To tell you I had the "flu" that's going round, and it was actually covid

[DucklingDaisy]

I suppose it doesn't make much difference now, but I kept nodding my head in agreements with threads on here describing a bug going round. Then I realised I'd totally lost my sense of smell so I dug out a lateral flow...

I know you're supposed to treat it like any other illness, but I cancelled (and still paid) a cleaner who was supposed to be coming today because I thought it would be very immoral not to. I'd probably have done that for flu tbf. We're supposed to be hosting my sister-in-law for Xmas. She's not got anywhere else to go but I don't know if she'll want to come to a plague house. Both the kids have developed temperatures today :(

Having no sense of smell isn't going to be brilliant for cooking, either.

There’s more than one big going around. Some people have covid, some people have flu, some people have something else. Mine was a bad cold/flu, not covid.

@Overthebow of course, I was just convinced mine perfectly fitted the descriptions on here (kept showing my husband like "look, it's going round") and then the loss of smell kicked in.

I've got COVID

Whenever I have a cold I get the 3 main symptoms that covid had originally. But last time I had a bad cold I tested with a lateral flow and it was negative so was just a bad cold. Annoying though.

@GrandTheftWalrus including fever? I could count on one hand the number of fevers I can remember having before this year, and all of a sudden I'm having it regularly. A couple covid, 3 x mastitis and a couple of other unspecified bugs. I think it's sleep deprivation running me down. Idk I'm sick of being ill though

I’ve had a bad cold for about 3 weeks now and thought it might be covid as I have pretty much the same symptoms as when I had Covid. I tested negative though, so it seems it is just a cold for me.

I've had covid twice now and both times started with a sore throat/generally feeling grotty but tested negative until about day 5 when the cough kicks in!
I think some people would have stopped testing by this point thinking they haven't got it - especially now you have to pay for tests.

Yep. High temp, fever, loss of taste and smell, new cough.

I remember going out for my 29th birthday with a cold and getting absolutely wasted as I told my ex sil that I couldn't taste anything and she kept getting me foul shots that I couldn't taste lol.

The LFTs were always considered quite unreliable, though. Is this still the case (… and I am thinking of this in reference to all the people who say that they have tested negative).

I've tested negative a few times, and this is easily worse than when I had covid. Not quite as bad as when I had flu years ago, but up there with the top couple of colds I've had. I don't usually get a fever (that I know of...amazing how much you use a thermometer when you have one for kids, but never used one when ill before they were around!!) and yet mines been up and down for over a week. I actually think I had 2 viruses on top of each other tbh. Now over that and battling the chest and sinus infections it left me with, mucus tastes like death so it seems to have ended up as secondary bacterial infections...?
DD was absolutely floored by it too, unwell like I've never seen before, to the extent we ended up in a&e (upon advice by 111 and then urgent care)

Yep, COVID here too

I've tested twice with lfts. Both times with exact same symptoms. 1 was covid and 1 was negative.

Day 6 of covid for me, OH had it first. First couple of days were awful with fever, headache and sore throat. Not feeling too bad now but still testing positive, which is pissing me off as I want to go shopping. I know we don’t have to stay home now, but morally I’d feel like a twat going out and potentially spreading it around.

Got the flu last week

lost taste and smell. Tested negative the whole way through- it’s not covid

the taste/smell thing came and went too. Keep testing, I think you’ll find that it maybe flu not covid

I tested positive for Covid today, I thought it was a bad cold until I was told to test.

I've made the decision to isolate until the symptoms subside. It's really knocked me this time so hiding away in bed isn't so bad, I'm just gutted it's so close to Christmas.

Me too. I tested on a whim, mainly because my tests were still in the kitchen and I was bored waiting on the kettle for my first Lemsip of the day. I was astonished it was positive!

I didn't lose my sense of smell for another week.

I've got a bad cold with horrible headache and a temperature which I don't normally get. I've done a few lft and all negative. Smell and taste affected but mainly because I'm so snotty.

Unfortunately there are a million viruses and other infections with similar symptoms

Covid here, day 7. Main symptoms were banging headache, chills and fever, loss of smell. Still have the headache/loss of smell going on. No real cough to speak of. I’m wearing a mask when I have to go to the shop. Wish people had learned to be more careful about spreading disease, wearing masks when sick would save so much in terms of life and £ lost, but I’m not surprised they don’t. I lost a bit of my faith in humans during this whole thing.

I am on day 8 of being really ill. High fever, sorr throat, new cough, head cold, no smell or taste. No covid. Its bizarre, I feel worse than I did with covid last year. Much worse. I cant believe how long it is taking to shift it either. Christmas wont be happening at this rate

I had what sounds like the bug that’s going around - with the cough, feeling awful etc. DS had it too, but both of us tested negative. DD had it now (a week’s gap) - hers is more coldy that mine was - but also negative.

Dont know what more we can do but test?

Thank you for the heads up. I'll test before seeing the ancient relatives. Although I am sure they gave it to me in the first place..

I think it’s very responsible to warn people that you have covid and to isolate… It might not kill people but it’s still unpleasant to catch, as is any illness!

I had exactly this last month. It is the most poorly I have ever felt. Tested negative the first few days, symptoms matched exactly those of many others on here, finally lost my sense of taste and smell several days after I'd started feeling better so tested again even though I felt fine at that point - tested positive.

Hi OP you did the right thing.

I've just returned from a visit to NY, staying with a friend who didn't tell me she was ill ie I could have made alternative arrangements. Anyway, she was diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Pretty nasty, I did my best to not sit near her, but I stayed in her house fgs. Anyways 8 days later, I am not shoeing symptons so hoping I've avoided it. My DS, however, is not well, so I think he picked it up, so there's still time for me to get it for Christmas then...

Different strains of COVID can come with different symptoms. Just because your COVID presented differently last time (more or less severe) doesn't mean it's not COVID again.

Thank you to those of you who are isolating when sick and masking if you're going out. I recommend getting a good N95 mask of KF94 mask for optimal protection as surgical or cloth masks are too baggy around the edges for a good seal.