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?

Something certainly tore through my office back in December, nasty cough, fever, fatigue, sore throat. Even our MD had a few days off and he very rarely takes time off sick. I had a few days where I felt really poorly and I wasn't 'right' again for a good few weeks afterwards. At the time I just put it down to a particularly nasty cold strain but I do wonder if that could have been covid. I suppose there's no way of knowing.

That should have said December 2019.

We had mild flu-like symptoms after a weekend in London in February - packed theatre, bars, tube and buses. Probably wrong but I sometimes wonder if it was.

Sorry I meant xmas 19/20 obvs

My DS complained of having lost his taste and smell last year pre lockdown before those were known symptoms. No cough or fever. Shortly afterwards, DD complained of having a headache for a couple of days but otherwise ok; we gave her paracetamol and she was fine.

We just put it down to one of those things at the time. No-one else in the family had any symptoms or was ill.

My daughter caught a virus of some sort that was going round the nursery in January last year. 2 children that I know of (have their parents on Facebook) were admitted to hospital and given oxygen. My older daughter and I both caught this bug and were really ill for a few days.

During this time my stepdad became really unwell and left work to see the doctor which he never does. GP took his temperature and sent him straight to A&E, he asked if he could wait until the next day to go and the GP said absolutely not. He was kept in for about 2 weeks as they couldn't get his temperature down and his oxygen levels were low. When he was allowed home he was still feeling terrible and all he could eat for ages was rice krispies as he couldn't taste anything so couldn't face eating. A year later he's still tired easily.

We've always wondered if it was covid and when they listed loss of taste as a symptom mum was convinced that's what he'd had. I'm not quite as sure though as he has COPD so I think it would have be a lot worse if it had been covid.

I remember around the same time there was a thread on here, I think it was in General Health, asking if anyone had had a strange bug recently with a list of symptoms and lots of people were replying saying they had. I was reading it and thinking it sounded exactly the same as me and my children felt. I've searched a few times for it but I've never been able able to find it. It would be really interesting to read now.

The WHO has asked countries to go back an examine X-rays from 2019. I think you can see the effects of COVID on lungs if it’s severe. It’s quite specific. I know France found evidence this way from Nov 2019z I would argue if it was in France then why wouldn’t it have been here.

Lots of evidence of increased activity around hospitals in Wuhan in August. So it would have been in China earlier too. I’m not sure anyone believes their first case was end of Dec?

There was a sporting event in China in October with athletes from around the world. Many of them came down with some mysterious virus straight after.

There’s some suggestions that there was a similar virus around (but not novel I guess) just before Covid that actually gave the people who had it some immunity to Covid due to t-cells. This could explain why some people appear to have natural immunity; exposure to a similar virus in the corona family.

I hope all of this is looked in to more.

I'm pretty sure I had it Christmas 2019. Never been so ill in my life, definitely worse than flu, uncontrollable temperature, drenched in sweat, barely conscious, had to crawl to the toilet, either sleeping or coughing, partner trying to decide whether to call an ambulance. Took me over 3 months to recover. And I was someone that ran every day and trained intensively 6 days a week.

I think I caught it in Germany in December 2019. I was very unwell, felt like a heavy weight was pressing on my lungs for a long time after, couldn't smell or taste anything, very fatigued, temperature. But no runny nose or sore throat, or sinus problems. My DS and father had it too on the same trip to a lesser extent.

My Aunt flew from North America to the UK in mid December 2019. Within a week of her arrival she was laid up, feeling "like shit" (she rarely swears so when she does you know she means it). She had a hacking cough, sore throat, weakness, fever, sickness, relentless headache, all the signs of Covid.

She was staying with her daughter, son in law, and toddler grandson, all of whom were perfectly well throughout, which led us to wonder whether Aunt had picked up a bug on the flight over. It's not entirely surprising that the household didn't catch it from her - they have a large enough house to be able to keep a distance, with en suite bathrooms.

Aunt is convinced that what she experienced was the Covid virus. She's not one for drama or over-egging things either.

I had a nasty virus in December 2019. I very much doubt it was Covid, but I understand there was a coronavirus called OC43 circulating then, which can present with similar symptoms (no mention of loss of smell, as there wasn't with Covid at first).

I assume I could have had that, and rather hope that I have some cross-immunity from it.

If by any chance it was already circulating in December, then I do wonder if I had it. I said at the time it wasn't flu or a cold. Went back to work after a week, but got in a couple of times and just had to sit there and do nothing. A colleague on my team had something similar about a week after, so I wonder if I passed it to her.

I think we had it in February last year. DH and I had what I would describe as a 'weird cold' - bad cold symptoms, and a strange feeling on my chest which didn't run like a normal cold. It got worse after a week and left me with a rattly cough for a month. In isolation, I wouldn't have said that was COVID, but DS1 (then 15) was also ill, but not classic cold symptoms, but exhaustion, purple toes and a rash on his chest. DS2 had a mild cold and conjunctivitis. There was something VERY nasty going round their school at the time which led to a lot of children off school for a week and some parents unable to leave the sofa.

A cough was going round my class at school too, and several children had chest infections.

None of us has had a positive covid test, and the antibody test I did in June was negative (but that doesn't really tell you anything).

Oh, and I had phantom burning smells for months afterwards.

I had some unusual (to me) symptoms just before Christmas 2019, including what could be what came to be known as "covid toe" - or maybe it was just a chilblain (never had one before though). I live in London but hadn't really been in any crowded places so it's feasible I could have caught a mild case (low viral load?) in a shop or something.

Convinced I had it before it was accepted to have arrived here after contact with someone who had been similarly affected. I had a weird combination of symptoms including a high temp, non productive cough which led me to need an inhaler for the first time in my 60+ years, extreme fatigue and the most strange for me, a unique inability to taste or smell anything. Various family members had COVID toes, rashes and conjunctivitis after coming into contact with me. My GP( who I rarely visit) remarked that she and lots of patients had similar strange symptoms. It took me a few months to fully recover.