Does anyone actually have the virus?

[rrg1]

With all the talk and speculation on these boards and with thousands on here everyday, may I ask if anyone on her actually has the virus?

@OnceUponACat

” According to my italian friend if you have been in contact with somebody who tested positive you MUST stay home for 14 days and the NHS equivalent will call you twice a day to know your temperature. She told me because dh with COPD has been in contact with someone who tested positive and ... nothing. She could not believe it. Of course it is anecdotal but she is my childhood friend. Not sure why she’d make it up. ”

It’s the same here in England. I was in direct contact with someone who tested positive. I get a daily text which I have to reply to within a certain period of time.

If coughing a lot it’s not that unusual to cough up very small amounts of blood because the strain of coughing can burst little blood vessels in the throat. Not a medical emergency.

Usually you see a GP urgently if coughing up blood to check it’s not caused by something serious like cancer. But if you have covid and are coughing for days and get a little blood in your sputum that’s isn’t a crisis. However if you cough up or vomit large volumes of blood then it’s an emergency.

But people are going to need to rely on internet sites and common sense a lot more than normal. 111 will be overwhelmed.

@MMN123 you are absolutely correct but people are really lacking in common sense. There’ll be an influx of calls to NHS 111 even though the advice is really clear; ‘cough or temp, self isolate for 7 days’ and they’ll block up the phone lines for no reason. On the other hand, there’ll be people who are seriously unwell and the ones who don’t want to bother the doctors when they desperately need urgent medical care.

The things is people are panicking and taking up too much nhs time. I hope now they have stopped testing, less people will call 111 panicking about their mild symptoms and instead 111 will be used for those that need it more. I had to call 111 for my son last Friday, not related to corona, took 30 mins to get through, 2 hours for a call back from a nurse. I dread to think what it is now. So how can the nhs help those that really need it when they have too many people panicking and wanting to see doctors for mild symptoms that can be treated at home?

It’s the same with people going to A&E when they could go to other avenues or treat at home.

I think I may have it, spoke to 111 - no test for me as don’t fit the minuscule criteria but they wanted to send me an ambulance because they decided I had a completely unrelated issue - I declined. Feeling quite nervous about real numbers now though based on my experience. They did not want to hear me when I tried to explain my symptoms - just ticking boxes. I am immunosurpressed and dm is very immuno vulnerable. I am not looking forward to next months.

What sort of unrelated issue did they think you had? Do you mind me asking?

I do wonder if the strict policy of only testing those who travelled from at risk places or had contact with confirmed cases was to try and get an accurate assessment of transmission rate. Which is extremely valuable information for planning ahead. Testing others would have contaminated the ‘sample population’ and added little value because if mild or moderate you get better and if severe you go to hospital, tested or not!

Would explain the seemingly daft refusal to test others.

Now they test if in hospital with breathing problems. Again valuable data to know how many need help breathing for other things and how many are covid.

May be a sensible rationale there.

Because I have been experiencing a very tight chest and shortness of breath I think they were asking questions about a heart attack. Def not a heart attack as very dry uncontrollable cough for days and one night where felt like my lungs were filling up. All round frustrating as they wasted lots of time and offered lots of possible resources for that buI would not consider possibility I have Coronavirus despite living in an area with several cases in a large diverse London borough. I have kids in 2 large local schools and commute on public transport - I.e. lots of possible contact. Oooh I am rambling now - 😐 sorry.

I think I would have gone in anyway and been looked at. Of course if they were ignoring the possibility of corona the staff might not have been wearing appropriate dress...

It's a minefield

Hope it's starting to improve

Indeed @frownette - it’s tricky stuff all this. Trying to stay calm but also realistic. Dh now has what I have but is already working from home as confirmed case at his work. Ho him.

Ho hum even 😬

I'm with the other poster who said being tested would be helpful as if there are loads of us with symptoms but we have no idea if we have it or not then how can we help further down the line when people with immunity will be needed.

I started with a fever and have moved to breathlessness. No cough. But when you look at the symptoms of those who've tested positive, they're many and varied, so there's just no way of knowing.

I was very flushed and cold one evening, no idea if my temperature was up, I didn't take it.
During the week after that I got what I thought was the start of a cold, swollen glands, headache no real stuffy nose though. Now I have a bit of a cough and a bit breathless.
Nothing as bad as some on here but a pp says upthread two people tested positive with no symptoms.
So who knows

My DS and I had an awful cold in February, a bad cough that was dry mostly, I had shortness of breath and a tight chest. I was struggling with breathing so much that my DH offered me his inhaler, I'm not asthmatic and have never used one. I had pain that started in my upper back that gradually went around my chest and my ribs. I remember googling symptoms of pneumonia because I've never had difficulties breathing like that.
I have no idea what it was, still have the odd feeling of breathlessness. There's just so much going around normally at this time of year and because I hadn't been to Wuhan I obviously ruled out coronavirus.
Today if I was displaying the same symptoms, I would be self isolating and would assume I had it.

I definitely don't have it/haven't had it. No fever or persistent cough.

I answered the phone to my mother last night and coughed once and she freaked out, but it wasn't as if I'd answered coughcoughcoughcoughcoughcoughcough.

I guess I'll be one of the govt's herd people that get it in due course (hopefully mild). No-one I know has got it (that they know of...actually that applies to me as well).

@MMN123 you're probably right

Everyone calm down.

@MsMeowington is clearly another virus troll.

Note sh hasn't been back to the thread after posting lies and leaving

Someone Dd knows is in hospital with it. Was admitted only yesterday so I don’t think actually has test result back yet but has all the symptoms and has been in contact with a confirmed case so is being treated as having it.

I know of someone who had it a couple of weeks ago (family member of family member). I assume he's better now.

Reassuring actually to hear so many had nasty breathlessness but recovered at home with no intervention needed.

I think perhaps that is the point.

It’s spread enough for people to be able to advise others without doctors getting involved.

I have a nurse friend and my son's Consultant who thought we had possibly unknowingly had it over late December. It was pretty horrendous, I got it first. Our neighbors are Chinese. When they moved in a year ago they had very little English but their primary age child (they have an infant aged child as well) knew a little so I would help them out with bits and bobs. Over Christmas they had her parents over and his brother and sister so we were all chatting and shaking hands etc. Then I got very unwell with a dry cough, awful fever. Couldn't sleep as I couldn't breathe for coughing so badly. Then DP got it to a lesser extent, and then the DCs too but very very mildly and DS had his steroid in case it got to my level. Was on antibiotics with it myself. Then, as quick as it arrived, it went. Literally just over a fortnight but it ruined Christmas.
However, I've developed a lump in my throat since yesterday. Its not painful. Ive got no cough or temperature.
I don't know what to do for the best now.

So we can reassure each other. Which we will need to do. Need to build some collective wisdom. Fast. We’ve all grown up in a nanny state and fit the first time nanny’s really too busy to notice we’re poorly.

I also know people dating back to pre Christmas who possibly had it. Likely they did, thinking about it now.

@Flamingnora2020 I am very glad to hear that.