What exactly is a new continuous cough?

[Thenagainmaybenot]

Very silly question but I am not exactly sure what a 'continuous cough ' means.

Clearly if I cough once or twice because I have choked on something that is not an issue. But if I cough for any 'illness' reason, that is a new cough. So what does the 'continous' mean? Does it mean 'I have a cough throughout the day' or 'I cough for 10 minutes at a time' or what?

Just to be clear, I don't have a cough at the minute. All 3 children did last week, and I took them to be tested, and they were negative.

But is there any sort of cough (choking issues aside) which does not need a test?

I'm wondering the same. My little girl has a sporadic cough which I know is caused when the mucus from her noses goes down the back of her throat. Wondering whether to do a test now to preempt anything coming up next week, her first full week at school.

3 or more coughing episodes in a day or a singular episode lasting more than 60 minutes. Essentially any illness related cough is likely to need a test as they are unlikely to not occur on at least 3 separate occasions, but as you say choking related coughs clearly do not (and neither would one off coughs from chemical exposure for instance).

I think they could do with doing an information campaign about the cough. It’s not really clear. So even the 3 episodes a day thing. What represents an episode? Is it one cough, an extended coughing fit?

a new, continuous cough– this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms

(You could have googled)

Continuous cough to me means more than needing to clear your throat.
They should say just a ‘cough’ and drop the continuous part. It’s too confusing.

FWIW, I had suspected Covid in March and it really was an incessant cough - as in I couldn’t stifle it at all and it was all day.

But I will add that it was only suspected Covid (had all the other symptoms so seems likely) and it will present differently in different people so my experience isn’t much help to anyone!

But is there any sort of cough (choking issues aside) which does not need a test?

Two of my children have a cold, which has a cough. No need for a COVID-19 test though because the cough is related to blocked nose - it's not continuous and is resolved as soon as nose blown.

@FATEdestiny

But is there any sort of cough (choking issues aside) which does not need a test?

Two of my children have a cold, which has a cough. No need for a COVID-19 test though because the cough is related to blocked nose - it's not continuous and is resolved as soon as nose blown.

Is this right? How do we know Covid cough can’t exist with a blocked nose too?

I would have thought any kind of cough that’s not throat clearing would count?

Yes I think it’s vey confusing! What is a coughing episode?

@FATEdestiny

But is there any sort of cough (choking issues aside) which does not need a test?

Two of my children have a cold, which has a cough. No need for a COVID-19 test though because the cough is related to blocked nose - it's not continuous and is resolved as soon as nose blown.

There's no way to tell without the test though, unfortunately.

Many schools therefore are sending everyone home with a cough.

There's no way to tell without the test though, unfortunately. Many schools therefore are sending everyone home with a cough.

Which is why we're so short of test slots.
I know the schools can't be too careful but the government have badly screwed up here not anticipating the avalanche of respiratory symptoms which always start this time of year.
It's almost as if their own kids have always been looked after by a nanny when they're ill.

Takes about 3 seconds to google and it’s pretty flipping clear.

I had a cold in November which I would say ended with a continuous cough, I just couldn't stop coughing especially if I had a change of air like going outside. I had to suck throat sweets to try and stop it and if I weren't careful it made me retch a bit. It was cough, cough, cough. Its not like getting a bit of a tickle

@Onceuponatimethen

Yes I think it’s vey confusing! What is a coughing episode?

A bout of repeated coughing.....

The UK guidelines are a joke. Nearly every other country has a much more comprehensive list of symptoms than us. This is the American version, for example. Fatigue and headache have been shown to be the most prevalent symptoms but they don't even feature on our list.

Fed up of people telling me they have a temperature and sore throat but it's "ok because it's not Covid". You can't know unless you are tested and sore throat is a symptom..

@MinnieMousse

The UK guidelines are a joke. Nearly every other country has a much more comprehensive list of symptoms than us. This is the American version, for example. Fatigue and headache have been shown to be the most prevalent symptoms but they don't even feature on our list.

I’ve had a pretty constant headache since February and worked an average of 12 hours a day 7 days a week trying to manage the Covid situation for tens of thousands of staff. I’m knackered.

Based on this extended list of symptoms I’d need testing daily.

Someone asked this week if they should get tested as they were tired. They have a 3 week old baby......

I think it should be ok for schools to send kids home if they're ill, last thing they need is everyone coughing. That doesn't mean the kids need a covid test nor 14 days of isolation if they've got a very occasional phlegmy cough from the tail end of a cold. The trouble is that it's obviously a hard line to draw up medically, never mind letting every other random person use judgement. Either there have to be a lot more tests to allow testing of every most-likely-not-covid cough, or a clear statement about what doesn't need testing and an information campaign (but might require children to stay home for a few days).

The March info about covid coughs was perhaps better, maybe they can just play it again e.g. www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/what-coronavirus-cough-sound-symptoms-17953988.

Feminist10101 I don’t think it is clear enough. It is still open to interpretation and that is a problem.

I feel like there’s a number of problems with the way the symptoms are defined at the moment which are causing the shortness of test availability. We need the government to make a choice - either:

1. Increase testing rapidly to ensure that everyone (and their household) can get access to a test same day as showing one of those symptoms. For my family that would mean an average of a test per person every 6 weeks over winter I would guess.

2. Describe better the symptom combinations to ensure those with the highest likelihood of a positive get a test. For example, they could analyse the statistics better to understand whether a child with a cough following a cold is likely to have Covid if they have not been in contact with another case. I suspect the numbers are tiny. In that scenario they may not be required to isolate, and certainly not their family.

"It's almost as if their own kids have always been looked after by a nanny when they're ill." @LavaSpider

Describe better the symptom combinations to ensure those with the highest likelihood of a positive get a test. For example, they could analyse the statistics better to understand whether a child with a cough following a cold is likely to have Covid if they have not been in contact with another case. I suspect the numbers are tiny. In that scenario they may not be required to isolate, and certainly not their family.

That’s already the case though. If the child has a negative test and was the only one in contact with a known case the rest of the household wouldn’t isolate.

It does need to be clearer, or we need to ramp up testing massively. It's not that clear - most phlegmy colds will cause a cough too, and as a PP said the chances of it being CV with no other known cases nearby is tiny. But if we want to control it we know we need to test everyone every time they are ill.

The economy will absolutely crash again if we're stuck in a cycle of kids being off for a week every time they catch a cold because it takes that long to get a test

I know it because my son was very sick last year with an illness that eventually led to pneumonia. One of the symptoms that eventually lex to the hospital admission was a continuous cough that got worse and worse until he’d have large coughing episodes.

Once you have experienced it, you know it.

I don't know but I have always assume dot would be one of those coughs where you just can't stop coughing, can't speak without coughing, can't sleep due to coughing yourself awake.
I cough a lot (allergies) but it's always been pretty clear when I had a new cough, in the past.
The Zoe app talks about what's normal for you, rather than any cough.