My son and I have had very typical COVID symptoms for 3 days but all LFTs are negative?

[StormyDaze]

Nobody in our house has (knowingly) had covid. I started to feel unwell on Wednesday evening and felt terrible for the first 2 days, slightly better today. My son is the same.
We've had high temperatures, sweating, aches and pains, sore throat, runny nose and sneezing.
I even think my taste buds have been affected.

Could it be some other virus or do the lateral flow tests only work after having the virus for a number of days?

Or is it just another virus?

Before covid we would have just called that flu, or a nasty cold. We got them all the time, and they are back now we are back to living our pre-pandemic lives. Just another virus I'd say.

Just another virus.

Just a cold/flu virus. So many different ones out there

You're probably right.
We're both normally very healthy but this one seemed to floor us hence my thought that it had to be COVID

My GP recommends testing on Day 3 & 5 of symptoms, says often LFT don’t pick up until then, & says try coughing, then swabbing beck of throat, inside cheek and gum, then swab nose. Omicron likes to hide in throat & saliva glands and nasal swabbing often doesn’t catch it;
(reason for her advice: there isn’t enough replicating virus in the first 48 hours to show up on a LFT as the immune system mounts a response hence day 3 & day 5 tests.)

hope you’re on the mend soon.
4 people in the office currently off with Covid, one is very poorly indeed

Thanks, I'm definitely feeling a lot better today. All the COVID tests I have bought only ask you to swab your nose.
The swabbing bud is quite short but I guess I can try and reach my throat. Will try tomorrow

When I had covid I didn't test positive until day 5, swabbing throat and nose (with a 'nose only' test)

i think you had classic Covid symptoms . prof Tim Spector says if loss of taste and /or smell then it almost certainly is Covid .

Whilst LFTs are pretty good they aren’t always accurate - some brands are better than others , and the ones that swab your tonsils tend to be more accurate . I’ve swabbed my throat with the really short flow flex ones so it is possible if a bit fiddly .

I know several who have taken 4/5 days to get a positive test.

To any who say “nah it’s just another virus” - just think that cold and flu viruses usually circulate in winter months not the height of summer so I don’t know why there is this need to pretend it can’t possibly be Covid when it isn’t seasonal. Covid is still circulating even if currently at a lower level than its peak .

i hope you are now feeling much better - any illness whatever it is can be miserable .

My eldest has it and also is feeling (and sounding) v rough. We think she picked it up either on holiday or the flight home last Sunday.

Hope you feel better soon

I had the complete loss of taste and smell in 2003, there many viruses out there.