To ask if you think yourself or your family had covid before it was a thing.

[Starry4120]

I’ve heard so many reports that people were very ill before covid was seen as a major issue here in the U.K.

Obviously there is no way to know. Even with an antibody test you may not have long lasting antibodies and we don’t know how long we are in immune. So it really doesn’t make a difference if we have or not. We still need to act like we haven’t of course.

Back last January, nearly a year ago. Both dc were extremely poorly suddenly. Both had high fevers. As a parent I’ve never seen them as ill, both were very fatigued. It started with Dd, then a few days later DS. They did not have a cough whilst they had a fever but they had a cough shortly after the fever subsided. Dd coughed non stop for a week, she just couldn’t stop and it would make her vomit it was that bad. Doctors had no answer. Even said it could have been scarlet fever with the rash 🤷‍♀️

Many children in DD’s class had similar. Many of the teachers did too. I remember a teacher saying many of them had been off with a bad cough/chest they couldn’t shift fully for weeks.

A child in DS’s class travelled to China for a holiday (if I can remember rightly) not long before Christmas, came back and went off ill herself shortly after. Makes you wonder. Of course it could be a complete coincidence!

The only thing that makes me think they did
Not have covid is that both myself and partner did not get ill despite having a lot of close contact with dc (as all parents do). Saying that I was very poorly Christmas 2019!

It really makes no difference but wondering what others views are on this matter?

@Diddlysquatty

A large number of my colleagues thought they’d had it early on, but not a single one tested positive for antibodies so I’m pretty sceptical really

Yes. Several of my colleagues have said the same and been negative.

Me and my partner completely lost our sense of taste and smell about a week/10 days into the first lockdown. No other symptoms but taste and smell were completely non existent for a couple of weeks then came back. Assuming it was covid either brought from my work or daughter in nursery (suspected case in her nursery a few days before lockdown).

There did seem to be a really nasty virus going round last winter. My ward hasn't needed to have brochiolitis babies in years, but we had loads last year and we have to cancel elective surgery then because of it. My colleagues were dropping like flies with really bad colds.

My friends daughter was seriously ill in Dec 2019.
Normally a fit & healthy 20 year old she had a cough & difficulty breathing.
She ended up in hospital on a ventilator in an induced coma for 3 days.
At the time friend & her DH were only allowed in the room in full PPE because despite doing a million tests the doctors could not identify what was wrong with their daughter - they were told it seemed to be a virus but they had never seen it before & didn’t know what it was.
My friends daughter worked in a pub in a London tourist hotspot at the time, so could have come in to contact with anyone from anywhere.
Thankfully she made a full recovery but it took quite a few weeks.

Obviously at that time Covid 19 wasn’t a thing anyone considered, but now you do have to wonder.

My younger sister and her 3 kids all had it back in February , although not confirmed , and my mum followed on from them at the beginning of March , and was confirmed as still having antibodies this November .

Yes, am certain I had it end of Jan and February last year but can't prove it. My work brought me into contact with people who had been on holiday. I was poorly with it on and off well into March

Last September I was ill for around a week but had a absolutely terrible cough that lasted 6 weeks, my fil then became ill with all the same symptoms but was in and out of hospital with it. They couldn’t diagnose it but thought maybe some kind of pneumonia. We flew to Australia for a family holiday in October and we both still had the cough then, fil so bad he would wake most of us up each night as he couldn’t sleep laying down as found it hard to breathe and spent most nights just coughing so badly. If it had been 6 months later I would have immediately said coronavirus but it seems a little early. I have worked in a supermarket all the way through this pandemic and unless a symptomatic haven’t been ill since then

Mid December 2019 me and dh were so ill. Hacking cough, shortness of breathe, hot flashes, fatigue, sore throat, muscles aching all over to name a few. I've never been that ill ever and it was about a month before I began to feel myself again, it was horrendous

Me, dh and the dcs are part of the ONS study and get tested regularly. The tester person told us quite a lot of people reckoned they had it around that time but obviously no one knew that much about it then. No way of ever finding out for sure though unfortunately

I'm almost certain I had it late November early December 2019. I was spending a lot of time in my local city centre at the time. I'd also done a mammoth train journey from one end of this island to the other (over 8 hours with a two hour change in Birmingham .. missed connection).

Now I keep thinking about all of the escalator handrails I touched!

I felt so ill I can remember thinking "it can't be possible to feel this ill and not BE life-threatening ill" if that makes any sense. Couldn't stop coughing but couldn't understand why I wasn't coughing anything up (sorry, gross). Absolutely as weak as a kitten - didn't shower for about 5 days or wash my hair for much longer. Heart palpitations and so on.

My symptoms started with gastric problems. They lasted about 3 or 4 days.

On the plus side I must have dropped at least 10lb.

I think I have had it again before Christmas. Completely unable to function normally in life.

Respiratory viruses circulate every winter, and a sizeable percentage of the population will contract one at some point each winter. Some of these cases from Dec '19 - Feb '20 may have been COVID, but there's no way they all were because all the usual bugs and mutations thereof were also in circulation (and cause very similar symptoms).

I know a few people who were sure they'd previously had it, but later either tested negative for antibodies or contracted it for real.

I'm a teacher and a number of my colleagues believe they had Covid in March. In February, I recall one of my classes having less than a third of the students. Their form tutor was also off sick. Generally attendance was very low at the time when my school is usually good. At the beginning of March my DS (18 months) was sent home from nursery due to conjunctivitis. 12 hours later we were in A&E as his temperature was high and nothing would bring it down. He was unwell for a week and a half. Three days after he returned to nursery, I woke with a cough, stomach upset, fever etc and was ill for 10 days. I am 100% sure it was Covid but as tests weren't available I couldn't find out. I wouldn't have been able to get to a test site anyway as I was so unwell and had no support.

Yes, possibly. I caught a virus off a family member who works in central London when they came up here for Christmas. I had a high temperature and no energy. Felt ill for at least two weeks and had a chesty cough that lingered for longer. No way if knowing though!

My dd was ill in December 2019. High temp constant cough and she said everything tasted weird and went of food completely. She also lost sense of smell.
Basically all the covid symptoms but no one had heard of it then and I just put it down to winter virus.She was sick for about 7 days.However despite close contact with her I never caught anything.

Suspect we had it in late feb after ski holiday in Italy

Dd had. 7 of the symptoms listed on Zoe app and was poorly for a. Fortnight

Rest of us all had some degree of illness be it mild.

I had hives appearing for months after and my son had covid toes.

I’m certain I had it beginning Dec 2019. I’ve since had cancer this year and my dr and medical team all agree that I most likely had it back then. I was so tired all through last Christmas then first well of January was really really breathless and sent to a and e who did chest X-ray and tests and discovered the cancer so although we can’t ‘prove’ it, I survived covid, thanks to covid they caught the cancer early and so far I’m beating that too xx

Had something nasty in February. Floored me for three weeks. One DC in bed for a week. Still have a cough and upper back pain. Still have issues with inner ears. Could've been anything. Kept telling dp I was going to die. Felt so bad and I'm not a mard arse

I had a strange illness in mid Jan, dragged on for weeks, strangest symptom was a complete loss of taste and smell - I was going around tasting everything in the kitchen, spoons of mustard and swigging pickled onion vinegar. It was memorable as I wasn't snotty at the time, clear head but no taste. Had one symptom at a time, dry cough being one, and felt crap for a few weeks. Have no idea what it was, didn't suspect covid at all until the no taste thing was pushed.

Btw my symptoms were temp, terrible uncontrollable cough, loss of taste, whole body aches and utter exhaustion x

I had something really nasty over Dec, Jan and Feb. I had the absolutely cough from hell, was short of breath and just felt very poorly. No idea if it was Covid but it was a very nasty virus if not.

Happy Glad for you that you had that chest x-ray.

@Northernbeachbum

Yup very certain here, only a month early but we will never have that theory proved. However wasnt there evidence found in France and Italy that it had been there far earlier than initially claimed?

It was Spain and Italy. Tests of sewage (coronavirus sheds in faeces) showed presence in summer 2019.

I definitely had positive antibodies, but cannot prove when I had it. The only period that I was sick with the right symptoms (or sick at all) was from 22nd December 2019 through until late January, when I had the worst case of "flu" ever

DH had something really nasty February half term. It floored him.
He is in hospital now with something unrelated but they say he has evidence of 'Covid lung' but is negative on testing and showing no symptoms.

This is going to sound bonkers but I believe I had it at the end of November 2019. A few parents at my DCs school were getting very ill. I had chills, fatigue, fever, a dry throat that felt like it had glass fragments in it, couldn't eat or drink and was really struggling to breathe that I truly thought my time was up. It was really scary. I had never been as ill before and I've had flu in the past. I kept my family away from me, kept towels separate and disinfected the toilet after use etc. EXCEPT my baby as I was still bf them.
Some days later my baby's oxygen levels went quite low with a temperature of 40 degrees. The consultant felt it was bronchiolitis but couldn't find evidence of a secondary infection to explain the temperature spike. They took saliva samples but I never got the results. The ward was full of children who had similar symptoms btw.

I got tested positive for covid 2 weeks ago as did my baby and it was very mild for us. I'm an asthmatic and it has left me wondering whether this was our second time (which is why it was milder). I live in a multicultural part of London where people travel abroad frequently. I'm also near the area that detected the first UK covid case with no travel history (i.e. suggesting community spread).

No idea but I’m a teacher and very rarely fall ill with something that stops me in my tracks. I was really ill just before Christmas in 2019. I had 5 days off works, which is unheard of for me and was in bed pretty much all the time for seven days...again, not like me at all. I guess it could have been the normal flu, but I have the flu jab every year so who knows. I’ve often wondered though!

Oh yes and I haven't had my sense of smell back properly since that illness in November 2019.