Symptoms other than main 3

[Chelsea567]

Lots of people on here with symptoms other than fever cough loss of smell. So why are we still being told to get a test/self isolate only when we have the 3 ?
My DD was self isolating and started with headache, feeling sick. Went online to book a test and if says you can only get a test if you have one of the three symptoms. So we don't get one.
Me and DH have strange nausea and fatigue and headache. Don't get a test. ( don't want to lie on the website or at the test centre) Carry on as normal. Who's to say we weren't going round with Covid?
Guidance doesn't say so, but I think we should have got tested. DH disagrees and says the test centres would be full to bursting if everyone was just allowed to go if they feel a bit crap.
I think surely if you feel even faintly unwell you should assume you might have it and act accordingly?

New strain seems to have different symptoms

I had it late march (tested) , I started with a blinding headache that just wouldn't shift for several days and extreme fatigue, then lost my sense of smell and taste, then developed fever, heaviness on my chest/breathlessness, especially when going up stairs etc, then the hacking cough

I completely agree. They estimate 1 in 3 are asymptomatic too, don't they?

Meant to add: if you do have symptoms that have been noted in positive cases such as breathlessness, fatigue, nausea, aches etc then a test should be available.

@KarlKennedysDurianFruit

I had it late march (tested) , I started with a blinding headache that just wouldn't shift for several days and extreme fatigue, then lost my sense of smell and taste, then developed fever, heaviness on my chest/breathlessness, especially when going up stairs etc, then the hacking cough

This was how I started with it last Sunday... didn't go for a test as DC tested positive (he vomited so I took him - he's 10) on the Friday.

We got tested today without the main symptoms due to an invite from the covid zoe app. Could be worth a try if you want a test. I know people who have just booked a test pretending they have a symptom too - I wouldn't encourage that but people do.

I have tested positive previously and had a very sore throat and headache. Nothing else. I feel these two should definitely be on the list.

I had no symptoms and only got tested as I live with a public health england worker, who was positive. So we were told to test as well. I tested positive, the day after I had severe painful headaches, going down into my face. Carried on over several days and then I got the temperatures, shivers and aches.

My main symptom was the blinding headache and a slight tickly cough! Tested on the advice of my nurse friend who said a lot of nurses on her ward had tested positive just with the headache! Both myself and my son had terrible headaches and tested positive

My dd (7) vomited yesterday and I too found this confusing. I looked up symptoms in children on the nhs site and it said same as adults (temp, cough, loss of taste/smell) so I didn’t take her to be tested. Surely if everyone did this we would be running out of tests again?

Everyone I know who has got it in the last month (including me) has talked about a severe headache and fatigue being the first symptoms.

You have to question the validity of a system that prevents people from getting tested for an asymptomatic virus. Don't think of it as "lying on the form", they aren't asking the right questions e.g "are you concerned you may have contracted a highly contagious asymptomatic disease and may need to isolate to prevent further community transmission?" YES. Getting tested is the responsible thing to do.

I got a test today. I've had a few headaches but mainly just been bothered by a ticklish sore throat and occasional cough. I've also had a lot of aches which have also been reported as symptoms of the new strain. I am the sole carer for my Dad who is 91 and I can't take the risk of giving him the virus.

So although I don't strictly fit all 3 main symptoms I booked a test. Because I think I have the new strain. It's easy to book - you just say you do have one of the symptoms. My DD lied and said she had the symptoms to get a test at university when all her housemates tested positive.

So I wouldn't say everyone should do that but if you think you have suspicious symptoms you can.

My DS has just tested positive and his only symptoms are headache and sore throat. His friend had the same symptoms and was also positive.

I caught it back in the summer.

Only symptoms I had was a blinding headache for days, that literally nothing would shift, and nausea. The headache was so bad I was struggling to function, and no painkillers were even remotely touching it. I just thought it was a bad migraine till I read on here about someone who had the same symptoms and was covid positive.

I lied on the website and said I had the 3 main symptoms to be able to get tested. I'm not even going to pretend I'm ashamed about doing it. We have a rota for caring for my grandma (luckily I hadn't been near her since the day before I got the headache) and I needed to know if I had it or not before I went back there. I was so glad I had done it when the test came back positive.

I had none of the main 3 symptoms at all. If anything, my sense of taste and smell was amplified, the smell of absolutely everything was making me feel sick.

Do the Zoe app. It will invite you for a test without the main symptoms and use it for research on what other symptoms are significant. I didn’t get a fever until a week in and never lost smell or taste plus the cough started out so mild and infrequent I really didn’t think it counted as a new persistent cough. Lots of people reporting fatigue, headaches, conjunctivitis, skin rashes, body aches and cold symptoms then testing positive. I certainly was very sneezy throughout and so were my kids. It would have been so easy for me to assume it was just a winter cold and have been spreading it around for days before I got really sick with it.

Got it at the beginning of the week.

Main symptom was a sore throat. Symptom that triggered a test was a temp.

I wonder if new variant is presenting differently

I didn’t have any of the three main symptoms but was shivery, had back ache and cold symptoms. My colleague tested positive so I then went for test and tested positive. I lost my taste and smell five days later but by then I would have infected more people if I hadn’t taken the initial test. We need to be testing for more symptoms than the main three as from my experience they don’t match when people have mild symptoms.

Family members have had cold symptoms and aches and tested positive. I know there is a lot of talk about asymptomatic cases and there probably are plenty but I think a lot of people have symptoms they aren't advised to test for and are then described as asymptomatic. My teen nephew had fatigue at the end of term. He wasn't tested. Now his entire family have tested positive but they only had tests because one person had one of the three recognised symptoms, all others had different symptoms. It was almost certainly my nephew who brought it into the home.