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Original poster

So many seem to be ill?

190 replies

Thewiseoneincognito · 08/10/2021 20:41

I’ve lost count of the number of people I know who have this ‘mystery flu’ with coughing and classic Covid symptoms and yet seem to be testing negative on LFTs and PCRs, surely it’s not just me noticing this?

DP is now ill awaiting PCR results, I have several colleagues at work ill but all have negative PCRs and LFTs. Friends of friends all in the same situation, FB has plenty of anecdotes with the same scenario too.

Every shop or business I’ve been in today had numerous people with hacking coughs and sneezes. I appreciate there will be a surge of colds and flus as we head to autumn and winter but the cold weather hasn’t really hit yet and the people I know who have been ill the last two weeks or so are all healthy young people.

I’m wondering has Covid changed and is now undectable by the tests? It’s even more maddening that no one has a mask on hardly either but let’s leave that one for another thread.

I just find it hard to believe this sudden surge of sickness is a result of lower immunity to everyday normal illnesses and that it’s a resurgence of the common cold. I don’t remember pre-covid hearing so many hacking coughs, does anyone else?

OP posts:
Bobholll · 08/10/2021 21:39

Covid cannot mutate to be unspottable on PCR tests. It would literally have to mutate into an entirely different virus.

Maybe you’ve been living in a hole but I get about 100 colds every single winter. I have young kids. There’s always someone in the office with a streaming cold. Perfectly normal. It’s really not that weird.

MarshaBradyo · 08/10/2021 21:40

Wise thanks

We also have a covid positive in house and two absolutely fine. Weird!

Maybe we’re noticing it more as attuned to it. Another factor may be back to work - a lot of illness spread that way, and I think more went back in Sept

TheShades · 08/10/2021 21:40

DH, DS and I have all had this over the last few days and tested negative.

I work for a small business where it's rare for anyone to take time off sick and yet we had 3 people (out of just 7 in total) off with it last week. Myself and one of the others who was ill have WFH throughout so it's not like we caught it from each other either.

That said, I do think it's more likely a cold, not unusual for this time of year and everyone's defences will be down at the moment.

tiddlysquat · 08/10/2021 21:51

There do seem a lot of kids off and everyone is having the same cold, mixed in with the occasional positive covid result and the symptoms there have been the same. It's odd but as long as hospitalisations are kept down I guess it doesn't really matter what we have . I do always get a cold as soon as the weather turns like it has so am assuming it's just that.

Cakecrumbsinmybra · 08/10/2021 21:51
  • Everyone has forgotten all the normal bugs that circulate during the season changes

There isn’t a conspiracy. Stop trying to find a new variant of COVID, ffs. There has been enough hysteria about that fucking virus. Pipe down.*

This.

icedcoffees · 08/10/2021 21:51

It's October. The weather is changing.

People ALWAYS have colds at this time of year and again around March when it warms up again.

It's normal. Colds haven't gone away because COVID now exists Hmm

SaveWaterDrinkGin · 08/10/2021 21:54

It’s not a ‘mystery flu’ it’s just flu. Flu, coughs, colds and other viruses. Perfectly normal, except we’re all now hyper aware of it. We’ve been living in a weird set of circumstances for the last 18 months with social distancing, excessive cleaning, masks etc and a general awareness of not wanting to catch things or pass things on. Things are going back to normal. That includes normal germs.

It’s normal. Stop trying to make it something it’s not.

toocold54 · 08/10/2021 22:02

I was thinking the same thing. We’ve had 20 get positive results for covid recently and many people have also come down with exactly the same symptoms but their tests have come back negative, as they’ve been in such close contact with the positives then it’s surprising that they’ve not got it.
But it could just be a bug that happens to have similar symptoms.
There’s also been a lot of vomiting and diarrhoea recently too.

toocold54 · 08/10/2021 22:04

I also wonder if part of it is because we’ve done so well socially distancing, wearing masks and sanitising that we’ve not caught any bugs for 2 years but now things have got more slack and are returning to normal we are picking the normal bugs up again but because we’ve not had them for 2 years then they seem worse.

hellcatspangle · 08/10/2021 22:05

It's perfectly normal for loads of cold bugs to hit at this time of year - it's when it goes cooler and damp.

icedcoffees · 08/10/2021 22:11

There’s also been a lot of vomiting and diarrhoea recently too

D&V is commonly known as the winter vomiting bug for a reason.

Humans socialising together indoors with the heating on means bugs are going to spread. So yes, COVID but also all the normal bugs that continue to exist - stomach bugs, sore throats, colds, flu, tonsillitis - the list goes on.

None of those things have gone away just because they share some of their symptoms with COVID.

waybill · 08/10/2021 22:13

Around half of the people I know have had some sort of cold / cough / sore throat / fluey thing over the last few weeks, and none have tested positive for Covid. I had it a fortnight, and only started feeling better yesterday.

Original poster
Thewiseoneincognito · 08/10/2021 22:14

@hellcatspangle

It's perfectly normal for loads of cold bugs to hit at this time of year - it's when it goes cooler and damp.
I would no doubt agree with you but it’s not actually cooler yet and aside from the odd rainy day summer appears to be almost clinging on especially here in the NW. Tonight felt like a balmy warm spring evening.
OP posts:
Becca7910 · 08/10/2021 22:19

My daughter, son, and I have both been ill for the last couple of weeks. My daughter who isn't vaccinated because of her age, has been worse. Both sore throats, coughs and temperatures, negative pcrs. I can only think of the fact that both my children have only been off for that long with bad chickenpox. I don't know what to think really. Hopefully not covid and grateful we're ok. Definitely strange, as more than just a cold or even a "bad cold". Still, I'd say not as bad as flu. X

usernotfound0000 · 08/10/2021 22:20

It is impossible to compare to last winter, we haven't been locked down for 18 months, no, but last winter was far from normal and certainly not the normal circumstance to allow usual colds/flu circulate. In the north, bars/restaurants pretty much shut in October and didn't open until April, schools shut in January as did shops, no parties/weddings etc. It is obvious that the usual bugs didn't get to circulate but they are still there.

grapewine · 08/10/2021 22:23

@AnyFucker

Everyone has forgotten all the normal bugs that circulate during the season changes

There isn’t a conspiracy. Stop trying to find a new variant of COVID, ffs. There has been enough hysteria about that fucking virus. Pipe down.

This! Ugh.

Just bloody give it a rest. It's October.

Myusernameisnotmyusernameno · 08/10/2021 22:26

I was convinced I must have had Covid a couple of weeks ago but pcr and lft all negative. DH the same but we had all the classic symptoms. I kept having palpitations before that as well.

Fizbosshoes · 08/10/2021 22:27

I actually remember being on commuter trains pre covid listening to people coughing, sneezing, sniffing etc and thinking what a germ-fest they were (im not particularly germ phobic)

Now I'm listening to the same thing wondering is this the same as pre covid or should I be more worried, this year? .i wear a mask, not all the coughers and splutterers do but I need to work and public transport is the only option.

Kljnmw3459 · 08/10/2021 22:30

I think it's just a common cold, although my younger DC has had it for a month now and it's getting a bit frustrating. She tested negative but it's not getting any better. Very up and down, but nothing too serious thankfully.

2boysand1princess · 08/10/2021 22:31

Is it common for the delta variant to not have loss of smell/taste as a main symptom now??
I have no idea what is going on as my sister tested positive after catching a cold from her DC. Exactly same symptoms as them, but they were negative and she was positive after 2 negative pcrs. She has had a baby and not stepped out of the house for the last 3-4 weeks so highly unlikely she has got a different virus to her DC.
None of them had loss of sense of smell and taste though. Bizarre.

Bells3032 · 08/10/2021 22:32

Currently have this lovely virus. I've enjoyed 18 months of working from home without a single bout of illness. But what can you do. And I'm pregnant to boot so no lemsip for moi.

But this sort of thing wasn't uncommon for me pre pandemic. It's also schools being back and everyone back in their offices and stuff spreads. It existed before the pandemic you just probably drowned it out as background noise and never noticed

Wellbythebloodyhell · 08/10/2021 22:32

As other PP have said coughs and colds are normally circulating this time of year, many of which can be awful for the most vulnerable, why is it only the covid virus that matters now?

DoraMaude · 08/10/2021 22:34

I have a chesty cold. It's just a cold but I feel rubbish. It's made me realise how well I've felt for the last 18 months. Not so much as a sniffle.

I think a lot of us have forgotten how to just have tummy bug or cold.

toocold54 · 08/10/2021 22:37

It's made me realise how well I've felt for the last 18 months. Not so much as a sniffle.

I think a lot of us have forgotten how to just have tummy bug or cold.

I completely agree.

WineGetsMeThroughIt · 08/10/2021 22:40

'Worst cold ever' spreading across UK as many 'can't shift' sickness bug

apple.news/AH1OY62N5RYiEIMo9rAR-wQ