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Original poster

Possible mild symptoms - when to test?

37 replies

MoodShiteing · 04/10/2020 21:14

Has anyone had very, very mild symptoms and tested positive?

I've felt very hot since yesterday, can't cool down and extremely tired today but otherwise ok. My temperature is normal and I've had no change in taste or smell. Have felt the need to clear my throat alot but not an actual cough.

Work in a setting where I can't social distance so PPE required and I don't want to put anyone at risk, but I don't really know if how I'm feeling points to Covid or not?

I also have DD and my aunt helping with childcare so I have that to consider too.

Anyone had very mild symptoms like this? Should I worry?

OP posts:
StatisticalSense · 04/10/2020 21:27

It sounds like you have something so should probably call out from work on that basis (if you work in a close contact profession you really shouldn't be going in with any virus) but you don't have the symptoms that qualify you for a Covid test.

LunaNorth · 04/10/2020 21:28

You don’t have Covid19 symptoms.

It’s autumn. There are colds about.

Original poster
MoodShiteing · 04/10/2020 21:48

It’s autumn. There are colds about.

Yes, but this is not how I feel when I have a cold.

I had extended time off of work during lockdown (not C19 related) and don't want to be off again if I can help it which is why I'm asking.

OP posts:
Chaotic45 · 05/10/2020 00:27

I know it's really hard atm OP. However, you don't have Covid symptoms so you should be ok to go to work IMO.

There are an awful lot of other cold viruses about, and if people isolate due to these everything will grind to a halt and some people will have to do it over and over again.

I realise there is a temptation to test and / or isolate with any kind of illness. But it's just not doable....

DangerMouse17 · 05/10/2020 00:30

You dont need a test with those symptoms.

Not sure why people are so keen to stick these random long cotton buds up their nose and over their tonsils...I would avoid it unless you need to, to be honest!

greenlynx · 05/10/2020 00:41

I agree it doesn’t sound as usual cold. We have usual cold at home at the moment : non- stop sneezing and flu like head, no temperature, - we are taking it in turns.
Is your “clearing a throat” persistent? If yes, maybe you should book a test, especially with the nature of your work.

newnameforthis123 · 05/10/2020 00:56

I've felt very hot since yesterday, can't cool down and extremely tired today but otherwise ok. My temperature is normal and I've had no change in taste or smell. Have felt the need to clear my throat alot but not an actual cough.

Same here and that's a description. I have the same symptoms as when I have my annual shitty cold this time of year. I work for myself as does my other half so very little contact with other people, only masks when a shop is needed / we get it delivered when we can. Torn between a test or staying in and not taking a test when other people really need them..:

GidgetGirl · 05/10/2020 01:07

I had Covid in March (confirmed with antibody test months later) and my symptoms started very very much like that. Feeling hot and slightly rubbish but not awful and no temp, frog in the throat feeling, etc. It’s nonsense to say they’re not Covid symptoms - this is a bizarre virus. Get a test ASAP to be careful.

clopper · 05/10/2020 01:09

Maybe you just have a cold

Pachonga · 05/10/2020 01:11

Fever is one of the symptoms you can get a test with in the UK, right? Why wouldn’t the OP get tested?

GidgetGirl · 05/10/2020 01:13

Back in March I made the mistake of thinking there was no way it could be Covid for the first few days I was ill. It felt like the beginnings of a standard cold. Up-and-down feelings of tiredness and slightly hot/slightly croaky. Headache too. But that’s all it was at first.. I continued seeing my partner, went food shopping, etc etc. God knows how many people I gave it to in those first few days. By two weeks in I felt really rubbish, and was properly ill (but nowhere near as bad as some) for about two months.

newnameforthis123 · 05/10/2020 01:14

@GidgetGirl

Back in March I made the mistake of thinking there was no way it could be Covid for the first few days I was ill. It felt like the beginnings of a standard cold. Up-and-down feelings of tiredness and slightly hot/slightly croaky. Headache too. But that’s all it was at first.. I continued seeing my partner, went food shopping, etc etc. God knows how many people I gave it to in those first few days. By two weeks in I felt really rubbish, and was properly ill (but nowhere near as bad as some) for about two months.
You poor thing, are you feeling well again now? Two months is awful Thanks
GidgetGirl · 05/10/2020 01:17

@newnameforthis123 Fine now, although I was getting random days or nights of feeling hot (but not an official fever) and generally shit until very recently. Long Covid, I suppose. It was really very bizarre and certainly not like anything else I’ve ever had before. Flu was worse, but was over much quicker and with more of a defined recovery period. Covid was just all over the place.

notanoctopus · 05/10/2020 01:18

Actually OP does have symptoms of Covid (obviously could also be other things). However, as Covid is different in the UK compared to the rest of the world, it only presents as three symptoms here. OP, I'd call work in the morning and see what they suggest. Hope you feel better soon.

Pachonga · 05/10/2020 01:53

The usual response to posts like the OP’s on here is 70% “you don’t need a test, what a waste of a test” etc and 30% “Of course OP needs a test, she could be infecting anyone”

She has a fever and fatigue, classic Covid symptoms. Just because they are also symptoms of less serious things doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be tested.

Pachonga · 05/10/2020 01:56

Sorry, she didn’t say she had a fever, just that she is hot.

foxyroxyyy · 05/10/2020 02:10

@DangerMouse17

You dont need a test with those symptoms.

Not sure why people are so keen to stick these random long cotton buds up their nose and over their tonsils...I would avoid it unless you need to, to be honest!

EXACTLY!!!
WhoWants2Know · 05/10/2020 02:22

If you don't have a thermometer, then you may have to go by how hot you feel. If it's new and abnormal, it seems less risky to get a test than to go out and buy a thermometer to confirm, potentially infecting others in the process.

DueNumberTwo · 05/10/2020 02:22

You don't have any symptoms though? Not even mild ones.

Aquamarine1029 · 05/10/2020 02:22

You don’t have Covid19 symptoms.

This is simply not true. My daughter started exactly like this and it was covid. She got a test 2 days after she started with this, it was positive. 5 days later she had a horrible headache, horrible body aches and a sore throat. The next two days a fever and mild cough. 3 days after that she lost her taste and smell and that was gone for nearly 2 weeks.

Pachonga · 05/10/2020 02:31

The Covid test is slightly unpleasant for a few seconds and the right thing do if you hve symptoms. They’re coming back at about 3% positive in the UK so clearly there are A LOT of people who don’t turn out to have Covid getting them, they’re doing the right thing

Original poster
MoodShiteing · 05/10/2020 04:50

I know the test is unpleasant, I know that my symptoms don't necessarily point to covid which is why I asked if anyone else had felt similar and tested positive. I'm trying to gauge whether taking more time off work to wait for a test is an overreaction.

We are extremely short staffed at the moment - I don't want to make that worse by being off, or by going in and the whole team ends up sick.

Normally would call my manager and ask for advice but he is on annual leave this week and not reachable - the person on site who is covering him isn't really qualified to advise.

OP posts:
raininthemiddleofthenight · 05/10/2020 05:04

You should isolate and get a test. Feeling hot = fever. Your work won't want you infecting other staff, even if it's not COVID, as if other staff get it, they'll have to isolate. Hope you feel better soon. xx

Msmcc1212 · 05/10/2020 06:37

You are doing the right thing to consider this and you are thinking about others and not just yourself.

Even If it isn’t Covid and you pass it on to your work colleagues, if they get it worse or develop the three symptoms then they will be off/need testing so either way so might be better to stay off and see. Your colleagues wouldn’t thank you for bringing any virus/cold in at the moment.

What normally would be a no brainier is a much more difficult decision in the current situation. Knowing that onward transmission could cause significant illness and even death and that testing is stretched makes a small decision like this a moral minefield. It’s great that you are giving it proper thought.

I think I would stay off, see how it develops. You are sick and that’s what sick leave is for. That then also gives you a better chance of getting better quickly whatever it is. I’ve never liked the ‘dose up and get back to work’ culture though for many reasons.

Feel better soon OP Flowers

DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 05/10/2020 06:46

This is how I felt for about a week before covid fully developed
Tired, mildly feverish (but no real temp), weird throat

Fatigue is a symptom of covid, fever is a symptom and you are feeling feverish. You certainly shouldnt be going to work. the first few days of any illness are never full blown symptoms