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?

Yes my teen a week before it was here in the news.
He had blotchy feet all purple. A sky high temp. And no energy. It came on suddenly.
Was in his room for 3 days.
Dsc then was the same a few days later.
We thought it was hand foot mouth but then the kawasaki like rash thing became apparent and the other symptoms. And I belive it's what he had.

I believe my mum had it. She’s a nurse. Last December (2019) she suddenly became very ill and ended up being admitted to hospital on oxygen. Diagnosed as pneumonia but she still was suffering shortness of breath 6 months late, by which point we were all hearing about Covid. Of course back then she wouldn’t have been tested for it, but she had never had any such problems with her breathing before and it came totally out of the blue

My 3 year old was really ill Christmas 2019. My mum is sure she had it then. She had very low oxygen, very high resps and the gp put it down to a nasty strain of flu, and said imagine how ill she could have been if she hadn't had the flu jab. The gp called the hospital who said if she gets worse bring her straight in. She was really struggling to breathe. Then boxing day she had a really nasty ear infection so ended up at the hospital anyway for the out of hours clinic. She was coughing so much and we didn't go out the entire holiday time.

Yes convinced I had it about nov/Dec 2019. A work colleague came back from China visiting family and then a few of us in the team got what we thought was the flu. I remember having a cough, fever, exhausted. Never had anything quite like it - but this was before covid really hit the news. I would go to bed with a hot water bottle on my chest. The cough took weeks to shift!

But it could be could be coincidence 🤷🏻‍♀️

In January I had visited a buys museum in London and less than a week later lost all sense of taste and smell. Had a persistent dry cough, sore throat.
Lost all appetite.
Had migraines like never before and at one point was burning up with temperature.

I was 20 weeks pregnant at the time and so scared of how ill I was i thought it might have affected the baby and called the midwife.

Following that illness my parents both fell ill, one with pneumonia, my husband became ill and a friend came down with pneumonia. All within days.

However, at the time COVID wasn’t a thing.
When it was a thing I said we might have had it and was told that it couldn’t be possible as it wasn’t here then

Last Christmas I just felt terrible. Conjunctivitis out of no where. Felt totally drained. I'm sure I had it then. I mix with a lot of HCW.

I was quite unwell for the last three weeks before Christmas last year.
Really unwell Christmas week, with a nasty cough that hung in for a long time.
It took me about another three weeks to really recover, but I went back to work. (Even my DM, who's not known for sympathy told me not to go back - unless you're dying it's easier to go to work than stay at home for people in my job!)
I'm pretty sure I had it.

I'm wondering, I am never off sick from work but last December i was properly ill, could not get out of bed or do anything. Luckily i only had one day off work as it coincided with 2 weeks off but that whole two weeks was rough and I felt awful for a month.

Back in dec 19 I had a really horrible chest infection that was hard to shift. At the same time we had at least 1/3rd of our primary school where I work off ill with temps, coughs or bad stomachs.

I think it was too early but dh thinks and my head teacher thinks it was a pretty big coincidence.

I had the worst cough of my life back in late October 2019. It was relentless, I've never had a cough like it. My ribs were so sore from the constant coughing and it took a long time to go away, also with fatigue. I work with a lot of international pupils, many from China. I was pregnant at the time. My baby back in March 2020 also had the most awful cough, like he was struggling to breathe. I took him to the GP twice and A&E, they told me that he wasn't well at all and was most likely virus but they couldn't admit him (lungs were clear). That was early March and there were signs all over the hospital about Covid but back then, life was still very normal. My older child also had a relentless cough at the time and we all had conjunctivitis (again viral).

For £60 you can get an antibody test online that will tell you for sure if you've already had it.

No, because the antibodies don't last that long. They think the T cells might so it doesn't mean you're not immune anymore, but anyone who 'thinks' they had it pre-tests would not be showing antibodies now.

Yes. Late Dec 2019. Hospitalised due to such a high temp and coughing.

I was in East coast US start Dec 19
Was very sick last Christmas, has a bad cough 6 weeks, loss apatite, so so tired. At some stage went to Dr she said bad flu about would give me flu jab only for I had high temp.
Really think it could have been covid except I did not spread it. My parents had Covid in Oct I was a close contact but did not get it. Never bothered an anti body test.
Have found myself over the past week thinking glad I don't feel like last year and remember spending 2 days in bed thinking hope I don't die.

Nov 19 I was on holiday in America. 3 or 4 days in I got so sick overnight.
Hacking cough, no sense of taste or smell, raging temps, sweats etc. No appetite which sucks at the best of times but when you're on holiday it's worse!
Coughing would induce vomiting and once the coughing started I just couldn't stop.
It went on into December and when the Wuhan news started breaking I was convinced that's what I had.

Some friends of ours had a delegation from Wuhan visit at work in December 19. Over the Xmas/New Year period several staff members were off with nasty flu like illnesses.

My OH and son were very similar to how your children were also last January.Oh was very ill for about 5 days.
Son lives alone and was really struggling so he moved back here for nearly 3 weeks.
My son kept saying at the time I have no idea what this is but its not a cold and its not flu.

Between Nov 2019 Nd Mar 2020 I was in a and e 3 times with a typical pneumonia and exacerbation of asthma after a lifetime of well managed mild asthma
I spent about £250 on steroids and antibiotics prescriptions over that period. I do wonder, though my xray was clear (hence the atypical- my bloods showed high infection markers but they couldn't work out where it was). It took a good 6 weeks or so to recover after the last bout, so I do wonder, but I certainly wouldn't bank on immunity. I did actually actually an antibody test but they lost the sample!

Yup another December 2019 - really bad cough, high temp, felt like I couldn’t catch my breath and pressure on my chest. Doctor told me over the phone that I should just deal with it. Took me weeks to feel something like normal again. I’ve spent most of this year wondering but I’ll never know.

Late feb, I had v high temp, fatigue, breathlessness, nausea for a week (but no cough) after a holiday overseas. Never felt so ill before! Assuming it was covid but no way to know! It has probably infected many more people but no testing was available back then and schools/workplaces etc where open as normal...

yeah, december 2019.

I cough half of winter normally. usually get a couple of boughts of cough which take ages to get rid of. Had that in january and february as per normal. Then in march had another illness, dry cough, breathless, so breathless it was an effort to get out of bed, but not top of the chest breathless, and fatigue more than normal. (normally have fatigue with HSD) taste is not quite right, but been like this for a long time. (had negative tests since) No tests were available at the time so don't know. got it after ds developed a temperature on March 13th.

@OrangeGinLemonFanta

There was a very nasty virus with cough and fever circulating in February. I was ill as was DS, his preschool friend and his friend's parents. Thought it could have been covid but both the friend's parents had negative antibody tests (health care workers) and I had actual Covid in October - which had totally different symptoms to the February bug and was, in comparison, a complete walk in the park. I think a lot of people had MysteryWinterVirus and think it was Covid, but MWV just didn't make people seriously ill like covid can.

I can relate to this too.

The school i work in had loads off in January time with flu/virus/chest infections - staff and pupils but pupils more with gastric problems. A few staff reported inability to taste or smell anything for ages after - one colleague (on a night out) joked about it and it stuck in my mind (the fact she could be eating anything).

Around the same time my dad (85) who lives with me was really unwell. He's one of these that would not go to hospital if his leg was hanging off types, just put a tissue on it and carry on. He was so so ill with a cough and temperature, couldn't breathe, couldn't taste or smell - eventually ended up dragged to the docs who said he was on the verge of viral pneumonia and needed to go to hospital if he got worse. He went to bed for the whole weekend (again so unlike him) and the next week was a bit better. Took him weeks abs antibiotics didn't touch it. Had no taste for about two months.

At the same time both DS and I had mild coughs but rashes on our hands and feet. My mum was fine!
So who knows?

My dad (70) was very ill last Christmas and he NEVER gets sick. He’s healthier than a lot of people half his age! Fever so bad my mum was stripping the bed daily, a terrible cough and he doesn’t have much sense of taste/smell anyway so you wouldn’t know if he’d lost that. He went to a reception about a Chinese development in our city a few weeks earlier...with a delegation from Wuhan!

My mum (slightly younger and no risk factors) got it mildly but was fatigued well into feb. I’m in my 20s, had no symptoms at all. Despite the fact I live with them so usually when one of us gets sick we all do, like dominoes.

My nephew had it in March (diagnosed by a consultant) and the cough he had was the exact same as my dads, adding to the evidence that my dad had covid!

I had something earlier in 2020, I had a runny nose with it so have always assumed it couldn't be COVID. I just couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs, sleeping next to an open window was the only way I got sleep otherwise the room felt airless.

My stable well controlled asthma was destroyed and I've been on five medications including oral steroid tablets ever since.

Interestingly my husband had the same illness three days after me and was poorly for a week but none of our teenage children showed any symptoms at all, even my son who was sat next to me giving me support as I felt so poorly. Normally they would catch whatever we had and all get it as a family.

Looking back we could have had possible contact as someone we had seen briefly was taken ill with a sudden pneumonia and admitted to hospital.

But there were no tests to confirm any of this at the time.