Are we going to be in a cycle of being unwell for a while now?

[WildFlowerBees]

Now there's no mask wearing etc most people will be exposed on a regular basis so will we all be in a cycle of having covid being ok for a while then getting it again?

And my bmi is 33😳 which I'm working on.

Im not sure what people expected long term other than cycles of being well and catching an infectious disease, being well etc. And some people dying of what for others is mild. That is what has happened throughout human existence. We want to avoid lots of people being very unwell all at once, but otherwise the cycle of well/ill is a completely normal one.

Yes exactly. It's perfectly natural and normal for people/animals to get ill and occasionally die.

As a society we have to decide how best to live with these risks.

I agree with others that we need to live as healthily as we can. This isn’t an antidote but it will give us the best chance to fight it if we get it, vaccinated or not.
Covid is here to stay for a while so may as well give yourself the best chance against it.

What upsets me is the reality that many other illnesses and accidents have suddenly become less survivable because of covid. Whether it's a cancelled operation because the surgeon is off sick, or your treatment is complicated or delayed because you are unwell with covid. The sheer number of people with covid makes infection control in hospitals near impossible and you're likely to pick it up on top of whatever other issues you're in for. Hopefully it won't be like this forever.

The other thing to consider is it isn’t really like a cold. Whilst many people only have cold like symptoms the virus has many vascular and neurological effects. You might feel relatively fine whilst infected but you can still have a higher risk of blood clots, cardiovascular issues and neurological issues down the line. We don’t yet know for how long but maybe at least a year. So if you can avoid catching it it’s better than having it.

@JS87

The other thing to consider is it isn’t really like a cold. Whilst many people only have cold like symptoms the virus has many vascular and neurological effects. You might feel relatively fine whilst infected but you can still have a higher risk of blood clots, cardiovascular issues and neurological issues down the line. We don’t yet know for how long but maybe at least a year. So if you can avoid catching it it’s better than having it.

I’m still a little surprised that people didn’t realise this about viruses before, and it is much more of a problem when you are talking about large numbers of people at the same time, but perhaps that is just that they are fortunate not to have been affected until covid. In my own family there have been PEs, sarcoidosis, Bell’s palsy, sight problems, all the longer term effects of what were mild viruses initially.

The GP on This Morning in the Richard and Judy days would always say not to try and "sweat out" a cold virus via exercise as the heart muscle can be temporarily weakened.
Viruses are often multi faceted.
Usually we have had a childhood of exposure to build some sort of immunity.

For those who say for most it's just a bad cold, I don't know anyone who has died of a bad cold, but I do know 11 people that have died of covid. Not all of those people were elderly, already Ill, or obese.

Really? I know people who have caught what was a mild cold in someone else but for them it has become life-threatening or even caused death. This is why even pre-covid people weren’t keen on bringing elderly people, newborns, or those having (for example) cancer treatment into contact with people with colds. I also know a number of people who have died of covid, so this isn’t me minimising, just again surprised that so much of this seems new to people.

@RichTeaRichTea yes, really, I don't know anyone who has died of a cold. It's also not new to me that the immunocompromised, newborns etc can be very unwell with a cold. As I said several of the people I know who have died of covid were previously healthy. I think it would be very very hard to find someone who knows several healthy people who died from a cold.

But it’s not the actual cold or covid that kills, it’s the possible infections that a cold or covid can cause. I know people who have died from chest infections caused by a cold, the same as covid. A lot of elderly or sick people can contract a cold and then end up with pneumonia which can kill them.

@Lovemusic33

But it’s not the actual cold or covid that kills, it’s the possible infections that a cold or covid can cause. I know people who have died from chest infections caused by a cold, the same as covid. A lot of elderly or sick people can contract a cold and then end up with pneumonia which can kill them.

How many healthy people do you know who have died from catching a cold? Yes, the elderly and immunocompromised can contract pneumonia after having a cold, but how often does that happen in healthy people. 170000 people have died of covid in the last 2 years, a lot of them previously healthy.

How does anyone know if they have covid right now?

I was on holiday last week and it's now fairly unusual to be in a big venues mixing and I now have cold symptoms. For the first time in ages my first thought isnt to test for covid. 1) I have had covid so the fear of it hospitalising me on a personal level is low ( that my view in my personal risk level so separate from the fear of spreading etc) 2) at what point do I move back into the mindset that colds exist.

Are people still doing multiple LFT? I honestly have no plans to do lft routinely going forward

Yes I have known several previously healthy people who have died of complications of what for others was a cold. Not in such great numbers as covid, but then previously I haven’t seen people catching viruses in such great numbers all at once. I am an HCP, I have seen this via my work.

For those who say for most it's just a bad cold, I don't know anyone who has died of a bad cold

Infection with rhinovirus or one of the other viruses responsible for common cold symptoms can be serious in some people. Complications from a cold can cause serious illnesses and, yes, even death – particularly in people who have a weak immune system.

Some viruses, such as adenovirus, can also cause symptoms throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract and the liver.
Furthermore, viral infections can induce serious bacterial infections that can be deadly.

So it's not fair to say that cold and flu viruses are much milder than the covid virus. Many, especially vulnerable people, can sadly die from any of these viruses and bacteria.

@Purpleroseas

For those who say for most it's just a bad cold, I don't know anyone who has died of a bad cold

Infection with rhinovirus or one of the other viruses responsible for common cold symptoms can be serious in some people. Complications from a cold can cause serious illnesses and, yes, even death – particularly in people who have a weak immune system.

Some viruses, such as adenovirus, can also cause symptoms throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract and the liver.
Furthermore, viral infections can induce serious bacterial infections that can be deadly.

So it's not fair to say that cold and flu viruses are much milder than the covid virus. Many, especially vulnerable people, can sadly die from any of these viruses and bacteria.

I think the numbers speak for themselves. 170000 people have died from covid and it's resulting complications in the last 2 years. A minimum fraction of that number will have died as a result of complications from catching the common cold.

How does anyone know if they have covid right now?

They test.

• workplace testing (an awful lot of people work in NHS and care sectors)
• because they were admitted to hospital (this may unfortunately be changing)
• because they see a critically vulnerable person and are following the guidance to test before visiting
• because they want to know and still,have test kits in the house or can afford to buy
• because they need to test before travel
• because they hope that if they can show when they had it (do LFTs count for recovery certificates?) it will mean their holiday plans aren't scuppered by positive as result of old infection

“The common cold” or viruses that for many cause symptoms like a cold? Just to be specific. Fwiw I agree with you about the covid rates. But I am still surprised at the surprise about the cycle of illness/being well, long term complications and so on. In some ways it is a good thing because it means that most people have not been unlucky enough to experience serious adverse effects from commonly circulating viruses until now.

Interesting article on the subject

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/12/herd-immunity-covid-reinfection-virus-world

[quote containsnuts]Interesting article on the subject

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/12/herd-immunity-covid-reinfection-virus-world[/quote]

Thanks, interesting read.

Part of the problem is it is sooo variable. First time I had it I was bed bound with raging temp and horrendous headaches..but pretty much OK after a week. Second time not bed bound but utterly exhausted and breathless with low oxygen sats. 4 weeks in I'm still wiped and get episodic severe breathless 🤷‍♀️. It felt like an entirely unconnected illness. I know almost no adults who have been symptomatic and just felt like they had a cold. They were either pretty much asymptomatic or felt like shit.

@WildFlowerBees

Now there's no mask wearing etc most people will be exposed on a regular basis so will we all be in a cycle of having covid being ok for a while then getting it again?

That's what I've been wondering. My friend is subject to a disciplinary because she's had too much time off sick with covid, but if living with covid means we're all going to be ill with covid several times a year and our children are going to be ill with covid several times a year then penalising people for having too many instances of sickness a year is going to have to change isn't it?

Not for everyone.

I haven’t had Covid yet and have not had even a cold since February 2020. Of course I don’t have children which I’m sure helps. I’ve never even had the opportunity to work from home and have taken public transport to work work throughout the pandemic.

Maybe in the future there will be a vaccine which actually prevents Covid infection for various strains but in the meantime ‘living with covid’ is the best of the bad options.

How many times a year are we all expected to get covid now? Does anybody know?
I'm thinking about trying to get a remote working job because my employers are so hacked off with my repeated absences due to being ill with covid or my children being ill with covid. (Even though I know working at home can't be easy with sick children either.)

In 2 years I've had Covid once officially and was under the weather for 48 hours but still worked from home and an earlier episode which was a cold or Covid and same for 48-72 hours. Have kids at school so for 24+ months .....it's not a lot of illness.