Something strange is going on… winter bugs

[Hazless]

Is it just me or is something strange going on? Nearly everyone I know is sick. Levels are off the chart. My son had 10 in his class last Friday.

I’ve just had a really awful respiratory thing. It started with an awful sudden sore throat (not the usual place, lower down) then progressed to fevers for 3 days (I never get a fever, I’m an adult and can’t recall the last time), pain all over, chills, body tingles, the worst headache of my life that two types of painkiller didn’t touch.

Day 5, Now I’m left with a lingering cough and snotty nose and everything smells and tastes disgusting. Even air from outside stinks like the inside of my rotting nose! It’s gross. I’ve lost weight because everything tastes so disgusting. I look awful… grey skin and dark Circles. All my kids are poorly too but seem not as bad as me.

i also felt extremely delirious and depressed during this bug. I’ve never felt so down. It was like something switched in my brain. It was very sudden and hit me like a train. I’ve not had that before.

not covid as both tests I took negative.

im not one for conspiracy theories but is something going on? Is there a new strain of covid? I’ve never had a bug like this before. And I’ve never known so many people sick at one time. What on earth is going on? It can’t just be from lock downs many months ago.

Flu? My DH and I currently have what we’ve decided is flu. Similar symptoms to covid but testing negative, and much like the flu we had once before years ago. Fever, cough, freezing cold 🥶 one minute then sweating! Terrible headache and pains through whole body. Then the sore throat began which spread like razor blades to both my ears! It’s been rough! My DH also was delirious for one night, not pleasant. Pre covid we’d have just assumed a nasty virus or flu and not thought about it too much

Im exactly the same and every man and his dog seems to have it. I agree it's our first social distancing free winter in a few years so that may be why. Or there's a particularly persistent virus doing the rounds. The same thing happened winter 2019 though just before covid hit.

There’s loads going round at the moment. I’m a teacher and had kids dropping like flies. I was sick for about a month from catching nearly everything the kids had to share. I’m so glad that we broke up early for Xmas to give me chance to get well again.

Covid is evolving to test positive much later. It’s a survival advantage. People give up after a couple of negative tests and assume it’s not covid and carry on mixing spreading the covid.

👏

My Dh, Dd, & sil have all had it; my Dh is never ill but he’s been a shadow of himself just sat starting into space, I’ve been very worried because he had covid in October followed by a serious health scare now this he fell asleep mid conversation; stopped eating the only thing he wanted was iced water & lots of it x he’s better today but it’s been scary xx

OP I get where you’re coming from. I’m normally rarely unwell but have spent very nearly all of December unwell.. first with a dreadful virus that I managed, unwisely, to work through, (cough, cold, sore throat, ears) and left with first with no smell/taste, then a horrid smell that seem to be coming from my own nose. Wasn’t Covid.. tested daily as DH works in social care.

Mid December and I was just about through it then DH got Covid. I did my best not to touch him, then Tue (20th) I start with a renewed and awful cough and within a few hours, feeling dreadful. Much worse Wed.. so bad had to take Thurs off work, this form bad cough, cold, extremely weakness, muscle aches, headache, mild nausea and loss of appetite… managed to wfh Fri (yesterday).. I think it was/is flu but shorter- lived due to flu jab. Wasn’t Covid. On Thurs pm, DH who was only just back to work after Covid, came down with it too.

It is certainly a winter horribilus but is what other posters have said and what the government, who admittedly often talk out of their arses, predicted.. a hard hard winter for colds and flu.

Perhaps there's actually been a method to my madness after all. I'm not vaccinated. Also never had a glue vaccine. I boosted my immune system naturally throughout the past few years. I sanitised and wore a mask at the beginning, but as soon as restrictions were lifted I stopped that all together. I mixed with people, took public transport and went into the office.

Everyone in my household was ill the other week, but none of us nearly as ill as everyone else we knew who seemed to be bed ridden and missing multiple days of work / school. My son missed 1 day of school and had a bit of a cough for 3 days. My daughter had a cough for 1-2 days but never missed school and I had prickly skin for one night, and a bit of a sniffle for a day that didn't amount to much more, so I carried on as normal because I felt totally fine.

I'm wondering this, my DH was more ill and slower recovery than I've ever seen. More than 2 weeks later still out of breath, exhausted

*flu vaccine

THIS

I'm fully Covid vaccinated with 3 doses.

I worked in community with service users throughout covid, I'll be honest I wasn't the best at adhering to all the PPE and hand sanitizer, I mean I washed my hands like I normally would, as and when required, and I left my mask in the car more than I should, and if I did have it it on, it did nothing as I would pull it off my nose or under my chin to talk.

My son went to childcare hubs because I was required to work. He has not been vaccinated against covid.

Neither of us has ever caught covid! And I've tested enough to fill a landfill with those plastic LFT tests with work.

I also have not caught this flu thing that's going around despite being sat in rooms with people smothering in it. Son who is 8 also has not caught everything that's going round his school.

I don't know what it is, I just don't seem to catch viruses like colds and influenza 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've never had a chest infection in my life. All I get is tonsillitis every November like clockwork, and after 5 days it's gone.

I think it just boils down to everyone's individual immune system.

Judging by my Facebook memories from before covid this is pretty normal! Mine had bugs from September (when they all went back to school) to January!

The people I know who have worked throughout the pandemic, in hospitals, schools, travelled on public transport, socialised wherever possible - have been the least ill. And seem to have the most robust immune systems.

I was the least ill when I used to travel daily on the tube.

Make of that what you will.

The major flu strain’s circulating now are different to the major strains pre covid. Lockdown has had a huge effect of the prevalence so we maybe haven’t been infected by the current strains for over 5 years or more. I suspect the same for cold virus’ and d&v bugs too but i’ve not seen evidence to corroborate this.

in terms if covid, no tests are 100% accurate as the viral load could be too low to detect or the swab didn’t collect properly etc but the manufacturers do have to undertake clinical studies for variables to remain on the market

so i’d say its flu or a cold virus that has hit yiu hard. I’m getting floored too by the bugs the kids are bringing home - i’ve taken it as a consequence of not mixing for over a year in 2020/1 still hanging around

This. Combined with the fact that it does seem to be a particularly shitty year for "stinker" variants of the usual lurgies doing the rounds, and the recent really cold snap meaning we've all been indoors to fuck and huddled up together under blankets on the sofa to save on the heating bills... was fairly inevitable that this was going to be a particularly rough winter in terms of germs.

Kids further up in the infants never had a full run of the usual nursery barrage of bugs as well so they're picking them up now - our school's had a pretty dreadful absence level, but nothing really unexpected. At some point we HAVE to bite the bullet and have a tough winter of germs or we'll be living under some form of restrictions as a shadow forever. The NHS modelling has been warning of it for a while - hence the massive push on booster jabs and flu jab bonuses of a level beyond the usual sticker to put over your hideous photo on your ID badge (we get a weekly prize draw)!

My DP ended up in resus this week with RSV that caused respiratory failure- luckily we got him into hospital early as he is immuno suppressed and I'm always on high alert when he gets ill. The hospital said that they have seen a lot of it recently along with flu.

It happens every year after the flu mist in schools.

God. There's a new fear level unlocked with this.

I had it over the last few days and just about managing to feel better today.
May entire body hurt, I couldn’t work, hot one minute, cold the next at a point even my eyes ached (didn’t know that could happen).
The closest I remember having something similar was when I moved to the UK for the first time 15 years ago, it was almost a given you fell Ill within the first few months of changing countries die to your body’s reaction to the change of weather, food , water etc and I remember it was this bad at the time too.

I find it weird nobody thinks they have Covid and you’re not even allowed to mention it these day! People say a virus…

I have tested for Covid with each virus we have had. Most people I know have.

It does seem a v bad winter for bugs but I personally also had lots of winter viruses when I worked in an office and had small kids (and used public transport).

Nope. I’ve been absolutely fine all winter season.

DS has had a cough / cold on and off for most of December as normal but nothing other than usual winter illness.

Still practicing hand washing and sanitising as per Covid so a little extra cautious but also work in healthcare so maybe more cautious than most.

Its because we have all become immune to bugs due to wearing masks and isolating for so long, so a simple cold is going to be much worse than it was before. We were warned this woupd happen. Colds and flu bugs do still excist, not everything is down to Covid. I think people have forgotton that.

I saw that article - thought this one on the origin and fallacies of the "immunity debt" argument was interesting as well.