Do you think there’s a risk of people assuming every illness they have is coronavirus?

[Purpleclownsuit]

I keep seeing a lot of people saying things like “I’ve had a mild case of coronavirus” “I only had a headache and sore throat with my coronavirus” etc. Is there a risk that people will assume they’ve already had it when they actually just had a cold? And then they’ll slack off on their isolation assuming they’re immune?

I know some people who’ve been tested have it very mild but it’s making me nervous to see people who aren’t tested assuming they’ve had it based on whatever they’ve read online about other peoples experiences.

DH has an autoimmune condition for which treatment suppresses the immune system. He recently developed viral conjunctivitis. He's in his late 50s and this is new for him. So best to err on the side of caution and rest so that his body can best fight it even if not caused by CV.

This is vague (as in not on the official list of symptoms) but real, not vague and possibly psychosomatic. Has anybody actually thought themselves into any specific bacterial or viral condition that can easily be identified by signs and symptoms?

Years ago my GP insisted (without examination) that what I reported as tonsillitis was psychosomatic (I just couldn't cope with my degree course). Exasperated with the question why I 'felt' I had tonsillitis, I requested him to actually look at my tonsils. He was shocked to find I actually had severe tonsillitis. No shit Sherlock.

There’s a danger, especially with kids, of not getting checked out for bacterial infections.

Yes. I was very poorly a month ago - partner was concerned I had CV. Self isolated but felt so I'll I called GP. In the end it turned out to be a sinus infection and a 'raging' ear infection (GP words) that needed antibiotics.

No you can’t think yourself into a bacterial infection and a big concern is them being missed. Also the COVID guidance came out to avoid prescribing steroids where possible, but for some people they are essential for recovery or to help reduce inflammation. GP’s are now really nervous to bring a patient in for examination just in case it’s COVID so many are self assessing at home and possibly struggling for longer than they ought to

I have had something that may or may not have been, but I'm behaving as if I haven't as there's just no way of knowing until there's an antibody test.
And I've certainly not put it on social media, seems very attention seeking to me to so that.

The royal college of paediatricians ( I think that's what they are called) is calling for people to make sure they get medical advice for children with symptoms because these overlap with so many potentially serious childhood illnesses. MN has a pinned post

i expect that is why they are not assuming there is such a thing as immunity.
i was just saying this yesterday, there are a lot of people at home self isolating, or there were in the first few weeks.

i have had breathlessness in the evening on walking, but am asthmatic, so put it down to that.
i am fine all day long!
fine until I leave work,
so i think it is a combination of stress and perhaps the change in air temperature/pollen

Ive got hay fever at the moment which makes me cough and I can feel slightly breathless. I have to keep reminding myself of that!

Back in January (with hindsight), I wondered if I had covid-19 - it’s reassuring as I’m fine now but also a false sense of security because it may well not have been and I might not take it seriously if I actually catch it!

The people I know who have had it or believe they have had it, have had different experiences. Some more mild, others knocked off their feet. All had the classic symptoms and I know one who would like to take the test once it is available to see if she had it or not.

I wouldn’t assume immunity even if I’d tested positive at this point. There are people who’ve allegedly had it twice at this point. It may be an error/awakened timing with testing or the individuals concerned may have just been very unlucky and not developed immunity or it may be more serious. There may be multiplied strains or something. And of course you can still pass diseases on even if you are immune to them by spreading germs even if you’re not producing them.

@EricaNernie and indeed anyone else experiencing breathless without any other symptoms of respiratory problems, you may want to consider the possibility of an iron deficiency. It’s a common cause of breathless and particularly prevalent amongst women.

I’m one of these, but I honestly think I did have it about 3 weeks ago, as did my 17 month old DS.

I had body aches, a slightly raised temperature, chills and a very sore throat for two days and then a cough developed, which I still have 3 weeks later, I also had rattling when I breathed.
My DS had a cough so bad it made him throw up and he had a slightly raised temp. He was very sleepy and off his food. He’s much better now.
My DP had a very slight cough, but he had diarrhoea for 3 days before either mine or DS symptoms started.
I’m still going to act as though I haven’t had it, but I’m convinced I did.

If I'd had a sore throat i would assume I hadn't had it!

@Tonyaster why would you assume you didn’t have it if you had a sore throat? I hope you don’t mean that you wouldn’t isolate as if you had a pyrexia too that would be against the guidelines.

Because I usually get sore throats with flu. I didn't this time and I remember reading a sore throat wasn't a symptom. This was a few weeks ago now though symptom list might have changed.

No idea what pyrexia is!

Yes of course. All the other viruses are still here e.g sore throats, ear/chest infections, colds/flu etc.

There’s no advice to self isolate for a sore throat, there is for a cough or fever.

If I had a fever I would self isolate. I can quite easily have a sore throat with no fever though, in which case I would assume it was one of my regular sore throats.

Are the results of the self isolating Nhs/ frontline staff being released? It would be interesting to know the percentage of positive tests of people not admitted to hospital.
I recall the figure was perhaps as little as one or two in ten. I may have imagined this, with information overload.

@Tonyaster a sore throat is now listed as one of the symptoms. A pyrexia is a high temperature. You said if you had a sore throat you would assume you didn’t have it right after a poster posted that they had a sore throat amongst other things and thought they might have had it. Were you not referring to them?

I think that's absolutely the case.

I'm on immunosuppressants. My standing orders are that if I develop a fever, sore throat, cough or any other sign of an infection then I am to seek medical help. The fever and sore throat can also indicate a reaction to the medication.

So, what will happen if I develop these symptoms now? I'm likely to be told to stay at home, self isolate etc aren't I yet the existence of Covid doesn't mean that drug reactions or other infections won't occur.

when i had what i thought was cv, a sore throat wasn't listed as a symptom.

What i was saying was, if i had a sore throat I probably would have (then, this was over a month ago) assumed I had tonsillitis.

A lot of people are going to get one hell of a shock when they really do get it.
It would be lovely to think that headache and throat tickle last week was IT...but I fear it wasn't for the vast majority.
I do think these people will be more relaxed about following the rules.

The tests are only 70% accurate anyway so some people test negative initially but then retest as positive. Hopefully at some point there will be a reliable antibody test.