I have the flu .....really confused about NHS advice

[2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]

So I started feeling unwell a couple of days ago. Head, achy limbs, mild sore throat. I was of course worried that it might be Coronavirus so checked the NHS website 111 online for advice. I answered no to all the questions about have I been to ....China , S. Korea , Italy etc plus no contact with anyone who has it and yes to the one about any symptoms. Answer from 111 online was not to call 111 based on where I had been and no known contact, not on symptoms.

However it has been reported about people carrying the virus without symptoms , that the contagious period starts before symptoms show so just basing criteria on where you have been or not been seems crazy.

I did have to travel in the UK last week, as did DH (to different places) so who knows where I have caught this bug.

Last night I hear that the government might ask people in 10 days time to self isolate for any sign of flu or cold for 7 days.

I am self isolating , tucked up in bed. Can't do anything else right now. DH has however gone to work. I would rather he didn't and worked from home however inconvenient that would be right now.

Dd also working but I have had limited distant contact with her.

Yes I have had discussed DH working from home and said people won't thank him if he does bring CV into large open plan office , but he is going on present official advice.

No I haven't rung 111 anyway , I suspect if I did the call centre answering would just go through the criteria I did on line anyway.

Perhaps the issue may be the cost of testing everyone with any symptoms being expensive but we are talking about an infection with quite serious consequences for some and forking out now might be less expensive in the long run.

AIBU to think current NHS advice is crap and waiting 10 days before Giving new advice that people do Self isolate for any respiratory infection in case people get bored and don't do it is just crap and will mean people are needlessly put at risk.

I think some of these flu cases are in fact coronavirus, one scientist I was reading yesterday believes that 2k are already infected.
Relying on those coming from affected areas to self isolate was never going to work.
Tuck up, keep inside and hope you get better soon, whatever it is.

@Meirou90 there's a man in northern ireland who has tested positive with no symptoms so this isn't true at all!

OP hope you're feeling better soon

Even if 2k are affected, that's less than 1 in 30,000 of the population. Given that probably 90% of the population will get a bad cold or flu each winter, I presume the reasoning is that the overwhelming probability is that that's what most people have got, and therefore let's try and avoid the economic and social effects of mass isolation at the moment. But even with isolation of returning travellers and anyone with symptoms it still is going to spread, and I presume the models predict that in a couple of weeks or so there will be a lot more cases and the balance of probabilities will have tipped, so it will be worth incurring the disadvantages of mass self-isolation.

I doubt it was corona otherwise we’d have unknown origin cases springing up.

Where have you been? unknown origin cases for a fortnight now. That's why people have been petitioning to close schools.

This is so much clearer about what to do.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-initial-investigation-of-possible-cases/investigation-and-initial-clinical-management-of-possible-cases-of-wuhan-novel-coronavirus-wn-cov-infection

I have the same. Sore throat, coughing up blood, headaches, bad chest and feeling breathless. Went to the doctor who said it's a chest infection. I have never felt so ill in my life. But because I've not been abroad, or had contact with anyone diagnosed (as far as I could possibly know) I won't get tested.

It is scary and I can totally see how people can slip through.

I was in hospital for something completely unrelated the other day. They were unable to do the procedure because my temp was so high and I had a cough so they couldn't intubate me.

They asked if I'd been anywhere to which I answered yes, I'd just got back from a major city break and they weren't bothered at all. Back in the waiting room with lots of other people, no tests, no further advice, no suggestion to isolate.

I know the likelihood is that it's not CV. However, I can see just how easily someone could slip through the net. The city id been to isn't on the 'black list' but who knows who I bumped into whilst there, where they were from, who was on the same plane etc...

Really you could have been in contact with all sorts of people from all sorts of places and you'd in no way be able to monitor all of them.

I know at the moment it’s vaguely helpful for the government / NHS to know how many cases there are and to isolate where possible to delay the outbreak further until it warms up a bit... but in theory, most of us will get it this year so assuming this is most of us in April / May / June, I would take it that unless you need hospitalisation you would just stay at home and try and sleep and rest until you feel better like the normal flu of a bad cold, right?
I mean once a critical mass has reached, it doesn’t help the NHS to know if I have it or not I don’t think?

DH had the worst flu ever last week.
Called 111.
Option one on the phone line were for people who have been out thr country in the past 14 days.
Option two was for anyone who has knowingly been in contact with anyone with the virus.
Option 3 was for information.

Chose option 3 as the other 2 didnt apply and they said they were the wrong person to speak through and do go through the options again 🤦🏻‍♀️
He did stay off from work as he was in pretty bad shape, but I do think things could be handled better.

Women in town near me been diagnosed and she hadn’t had any contact with anyone Known to have it or one of the related countries.
Someone I know was in bay next to them in A&E and it was only the doctors saying she hit all the criteria that they better test her. So I reckon yes there are many more people with it then we realise.

As to self-isolation - if you have mild symptoms, your livelihood depends on you actually working, you haven't been anywhere near the virus, there's a strong incentive to convince yourself you're OK to work.So better to save massive self-isolation measures till the time when it is quite likely that any illness will be Covid-19 not flu/cold.

I have a sore throat and typical cold symptoms...no fever, no direct connection with anyone from an infected region. Im not self isolating, its cold and flu season its near on impossible to have everyone who feels less than 100% to hibernate for a fortnight.

I understand its a lower respiratory tract infection so symptoms are fever and dry non productive cough. If you have runny nose and cough producing mucous its unlikely to be CV. The symptoms are not like a head cold.

I think its very likely a lot of people have it but haven't been diagnosed.

@mrsm12 I’m in Ireland and as far as I can make out from hse website they are only giving advice to people who have travelled to an affected region/in contact with someone who travelled and are showing symptoms.

Where are you that they are “swabbing everyone”?

@Barbararara in Dublin, working in a hospital where anybody with flu like symptoms or community acquired pneumonia is being swabbed as is anybody who is ringing the helpline with symptoms but able to manage at home either by coming in to be swabbed or by a dedicated advanced paramedic.

If your DH is still going out and about and interacting with others during the day then coming home and interacting with you, you are NOT self isolating. You're just staying at home.

Self isolating means just that.

Isolation. By yourself.

Hope you feel better soon.

I've been off work since last Wednesday with a temperature, an awful headache, aching body, sore throat, cough, sore chest and overwhelming lethargy. I called 111 as another parent at my dd's school had been diagnosed with Coronavirus, but as I couldn't confirm nor deny I had been in direct contact, they won't test for it. I was sent to the GP, and told I had a "flu-like illness' I've stayed home ever since and still feel like utter shite.

Seems silly they are not testing those with presenting symptoms, I work with the public and utilise public transport for example, how on earth is one supposed to know whether they have come into direct contact with someone with it? I was on the train in rush hour the week before last and people were coughing all over the place, and being crammed in like sardines, you can't escape it!

Regardless, I'm staying home and staying away from people until recovered.

Based on what you've said I wouldn't self isolate, I'd just try to avoid contact with newborns, elderly and immune-compromised people.

Like you said, what's the point when even people who feel well could have it; and people are flying in from different countries every day?

Also I hope you feel better soon!

It does make you wonder about the true number of cases -
If they’re only testing those who have been out of the country.... when we know that there is community transmission?
It’s likely many of you don’t have coronavirus and it’s usual seasonal flu/cold/chest infection. But how on earth does anyone know unless they test more?
How did they identify those that haven’t travelled (like the first guy in Haslemere surrey) if they’re only testing those who know they’ve been abroad or had contact!
It’s very weird and make you wonder if it’s almost deliberate in order to keep the reported cases low.

COVID-19 is not a variant of the flu @Meirou90 - coronaviruses are an entirely separate family of illnesses.

One of my colleagues was tested today, he has a chest infection, called 111 and they arranged testing. In our city they are setting up drive through testing at both the hospitals. Fortunately his test came back negative!

But how on earth does anyone know unless they test more?
How did they identify those that haven’t travelled (like the first guy in Haslemere surrey) if they’re only testing those who know they’ve been abroad or had contact!
It’s very weird and make you wonder if it’s almost deliberate in order to keep the reported cases low.

Absolutely, they are choosing not to test more, why? It's in the community now and has been for weeks. The only reason not to test, is to have lower numbers of positives.

Sorry for bold fail.

I think it's very hard to say you have or have not been in contact with someone. What about the 20 people squashed around me on my crammed commute into the city every day? How on earth would I know.