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?

COVID 19 obviously

@Bubblemonkey, I didn’t know you could be tested for ordinary seasonal flu? Also, do you mean there were a greater number of elderly deaths than usual even Nov/Dec 19?

I’m wondering about my lovely mum now. She died just before I became ill with “a” flu. She had a “bad chest” went into hospital, went into chronic respiratory failure, ventilated to no avail and died.

Of course, might have had no connection I understand. Most likely not.

I think I might have had it. I visited Lapland just before Christmas and stayed in a hotel with a LOT of Chinese tourists. On christmas eve I came down with a dry cough and when I coughed I felt a horrible pain spreading out into my lungs. I also had weird temperature thing going on. I felt pretty rough for the whole Christmas break but just stayed indoors. I’d like to take the test to see if I have had it.

doesnt matter.if you have had it your still as dangerous by carrying it.you touch thihns you touch others you give it to them

I had terrible flu this year in early February, it started off with a sore throat, then aches and pains with a fever and intermittent chills. The dry cough was never productive and it took three weeks before I recovered. At that time there were no cases of community transmission in the UK and I had not been abroad. I work in pharmacy so could have possibly been in contact with someone who had. My sister visited a few days after I had the sore throat and was already I'll with similar symptoms, she ended up with inhalers and steroids as she couldn't catch a breath. Again she had not been abroad but works in the NHS. Dh had the same symptoms but milder, it took several weeks for the cough to go. I think we have had it.

So why weren't the hospitals full then?

Yep I had an awful bug at the end of January. Absolutely all the symptoms of corona virus.

Started with a sore throat then got a horrific cough but no blocked or runny nose. I coughed until I choked or vomited for about a week, I had a temperature that caused me to shiver or sweat profusely. Had to be propped up at night or I choked. Took me ages to get over it.

My normally unsympathetic no fuss DH ordered me to go to the doctor as I couldn't carry on like that and it wasn't normal.

I spoke to the doctor online. I actually wondered if it might be whooping cough (I am not vaccinated against it) but was told it was just a virus and to drink lots and take over the counter remedies.

Now I strongly suspect Corona.

DH caught it but it was more mild, he did have a tight chest for about a fortnight though.

doesnt matter.if you have had it your still as dangerous by carrying it.you touch thihns you touch others you give it to them

It does matter really. Because it's more that if you have had it, then you are immune. Which means you are unlikely to catch it again so you won't be spreading the virus on your hands and in the air.

The purpose of developing an antibody test is so that you can see if someone has immunity to it so you can determine the level of infection and then get that person back to work.

Nadine Dorres has a confirmed case. She was able to go back to work and sit next to another MP as she was unlikely to reinfect someone

www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532754-600-can-you-catch-the-coronavirus-twice-we-dont-know-yet/

DP was so bad in Jan, they shipped him off for an emergency Xray to rule out TB..

@VivienScott,

I had what I thought was tonsillitis and flu at the beginning of February, worked first week with it feeling poorly and spent the whole next week bedridden, I haven't completely regained my voice up to this day.

I did wonder if it might have been Covid (I work facing crowds), however my family didn't get it. Can't vouch for colleagues, a lot were sick before and after but I don't know what with
Everyone who thinks you might have had it, did you at least infect people you lived with? Because if not I doubt it was Coronavirus...

I would say there definitely was an odd virus going round.

Still is.

Probably why so many CV tests are being returned negative.

There is evidence it came here in January and the local absense rates from the schools that period was an increase to what's expected and trends from previous years.

But it would be interesting to see if it actually originated in Europe and got taken to China.

Personally I think they are confident that it started animal to human in the location they suspect as evidence of the market practice is well known.

But we also know there seems to be 2 strains of this virus. It's cleverly mutating. Which actually probably asks for questions than provides any answers.

Good point gettingweird

@Cassandrainthenight my whole household caught it - husband and 3 kids (kids had it mildly) but my parents and DH’s parents (who were all helping with childcare whilst I was poorly) all got it as well as several of my work colleagues.

I had the flu jab and was pleasantly surprised that I had had even a cold until 3weeks ago,hasn't cleared yet.
Have all these people had flu jabs it just had flu,and there was a lot if it about?
When the antibody test comes out there may be surprises .

I said this about two weeks ago and people said I was dumb as fuck but I’ve seen more medical types actually admitting more people may have already had it on social media etc in last two days.

Around Xmas I had a cough that was so bad I literally cried two nights in a row because I just couldn’t get relief. My head and back hurt from coughing, I had nausea and a sore throat and was burning up for about 4 days with the cough persisting for around 14. One point at work my boss told me to go home because the cough was so annoying. I had to take co codamol to sleep.

My mum, niece, sister, SIL, nephews and dad all had similar, with one small nephew being iller than he’s ever been, two trips to GP to be told it’s viral, even stopped eating ice pops and ice cream at one point and had to bribe them to drink.

The only thing is though, why did ALL my colleagues not get it. Why did my neighbors not get it. Because it’s super contagious.

@Lexilooo... my GP said she thought I had croup? I thought that was a childhood disease. She gave me steroids inhalers and antibiotics. I’m still breathless, months on.

I went to Berlin between Xmas and New Year. Came back and have never felt so ill. Terrible cough and awful aches and pains. Three weeks in got swabs done. GP phoned and told me I had a, strain of corona. Took another three weeks to feel human again. Bloody awful. I did ask what strain and never got a clear answer.... ..

Put it this way, in the UK 105,000 people have been tested and every one of those would have had symptoms, but only 11,000 test came back positive. So nearly 9 out of 10 of them were negative and just had a virus with very similar symptoms. Most likely you also just had a virus with very similar symptoms, especially at Xmas

HuntIdeas, Stop with your science. fake news. I have alternative facts that I'm sure I must have had it. Forget that most of the symptoms of corona prior to a lung scan are present in most rhinovirus/mild human corona virus/'flu and not specific to COVID. I believe I've had it in December. Or January. Or February. Are you denying my belief. I felt terrible. So it must have been Covid.

LynetteScavo interesting comment about Middlesborough, i live near Scunthorpe and back in November there was (and still is) a HUGE amount of folk over from China to do with the the sale of British Steel works!
My chest got bad first week in December and on 1st Jan i was admitted to hospital with bilateral pneumonia. At the time the nursing staff were commenting on the spike of pneumonia locally... one wonders!!!

People keep saying things like this. It was most likely the flu!

@LynetteScavo @wikedminx

That's interesting. I'm North East and that exactly when I had it

I dunno over Christmas I had a fever and dry cough, I was really ill. The illest I've been in a long time.

However now I'm ill again, dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pain etc. Work in a hospital. I think this is more likely to be coronavirus tbh. There is definitely at least 2 dry cough bugs going around..

It's escalating exponentially. If there was so many cases around Christmas it wouldn't have been escalating as it is. Remember at first we were testing loads of people and it took a while for a positive, and then it spiralled.

It may have arrived before it did. But I don't think what you had a Christmas was corona. What I have now may not even be bloody corona

I think if it had been around at Christmas a lot of the people we tested would have been positive. For example the hospital I work at was testing people on the wards, all negative. Testing lots of people coming in at first, all negative. Then we had first positive case, then more and more...

If it had started at Christmas some of the initial negatives would have been positive