What if I’ve just got a cold?!

[HalfTermHalfTerm]

Just like to make it clear that I have not gone in to work today, I am safely shut away in my room!

I had a bit of a sore throat yesterday, but no other symptoms and felt fine. I woke up this morning and have been coughing (perhaps not persistently but regularly) and still have the slightly sore throat. I also have mild pains and a ‘tight’ sort of feeling in my chest.

I had already almost decided that I wasn’t going to be going in to work but I rang my lovely line manager and managed to cough down the phone at her so she confirmed that I needed to stay at home. I have several friends who have had colds recently though, and there will still be a lot of colds going about because of the time of year it is. I’m worried that it is just a cold or a random cough and that I’ll be fine in a day or so and won’t be allowed in to work. Not only will this inconvenience my colleagues but if I haven’t got it now I might actually get it in a few weeks time and need to be off again!

I don’t really know what the point of me posting is, to be honest. But anyone in a similar situation and worrying about the same thing, or has anyone had symptoms that have disappeared in a day or so and then been allowed back in to work?

I'm in largely the same boat, symptoms-wise. Started (mildly) coughing late last night and immediately holed myself up in the spare room. Even if my symptoms disappear completely today, I will stay here. There's no chance I would go back to work sooner than a week. Stick to the rules, they are far less draconian than every other countries but we will inevitably head that way if people can't comply.

it doesnt actually matter if it a cold , another virus or CV.
The government guidance is very clear that if you develop a cough you need to self isoalte for 7 days.
The chief medical officer even said in his speech that some of these cases would not be CV19 but that people should still isolate, and that actually reducing the risk of the spread of ANY respiratory illness or virus right now is a good thing anyway.

We have colds and are going about business as usual (work, nursery etc). We have almost the exact opposite symptoms to covid 19 though - productive coughs, sneezing, snotty noses, no temperature and no shortness of breath (despite being asthmatic). Both work and nursery are happy with us all being there.

Your symptoms are similar to mine and my son’s. I’ve explained to him that we need to stay home to protect others even though we don’t know if we have THE virus or not. As if he goes to school he could pass it to pupils who have other health issues or he could pass it to healthy friends who have family members with other health issues. We aren’t staying home for us but for the community.

It all feels like a drama though!

I was in work last week with a sore throat, cough and on and off temp but stayed home when the advice changed.

If anything I feel a bit worse today but the cough has improved but not gone. Still have a sore throat (probably from coughing) headache and I'm staying home.

It doesn't really matter whether we think we have it because unless people get very ill they're not going to test so the advice I've seen is assume you have and stay home. WFH if you can.

No, you are all correct, of course. Just to make it clear that my work (including the HR department) know why I’m off so there’s no way I could go back to work without them being happy about it! I’m just feeling awful about the prospect of being off for 7 days with a cold (or maybe not even a cold, just a random cough) and then actually getting it and potentially needing another week or two off work further down the line.

@WoollyFoolly hopefully it’s just a cold, I hope you start to feel better soon!

These are unusual times; even if it IS ‘just’ a cold and you need to take another week later for another illness, that’s a small price to pay for flattening the curve and protecting vulnerable people in society.

It probably is just a cold. But you don’t know do you’ve done the right thing.

You too @HalfTermHalfTerm. FWIW, I don't think mine is a cold, I have no runny nose. Literally my only symptom is a tight chest and very dry cough. I've had chest infections and it feels the same as the start of that. It's very mild so far though, fingers crossed.

What if, what if, what if, what if?

Everyone: just stay home if you are coughing, have tight chest, fever, sore throat, muscle aches.

Just do it!

Same situation here. Am working from home this week and keeping my germs to myself!
I think it’s just a mild cold - the cough has improved and the tightness in my chest has too. Feels more like a mild sinus-y head cold now. Very tired though and very little energy.

All of my DH's work had a "cold" in early February.
It was a bad cold, fever, cough, etc.
They all had 2 or 3 days off.
If it was now they'd be self isolating for 2 weeks of course.
At that time there were no UK cases, only China.
Normal colds and 'flus will still be going round, but we have to assume it's worst case, even though it might not be.

I'm in the same boat - cough, runny nose, headache, aches and pains. I've stayed home from work but sent the kids to school. Don't know if I've done the right thing or not. They don't have any symptoms. I really don't think I have CV but will stay in for 7 days.

I'd love to know the actual probabilities of cold vs random virus vs corona.

DD is off with a cough, had a temp but didn't last long, it now sounds phlegm-y so could just be a random cough.

We were barely hit in this year's cold & flu season, DH only had a cold around Christmas/new year so what are the chances of it being a regular cough now?!

Aargh the not knowing is so frustrating

I've posted about this on my own thread. I have stayed off (teacher who has exam classes so not a decision taken lightly) yet I'm seeing people on some threads calling colleagues who have self isolated skivers. I'm worried that's how I will be viewed too

I was so ill on Saturday that I couldn't get out of bed and was only awake for 5 hours between 10.30 on Friday night and 7am sunday.
I was told by 111 to stay isolated after extensive questioning but then in a follow up call from my local NHS service, I was told "it sounds like a bad cold" and that I'd be ok to go out! How are people supposed to know what to do??

My ds has a slight cough not persistent just randomly. He didn't cough at all in the night. No other symptoms. Is fine in himself, still exercising etc.

He's convinced it's cv. He's a teenager!!! 🙄 all of us are well. He's gone to school. Not sure I've done the right thing. This has been going on for about 5 days. Think it's a normal cold.

Your symptoms are the same as mine and I'm off work. I'm also worried about actually catching it in a few weeks and being off again but I think by that point loads of people will be off because they might have changed the advice so that if one person in the house has symptoms everyone has to isolate for 14 days. I can wfh but my company doesn't love people doing that - I think they're just going to have to lump it

I'm self isolating having had a cough and high temperature. Like the rest of you, would really like to know what I've had, if I knew I'd had cv could then get on with supporting others in the future knowing I'd already had it- as things stand, just not sure what I've had.

@ShouldIStaySelfIsolated I’m in a support role in a school, but not a teacher. I can imagine it’s much more stressful for you! I am sure you won’t be, I guess it’s just very easy for people to abuse it by claiming a raised temperature and staying at home. You do sound really quite ill though; I think it would have been a good idea to stay at home today even without the CV. We don’t own a thermometer and they seem to be sold out everywhere online, so I don’t know if I have a raised temperature or not. Do you?

Hopefully everyone will start to feel better soon and we’ve all just got an assortment of coughs and colds!

Yes, I was off sick for 3 days just before everything hit and I'm worried I'll now get CV or a cold and have had to take yet more time off... there are only 3 of us on our team!

@HalfTermHalfTerm I've not got the ranging temperature that I've heard described but have been a bit warmer than usual. Our thermometer isn't great and cant find the better one I know is hidden somewhere!

I've still got a headache and cough and under normal circumstances would have gone back in today, even though I'm not 100% (or even 80% to be honest!) But I dont want to risk the health of others. Which is why we need more rigorous testing

I’m the same, I don’t feel brilliant but I feel well enough to be in work if circumstances were different!

I’m also a bit confused as to what they mean by a ‘continuous’ cough. I’m coughing frequently (maybe every 10/15 minutes) but I have no idea whether that counts as continuous or not! You’d think it would be obvious, really

I agree that continuous is a bit of a daft word for them to use, I think it's caused more confusion than if they just said 'a new cough'. My cough is fairly sporadic, I'll have several bouts in quick succession then nothing for a couple of hours. Under normal circumstances I'd say I have a bit of a cough. I know my chest doesn't feel right though and that's continuous.

I'm off too, well working from home. I've got a cough. It seems so drastic to be home all week because of "just" a cough and part.of me wonders if I'm getting all hyped up over a daft cough and will in a few weeks come down with the actual covid-19 and be ashamed of my earlier weakness.

But hey, I'm follow,g guidelines just in case. Plus my daughter has a high temperature and occasional cough. So she is off school too...

I've just heard on the news this afternoon that any new cough that has lasted more than 4 hours is the critera