Runny nose, sneezing, tickly throat all negative LFT

[Raffaello]

I had a flu jab Friday and woke Saturday feeling grim. Progressively over the weekend and today I’ve got more and more head cold symptoms. Itchy nose, runny nose, sneezing and tickly throat etc. No headache or fever.

I’ve done an LFT every day since Saturday, every one negative.

Should I do a PCR or accept this is just a cold?

You may not be ABLE. TO. TELL. but there is no mechanism to get a PCR with the symptoms the OP has reported. Are you saying she should lie to get a test?

"But symptoms of COVID are exactly the same."

Not according to the govt/NHS websites they're not.

It does sound a little like the bug I caught from the children.
Started with hoarse voice (made worse when a spider ran over my foot), Sneezed a bit, felt rough, occasional coughs. Had a painfully itchy nose for a couple of days. Have been feeling exhausted, and over 10 days later I'm still breathless and exhausted. I'm only up now because I slept from 5pm to 10pm.
I'm actually wondering if I should speak to my doctor I'm so breathless, and I haven't spoken to them since 2015 when I got bitten by something that swelled my ankle up to three times its size. The oximeter (from Amazon so I don't guarantee its accuracy) says my O2 level is slightly down (about 96 most of the time) with occasional dips, and my heart is slightly up (90 rather than 70), so it feels a little overkill, but I keep wondering if there's more to it.

But I have done lateral flows daily, and a PCR, and the children who had similar symptoms (but not the breathless one) have also done daily lateral flows, and all have been negative (nor have any of their friends tested positive)
With such overwhelming evidence I really can't think it is covid, but I can't remember the last time I was even slightly ill with a cold-I don't tend to get them.

You can only get a PCR if you have actually got Covid symptoms - new continuous cough; fever; loss of smell and or taste.
Not strictly true.

True in terms of symptoms. Yes, you can get one if you've been pinged, if a household member has tested positive and of course you can pay to have one for any reason, or no reason.

Anyway, most people who have a cold also have a raised temp. They might not be shivering like Tiny Tim but they will definitely have a slight temp.

I didn't. I have a thermometer and took my temperature.

@MargaretThursday

It does sound a little like the bug I caught from the children. Started with hoarse voice (made worse when a spider ran over my foot), Sneezed a bit, felt rough, occasional coughs. Had a painfully itchy nose for a couple of days. Have been feeling exhausted, and over 10 days later I'm still breathless and exhausted. I'm only up now because I slept from 5pm to 10pm. I'm actually wondering if I should speak to my doctor I'm so breathless, and I haven't spoken to them since 2015 when I got bitten by something that swelled my ankle up to three times its size. The oximeter (from Amazon so I don't guarantee its accuracy) says my O2 level is slightly down (about 96 most of the time) with occasional dips, and my heart is slightly up (90 rather than 70), so it feels a little overkill, but I keep wondering if there's more to it.

But I have done lateral flows daily, and a PCR, and the children who had similar symptoms (but not the breathless one) have also done daily lateral flows, and all have been negative (nor have any of their friends tested positive)
With such overwhelming evidence I really can't think it is covid, but I can't remember the last time I was even slightly ill with a cold-I don't tend to get them.

We are all reacting more severely to colds as we've not been exposed for so long.

@VanGoghsDog

You can only get a PCR if you have actually got Covid symptoms - new continuous cough; fever; loss of smell and or taste. Not strictly true.

True in terms of symptoms. Yes, you can get one if you've been pinged, if a household member has tested positive and of course you can pay to have one for any reason, or no reason.

Anyway, most people who have a cold also have a raised temp. They might not be shivering like Tiny Tim but they will definitely have a slight temp.

I didn't. I have a thermometer and took my temperature.

I'm on the Zoe app, so I got the PCR through that. So there are ways people can be testing without symptoms.

Same here - no text book symptoms of Covid for both DH and i. We both feel like we’ve had a head cold, but both had negative PCR’s, then tested again a week later, and had positive LFT and PCR.

The world has officially lost the fucking plot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there are ways people can be testing without symptoms.

Otter ways, yes. But not in the general way with those symptoms.

I checked last week when my cold started. I had a sore throat, thought I would get a PCR but there was literally no way to do it unless I lied.

I mean, feel free to try and go through the website to book one with a sore throat and sneezing as the symptoms. You can't.

And, I mean, there must be a reason for that, right? Like, maybe those are not Covid symptoms?

I was just going to suggest downloading the ZOE Covid study app too. There is an option on the PCR booking website to get a PCR test if you are taking part in ZOE study.

@Raffaello

I had a feeling I’d read that LFT were not that reliable.

I didn’t think you actually got flu symptoms from the jab though? Surely it’s coincidental?

Yep, I had the flu jab last year, first time in about 15 years and got sick after. All side effects you described...

@VanGoghsDog

So there are ways people can be testing without symptoms.

Otter ways, yes. But not in the general way with those symptoms.

I checked last week when my cold started. I had a sore throat, thought I would get a PCR but there was literally no way to do it unless I lied.

I mean, feel free to try and go through the website to book one with a sore throat and sneezing as the symptoms. You can't.

And, I mean, there must be a reason for that, right? Like, maybe those are not Covid symptoms?

On Zoe app sore throat is in the top 5 covid symptoms for both accinated people and non vaccinated people.

Its surely side effects from flu jab. I don't get any but lots of people get like a mini flu with it. Obviously if it persists and starts to get more covid like get a PCR but a few days of feeling ill would be normal after a flu jab for some people.

On Zoe app sore throat is in the top 5 covid symptoms for both accinated people and non vaccinated people.

Tell the govt, not me.

@Silkieschickens

Its surely side effects from flu jab. I don't get any but lots of people get like a mini flu with it. Obviously if it persists and starts to get more covid like get a PCR but a few days of feeling ill would be normal after a flu jab for some people.

So, you think the side effects of the flu jab are cold symptoms? Odd. Why would they be?

Why wouldn't they be? Not every illness is covid and the OP had vaccine day before. I would get all those with flu.

@VanGoghsDog Unfortunately the government are at best idiots, who have refused to update the list of symptoms despite scientists telling them they need to be updated. Particularly when people are vaccinated, Delta presents as a bad cold.

So yes, lie to get a test. No-one is going to check.

I just want to ask everybody who is still testing for every last cold symptom, when can that end? And also, since covid appears to have evolved into a standard cold virus as expected, why are we still having to test, isolate, follow restrictions etc? This can’t go on indefinitely and at some point people have to accept that humans do get ill, can infect others and actually the odd cold and mild virus is good for exercising the immune system.
I just don’t see how all this is ever going to end when even after mass vaccination and symptoms evolving into bog standard cold symptoms, people are still panicking and testing every five minutes.

Well, I expect the population testing will end next spring unless something changes before then. By then the vast majority of people will have had Covid at least once, plus vaccinations, boosters where needed, and we'll also have better treatments readily available.

Public Health will continue to test people in hospital and possibly in the community, as they do for any notifiable disease.

Just chill. Accept that testing is part of life at the moment, and is actually helping to prevent lockdowns. Because whether you know people have Covid or not, if they do and the NHS is overwhelmed we will have restrictions again. It is irresponsible and short-sighted to rush stopping testing just because you're feed up with it. We all are.

@Silkieschickens

Why wouldn't they be? Not every illness is covid and the OP had vaccine day before. I would get all those with flu.

But why would the flu jab give you cold symptoms? Flu is not a cold. You might as well say it gives you chicken pox.

You wouldn't get those symptoms with flu. If you had those symptoms, it wouldn't be flu. You might call it flu, or assume it was flu, but it wouldn't be.

Anyway, doctors overwhelming say that the flu jab does not give those symptoms, and that it's a coincidence if people get a cold after the jab, so unless you know better than doctors and have access to a peer reviewed study, it's best not to assume cold symptoms are a reaction to the flu jab.

Similar here. Flu jab Friday before last. Felt a bit warm for a few days then headachey but assumed it was the jab.

Then developed cold symptoms but was also quite feverish. 3 negative LFTs on consecutive days. Finally arranged for a PCR when I just kept getting worse and it was positive.

I’m double jabbed and relatively healthy but this has floored me. I understand that some people are only mildly I’ll with it but I’m having a really bad time.

@VanGoghsDog

You may not be ABLE. TO. TELL. but there is no mechanism to get a PCR with the symptoms the OP has reported. Are you saying she should lie to get a test?

"But symptoms of COVID are exactly the same."

Not according to the govt/NHS websites they're not.

This is false. The Zoe App will refer you for a test with these symptoms and the site will ask if Zoe referred you.

I decided to book a pcr today having all the most common symptoms for double vaccinated person. Sneezing constantly, headaches etc. Just worth knowing I think!

It's from the flu jab

If you want to do a PCR test then do a PCR test, there isn’t really anything stopping you from booking one.

Dd has all the hallmarks of a bit of a cold and would normally be in school in non-covid times. Her second PCR came back positive today. The first one on Friday was negative.

Thankfully I had a negative result returned overnight. It’s obviously another virus of some kind. Just have to try and get better before my holiday on Saturday now!