xmas. Really bad cough, tight chest and trouble breathing, fatigue, hot flashes and chills. It would trick me into thinking I was getting better I would crash again. Could just about crawl up the stairs to use the loo. There was a thread where the op asked if anyone had this flu thing and quite a few people had it at the time. It took me nearly 3 weeks to feel better. I've never felt so ill, I'm not saying it's the coronavirus but it does make me wonder if it was here before they say

When we came back from Austria in February our youngest had a very strange virus. He was very unwell - symptoms were like Corona and didn’t fit flu or cold. I think he had Corona. We had same symptoms but milder.
I phoned the NHS 3 times because I thought he should be tested - but each time they were unhelpful - the nurse from NHS24 was downright rude about the fact we had been in Austria- and didn’t merit testing.
I think they’ve missed a fair few

There was a really nasty virus going round work end of last year knocked people out out for a week. One of my colleagues was wondering last week if it had been covid-19.

www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cambridge-virologist-explains-what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-covid-19-9104220/

People should read this.

I agree 100%. In February I got a cough that stayed with me for 5 weeks. I was
up all night with it - it was horrible. I also had a terrible headache - to the point I was googling 'brain tumour' and made a GP appointment. I also had awful breathlessness, which I noticed at work mainly - I have to walk up 4 flights to my office and suddenly I couldn't do it and had to stop half way. It passed and I didn't take any time off work, but I do think now if it WAS Covid, I was innocently spreading for weeks.

My DD was really ill just after at the end of half term (starting 23 February). She had a high temperature, which lasted for 3 days accompanied by a terrible headache, and a cough which lasted for about 3 weeks. She’s never normally ill. I wonder if it was Covid19. It’s not very much earlier than the date that it was known to be being transmitted in the U.K.

www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cambridge-virologist-explains-what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-covid-19-9104220/

People should read this.

In the article, the virologist seems to answer a different question to the one she's been asked. She says no, it couldn't have originated anywhere but the Chinese markets because it definitely came from animals, and no, it couldn't have been here before breaking out in China because why would we then have seen it starting there?

But people aren't suggesting it started in the UK, they're suggesting maybe it was around (and travelling) for some time before the Chinese government admitted to it. Which doesn't seem unlikely at all.

The salient point is this:

"We have had other infections over the winter that people may be confusing with it and the most persistent was a productive cough that people couldn’t shake, but that’s not the same thing."

Plenty of other viruses already in circulation cause very similar symptoms. Hear hooves, think horses!

I didn’t have a productive cough. It was most definitely unproductive. Not like a normal cough. I don’t doubt the virus originated in China. I’m still not convinced the first case they identified in the Uk was the first case in the Uk.

My son didn’t have a productive cough
He had pyrexia, myalgia, extreme tiredness, a very sore throat - below his Adam’s apple.
It wasn’t a normal flu or cold.