Do we now have to self isolate with cold symptoms?

[Coconut49]

DH has a cold and slight cough. I thought I’d get him a lateral flow test just to double check not Covid despite no other symptoms and seems just like a cold (runny nose etc.). Went to pharmacy to get LF test - told assistant scenario and she nearly had an apoplectic fit. Apparently DH would be classed as symptomatic and we should all be isolating and get PCR test. She shouted at me saying ‘you should not even be here, you should be isolating!’. I tried to explain DH was just trying to ‘do the right thing’ and double check. But she was having none of it and banished me from the pharmacy. AIBU to think the assistant was over-reacting? Do we have to self-isolate for cold symptoms now? In the end I got some tests from a different pharmacy and DH tested negative. TBH I don’t think I will bother in the future after that reaction as we have had both vaccines now.

Our health board has come up with eight new symptoms they say which requires a test,

My cold is a bit worse again today. I have had a bit of a cough but I have cough variant asthma so a cold nearly always means a cough and needing my inhaler.

Thought maybe I should get a PCR test but answering honestly to questions meant I didn't qualify. And I would only be getting a test because I have some symptoms so a lateral flow wouldn't be appropriate either.

There would be no downside to you doing a LFT @DappledThings if you bear in mind negative doesn’t necessarily mean negative.

If you want to do a PCR test, just tick you’ve got a cough. You have a cough now and you don’t know the cause of your cold.

Yeah, I've ordered a pack of them. Does seem like somewhat of a catch 22 though.

DH just received NEGATIVE PCR result - hooray!!! Must be just a cold bug. Thanks all! I now feel educated on coughs and CV tests 😉

@DappledThings

Yeah, I've ordered a pack of them. Does seem like somewhat of a catch 22 though.

It isn’t a catch 22. It isn’t that LFTs don’t won’t if you have symptoms. It’s that they are more likely to miss a covid infection that a PCR test so they shouldn’t be used to rule out covid.

You have an increase in your cough. I don’t understand why you’re not booking a PCR test.

You have an increase in your cough. I don’t understand why you’re not booking a PCR test.
All open to interpretation isn't it? I had a bit of cough last week. A tickly back of the throat cough that went away with two puffs. So a normal cold induced asthmatic one. That happened twice , last time on Saturday. Then a little bit this morning becuase I've got snotty again. I don't see that meets the threshold for a PCR test as in any way "continuous".

So what’s your issue then @DappledThings? Why are you making out like it’s a huge dilemma about what to do now? If you don’t have covid symptoms, you don’t need a PCR test and doing a LFT is a good thing-we’re all asked to do them twice a week. They don’t stop working if you’ve got a bit of a cough.
To be honest, I think most medical people would tell you to get a PCR test to be on the safe side because there’s massive tear capacity at the moment. That’s certainly what I’d do with a new cough.

It's a cough, take a test to be on the safe side for you and everyone else. When then doubt there's no doubt.

@PurpleDaisies

So what’s your issue then *@DappledThings*? Why are you making out like it’s a huge dilemma about what to do now? If you don’t have covid symptoms, you don’t need a PCR test and doing a LFT is a good thing-we’re all asked to do them twice a week. They don’t stop working if you’ve got a bit of a cough. To be honest, I think most medical people would tell you to get a PCR test to be on the safe side because there’s massive tear capacity at the moment. That’s certainly what I’d do with a new cough.

Not a huge dilemma. Just musings! The whole thread was about what to do when you have a cold and I wasn't going to do anything because I don't think I have covid symptoms. But some people think you should treat a cold as covid till proven otherwise so I'm now getting a lft.

Just think it's a bit of an odd situation that I'm only getting a test because I have "symptoms" but they aren't capital S Symptoms so I can't get the pcr. I think it's funny much more than being a dilemma.

You can get a pcr. You have a cough.
Nobody is going to think that’s a problem. There’s massive spare test capacity now.

Ynbu. I am sick of all the drama.

Both mine and my partners first symptoms when we had Covid were runny nose and occasional cough.....
I see that your husband has tested negative, but those symptoms although not officially on the list definitely can be a sign of covid.

It’s not funny. What it is is another failure by our government to recognise the obvious. That Covid has more than 3 symptoms.

From CDC so what the USA says:

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

@Ratatattatpat

Ynbu. I am sick of all the drama.

Quite!

From WHO:

Know the full range of symptoms of COVID-19. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.
Stay home and self-isolate even if you have minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, until you recover. Call your health care provider or hotline for advice. Have someone bring you supplies. If you need to leave your house or have someone near you, wear a medical mask to avoid infecting others.

@Lockheart

YABU.

Your DH had symptoms which could have been Covid-19.

Therefore you should have isolated until you got a negative test.

The pharmacist was correct, as she was about the tests. As he was symptomatic, he needed PCR tests. LF tests are useless in symptomatic people.

LF are better at identifying CV19 in people who are symptomatic than in those who are not. Source: www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n823

@Horst, it hasn’t affected our half term plans. They were tested by PCR and I was right it wasn’t Covid. It’s a cough. Got the test back quite quickly but decided there wasn’t much point sending them in for the last day. One is still coughing presumably because their chest is all irritated. They are delighted to have had an extra few days off 🤷‍♀️