Is it time to expand the list of symptoms for getting a test?

[LunarSea]

Current government/NHS line is:
When to get a test
Get a test as soon as possible if you have any symptoms of coronavirus.

The symptoms are:

a high temperature
a new, continuous cough
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
The test needs to be done in the first 8 days of having symptoms.

You do not need to get a test if you have no symptoms or if you have different symptoms.

But if the same is happening here as reported in this Irish article www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/irish-gps-fighting-third-wave-covid-on-the-front-line-of-the-world-s-worst-outbreak-1.4458430?mode=amp

then it looks like this new variant may often have different symptoms to the standard 3 - lots of people with no cough, and no temperature being reported. Who the UK guidelines say shouldn't be tested.

It seems very outdated. The government even have a new post going around saying that 1 in 3 people don't have symptoms at all! Which makes it impossible to get a test!

I have seen a long list of how many are presenting

Agreed....and it's especially weird that when you have to 'register' your illness with the NHS, it gives you a huge long list of symptoms you can tick!
DH and I have tested positive today- he had nothing more than leg ache, feeling a bit off for a day, and a slightly raised (though not enough to trigger it being classed as a fever) temp. It was only as I had some of the more classic symptoms that we both got tested.
However I'd say of all the symptoms I have, the sore throat is the worst!

I think so. They've all this data from the app to go on now so I think they should.

Have you looked on your local council website?
We have "Community testing" happening in my area (Staffordshire) where residents who are asymptomatic are encouraged to book themselves in for a test.

It always has been. Other countries allow you to test for a blocked nose, which is actually what most people I know who tested positive had. Not us though, not us! What a mess.

Also, if we are unable to book a slot via the Community testing hub, we are advised to go to the National testing Gov.UK page and tick "my council asked me to take a test" .

I definitely think this should be updated.
At the school I work in, loads of students who went on to test positive started off with vomiting. A couple actually returned after the vomiting bout had subsided, only to then develop the 'usual' symptoms, which prompted the testing.
I also wonder if track and trace should change, to a shorter time span than 15 minutes within one metre - due to the easy transmission of the new variant.

As a brit abroad I've been very surprised at how narrow the symtoms list is in the UK. Here in Sweden you have to stay home and test if you have any of the following symptoms

cough
fever
difficulty breathing
runny nose
nasal congestion
sore throat
headache
nausea
pain in muscles and joints
stomach cramps
diarrhea
fatigue
loss/change in sense of smell or taste

Even if you think it's just a cold or a bit of a headache you are supposed to stay home until you get a negative test or are 2 days symptom free.

Lots of places have community testing , no symptoms needed

@fatcatthincat with that list someone in my house would of been having a test weekly.
We are doing a lot of tests daily in uk , I think many are having tests through work and community testing as well as those with symptoms

Just looked up community testing areas none near me but it says at the top they plan to bring out to all ? Personally if I was suspicious I had it and not classic symptoms I would just lie anyway .

The time to expand the pair of symptoms was months and months ago.

As it is, people are forced to lie about their symptoms to get a test, claiming to have one of the three listed symptoms, which is skewing the figures for symptoms and we have no clear picture of what exactly are the most common covid symptoms.

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@fatcatthincat with that list someone in my house would of been having a test weekly.
We are doing a lot of tests daily in uk , I think many are having tests through work and community testing as well as those with symptoms[/quote]
When my DS had a headache for a few days we decided not to have him tested. I've been tested and I wouldn't want to put a child through that unless absolutely necessary. So the other option is to stay home until you're two days clear of symptoms or for 7 days if symptoms persist. He's a smart boy and now claims he has a headache every monday morning.

My dd didn't have any symptoms when the work lateral flow test picked up her positive. The next day she had a headache and sore throat. Then mild cold and cough symptoms. She lost her smell and taste - first formal symptom she had - five days after the positive test. Without the lateral flow one we would never have got her a test so soon.