It's NOT just a cold

[Tatapie]

AIBU to think the NHS should change the "if you have one of the 3 main symptoms" advice for Covid testing to "if you think you've got a cold please get a test" . Two people I know have recently tested positive and had only what they describe as normal cold symptoms. Unfortunately one of them persisted in thinking it was a cold until a close contact tested positive and they'd been to work etc in the interim.
It seemed in March the gov / nhs definitely didn't want everyone with a sniffle getting tested but I wonder if that has/ should change. Tier4.

My DD has a cold. I want to get her tested for peace of mind but DH doesn’t as she doesn’t have any of the main symptoms so doesn’t want to put her through an unnecessary test. If there’s other main symptoms it should be updated so people know to get tested.

Oh and I agree with PP 'cold symptoms' is the easiest way to describe it but I got a test because I could tell this was not a cold and something else was going on - it's been like no other illness I've ever experienced.

@User158340

If you're mixing among people you're going to get mild colds all the time though.

You shouldn't be "mixing with people" in close contact enough to contract a cold.

I've just booked a test because of this thread.

I tested positive with a mild sore throat. Nothing else

Of course the testing criteria needs to change, this is why the virus is spreading so quickly as the symptom range is vast and can differ significantly between individuals.

My symptoms: dizziness, fatigue, nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhoea (which slowly increased over a week) then severe neck pain, muscle aches, headache, ending with cold-type symptoms. No cough, no fever.

My partner: one day of fever then cold symptoms.

I feel unbelievably guilty that I may have spread the virus in the first week of feeling vaguely unwell, but I had none of the classic symptoms. I had to lie to get a test as in my area they are not conducting asymptomatic testing. The guidance has to change.

My husband and I have a cold but the website says we can't have a test as we don't have the main symptoms. We have been in contact with nobody but our kids do go to nursery. We work full time. It's the time of the year for colds so how on earth do we know what to do for the best? If there are so many tests floating about I agree anybody with any symptoms should be tested.

Surely the '3 main symptoms' are part of the reason that we are in such a dire situation.

If you feel unwell at all, get tested. We owe it to everyone we come into contact with at work, school or supermarket.

There are fewer seasonal viruses because of reduced social mixing, so surely we can manage that a a country.

Have the government forgotten that their website is still showing only 3 symptoms? It really wouldn't surprise me.

I know what people are saying about getting tested with other symptoms. It’s very confusing.

We saw friends at Christmas. Dh and I had a bit of a cold but nothing more. A few days later she felt lousy and decided to get a test. She and her dh both positive. As a result, I thought it best to get dh and I tested and both were negative. We have not got more ill. Still both got a bit of a cold so I presume it was just a cold..... or is it because I think I had it already? Couldn’t get tested at the time. So many unknowns.

I appreciate it's got to be a balance because of the testing capacity but it's too far the other way at the moment, the criteria are too stringent and people making their own minds up as to whether to lie and get a test or carry on assuming it's not Covid and spreading it around! The government need to do something.

Using the CDC symptom list would be an improvement

Interestingly I recently googled "sore throat and runny nose covid" and found myself on the Canadian (I think) government website who had listed these as symptoms of covid. Whereas the UK is still sticking to the cough/t mp/loss of taste trio. I've gone for a test regardless as I am pregnant, so will find out soon. Just thought it was interesting

The CDC list is excellent and should be adopted by the NHS. If we can’t even get the list of symptoms and testing criteria right, how on earth are we going to get a handle on this? Vaccination yes, but the rollout is slow and many more people will die if we cannot even correctly test symptomatic individuals.

I've been really ill since boxing day. Temp at 41.7 at it's highest, I was delirious, felt like someone was drilling inside my head, no appetite, I still haven't eaten anything and any time I try I just chuck it right back up.

The shakes and pains in my body have been unreal and I cannot get enough fluid down me I feel sooooo thirsty all the time.

I've had 2 tests, both negative.

@Eternia

My husband and I have a cold but the website says we can't have a test as we don't have the main symptoms. We have been in contact with nobody but our kids do go to nursery. We work full time. It's the time of the year for colds so how on earth do we know what to do for the best? If there are so many tests floating about I agree anybody with any symptoms should be tested.

But you can have a test, just say you have symptoms, the website only knows what you tell it and everyone says that the testing centres dont ask you and even if they did tell them you have

I'm a law abiding person but would have no qualms about ticking a box to get a test now that there's no shortage.

Isn’t the common cold a virus ? So if you’ve picked up a cold you must have caught it from another person which means that you could have picked up covid.
Not very well explained but I know what I mean.

@islockdownoveryet

This time of the year you will get colds though . The symptoms of a cold are not necessarily Covid as so many have no symptoms. Is it possible you have a cold and Covid ? I understand though you should be able to get a test now regardless of any symptoms but at the minute that's not we are supposed to do .

The only way you tell whether it is “just a cold” or covid is by testing though.

Maybe I'll do that @satnighttakeaway - I have a little cough (because of the mucus!) so although it's not persistent it could be classed as new. That should be good enough

I agree and have been saying the same thing for ages. Everyone I know (me included) who have been positive didn't start with the 3 main symptoms.
Imagine how many people don't have tests because they think they have colds... the truer number of covid infections will be much higher than reported because of this.

...unless your children are at school of course...

Sorry that was in response to @greybow saying "You shouldn't be "mixing with people" in close contact enough to contract a cold."

...unless your kids are at school and keep bringing colds home!

I have been tested several times as part of the research into community infection rates. My most recent test came back positive even though I had no symptoms at all. Over the following week the only symptom I had was feeling tired so would have had no reason to get a test and could have been spreading it without knowing.

I remember when loss of taste and smell wasn’t a recognised symptom at the beginning. It took them so long just to recognise it.

What I don't get is I read iit can take up to14 days to spread so why do they allow people out after 10 days isolation?

I think they changed it to 14 days to 10 days in part, was compliance! They thought if they lowered it a bit, more people would actually self isolate.
To truly combat it though, they need to pay people. People who aren't paid for being off are not going to want to self isolate. That's a whole other thread!
I would definitely say, get a test if you're unwell.