Covid Share your coronavirus symptoms

[Maciamo]

Most of us are going to be infected or already are, so why not compare our symptoms (for people like me who already caught it) and help others recognise the symptoms?

I seem to have caught the virus on my way back from Italy nearly 3 weeks ago. I was in the south of the country, where there were almost no reported cases yet. But my flight back to Belgium was scheduled at the same time as a flight to Milano, sharing the same waiting room (boarding gates next to each others). I suspect that some of the people flying back to Milano were already infected and passed it on to my wife and myself as we started developing symptoms almost exactly 2 weeks later. We share exactly the same symptoms. Since then three other people around me got the symptoms too.

- Fatigue : Most of the time I feel fine, even energetic, then suddenly I feel completely drained and need to sleep for about 2 hours (typical in the late afternoon or early evening). That doesn't prevent me from falling asleep at night, and I actually sleep more than usual during the night too. Last night I slept almost 12 hours! I don't feel bad or uncomfortable. It's good restorative sleep.

- Body aches : That's a typical flu-like symptom. In my case its a mild pain like being poked by a chopstick in places like the back of the hands and feet or on top of the head. Or the eye ache you get when you are sick, especially between the eye and the skull/eyebrow. Sometimes I also feel it at the bottom of my lungs when I breathe in bed. These aches last from 5 to 30 seconds. Nothing serious. Just a bit annoying.

- Fever : My wife and I did not have fever, but two other people did. One low fever for several days and one high fever (38.5°C) for one day only.

- Dry throat and cough : We all have it, but it's very mild.


Runny nose is one symptom that none of us got and is probably not linked to Covid-19. It's not like a cold. Actually a strong cold can be much more annoying when you have to use two boxes of Kleenex per day, even at night, have watery eyes, pain in your sinus and feel like sh*t. In our experienced, Covid-19 is milder. That includes my father, for whom I was quite concerned as he is in the riskier age range, but who seems to be fine after 5 days of symptoms.

 

[bicicleur 2]

I got very sick for 3 days 4 weeks ago, when Corona was still in far away China.
Throat ache, fever, a little head ache. Probably a regular flew.
Like most, I don't know whether I have Corona, but probably not.

 

[Stuvanè]

I also speak by mere hypothesis, having traveled by train and worked in various schools in the territories of Lodi and Bergamo, especially in the second half of January. I suspect a little, therefore, that I too have contracted the virus and - at this point - I hope I have passed the infection.


Fever: I contract it very infrequently, it is rare for me, however some fever line probably at the end of January to which I have not given much importance, but an important real fever I had during the Christmas holidays (38-39 ° for a couple of days, then dropped around 37.5 ° / 37.8 ° for less than a week around New Year's Eve). I will always have the doubt whether it was an advance of Covid-19 - perhaps already present in the area - or something else.


Fatigue and a little wheezing: yes, a couple of times in January, during two meetings with the students, as if someone was lifting the air from your chest while you talk. But I pulled straight, even here without any serious relapse. I had attributed it to the somewhat intense and stressful work period, but in hindsight the doubt remains.


Gastrointestinal disorder: yes at the end of January, with vomiting, intestinal discharge and a little dehydration (some of my friends and acquaintances in the brewery also had the same problem within 3-4 days). As always I blamed some mess by eating and drinking or some cold shot in the stomach, but nothing more ...


Admitted and not conceded that it was really Covid-19, as long as no more serious respiratory ailments intervene it is really difficult to intercept this symptom-only disease and many people like me have certainly continued in their usual activities. it's something quite chameleonic.
Of course, now you scruple and start worrying about even a single sneeze or cough

 

[Maciamo]

I also speak by mere hypothesis, having traveled by train and worked in various schools in the territories of Lodi and Bergamo, especially in the second half of January. I suspect a little, therefore, that I too have contracted the virus and - at this point - I hope I have passed the infection.


Fever: I contract it very infrequently, it is rare for me, however some fever line probably at the end of January to which I have not given much importance, but an important real fever I had during the Christmas holidays (38-39 ° for a couple of days, then dropped around 37.5 ° / 37.8 ° for less than a week around New Year's Eve). I will always have the doubt whether it was an advance of Covid-19 - perhaps already present in the area - or something else.


Fatigue and a little wheezing: yes, a couple of times in January, during two meetings with the students, as if someone was lifting the air from your chest while you talk. But I pulled straight, even here without any serious relapse. I had attributed it to the somewhat intense and stressful work period, but in hindsight the doubt remains.


Gastrointestinal disorder: yes at the end of January, with vomiting, intestinal discharge and a little dehydration (some of my friends and acquaintances in the brewery also had the same problem within 3-4 days). As always I blamed some mess by eating and drinking or some cold shot in the stomach, but nothing more ...


Admitted and not conceded that it was really Covid-19, as long as no more serious respiratory ailments intervene it is really difficult to intercept this symptom-only disease and many people like me have certainly continued in their usual activities. it's something quite chameleonic.
Of course, now you scruple and start worrying about even a single sneeze or cough

In your case the symptoms do not coincide with one another. Fever in December, Fatigue twice in January, GI disorders at the end of January... So these are 3 unrelated illnesses. All of them happened before the Covid-19 officially started in Italy (first case on 31st January), so I doubt that it was it.

 

[Maciamo]

I got very sick for 3 days 4 weeks ago, when Corona was still in far away China.
Throat ache, fever, a little head ache. Probably a regular flew.
Like most, I don't know whether I have Corona, but probably not.

4 weeks ago was the peak of the flu season in Belgium. As there were no cases of coronavirus in or around Belgium at the time, influenza is more likely.

By the way, have a look at the graph of "flu-like symptoms" in Belgium this year. On a typical year the number of cases always fall sharply after reaching the peak. This year instead, for the first time, cases started surging up again in mid-fall from week 10, i.e. last week when Covid-19 reached the country. This is just based on the symptoms, not on actual testing. But because the symptoms of Coronavirus are very similar to the flu, it shows that Covid-19 has already reached about 300 per 100,000 people, as the real flu should have fallen to nearly 0 by now. This could be a great way to estimate the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. In this case it would be 30,000 cases last week, when officially there were less than 100 confirmed cases! A huge difference! And that does not even include all the asymptomatic cases and people who didn't report their symptoms to their doctor!

 

[Angela]

Most of us are going to be infected or already are, so why not compare our symptoms (for people like me who already caught it) and help others recognise the symptoms?

I seem to have caught the virus on my way back from Italy nearly 3 weeks ago. I was in the south of the country, where there were almost no reported cases yet. But my flight back to Belgium was scheduled at the same time as a flight to Milano, sharing the same waiting room (boarding gates next to each others). I suspect that some of the people flying back to Milano were already infected and passed it on to my wife and myself as we started developing symptoms almost exactly 2 weeks later. We share exactly the same symptoms. Since then three other people around me got the symptoms too.

- Fatigue : Most of the time I feel fine, even energetic, then suddenly I feel completely drained and need to sleep for about 2 hours (typical in the late afternoon or early evening). That doesn't prevent me from falling asleep at night, and I actually sleep more than usual during the night too. Last night I slept almost 12 hours! I don't feel bad or uncomfortable. It's good restorative sleep.

- Body aches : That's a typical flu-like symptom. In my case its a mild pain like being poked by a chopstick in places like the back of the hands and feet or on top of the head. Or the eye ache you get when you are sick, especially between the eye and the skull/eyebrow. Sometimes I also feel it at the bottom of my lungs when I breathe in bed. These aches last from 5 to 30 seconds. Nothing serious. Just a bit annoying.

- Fever : My wife and I did not have fever, but two other people did. One low fever for several days and one high fever (38.5°C) for one day only.

- Dry throat and cough : We all have it, but it's very mild.


Runny nose is one symptom that none of us got and is probably not linked to Covid-19. It's not like a cold. Actually a strong cold can be much more annoying when you have to use two boxes of Kleenex per day, even at night, have watery eyes, pain in your sinus and feel like sh*t. In our experienced, Covid-19 is milder. That includes my father, for whom I was quite concerned as he is in the riskier age range, but who seems to be fine after 5 days of symptoms.

Sorry to hear this, Maciamo. Not great luck, given that a little over three weeks ago there were only three identified patients in Italy and all in Lombardia. Of course, it's possible it was spreading under the radar even before anyone suspected anything was going on in China, given that the first cases there date to late November.

Still, your symptoms seem mild, as I'm sure they are for relatively young and healthy people, so you'll be fine.

 

[Angela]

I also speak by mere hypothesis, having traveled by train and worked in various schools in the territories of Lodi and Bergamo, especially in the second half of January. I suspect a little, therefore, that I too have contracted the virus and - at this point - I hope I have passed the infection.


Fever: I contract it very infrequently, it is rare for me, however some fever line probably at the end of January to which I have not given much importance, but an important real fever I had during the Christmas holidays (38-39 ° for a couple of days, then dropped around 37.5 ° / 37.8 ° for less than a week around New Year's Eve). I will always have the doubt whether it was an advance of Covid-19 - perhaps already present in the area - or something else.


Fatigue and a little wheezing: yes, a couple of times in January, during two meetings with the students, as if someone was lifting the air from your chest while you talk. But I pulled straight, even here without any serious relapse. I had attributed it to the somewhat intense and stressful work period, but in hindsight the doubt remains.


Gastrointestinal disorder: yes at the end of January, with vomiting, intestinal discharge and a little dehydration (some of my friends and acquaintances in the brewery also had the same problem within 3-4 days). As always I blamed some mess by eating and drinking or some cold shot in the stomach, but nothing more ...


Admitted and not conceded that it was really Covid-19, as long as no more serious respiratory ailments intervene it is really difficult to intercept this symptom-only disease and many people like me have certainly continued in their usual activities. it's something quite chameleonic.
Of course, now you scruple and start worrying about even a single sneeze or cough

I've had two and three, Stuvane, and we didn't have COVID 19 here when I came down with them. I'd be willing to bet on it. Our poor lawyer returned from the Near East after that. His poor friends, neighborhood and synagogue are reeling. Even if most people didn't get seriously ill like he did, it's no fun having the National Guard in a cordon around your neighborhood, and everything closed within it.

 

[Maciamo]

Sorry to hear this, Maciamo. Not great luck, given that a little over three weeks ago there were only three identified patients in Italy and all in Lombardia. Of course, it's possible it was spreading under the radar even before anyone suspected anything was going on in China, given that the first cases there date to late November.

I came back on 24/02 so there were already 227 cases confirmed in Italy. Taking into account the 2 weeks incubation, there were already thousands of cases.

 

[Angela]

I came back on 24/02 so there were already 227 cases confirmed in Italy. Taking into account the 2 weeks incubation, there were already thousands of cases.

Internet facts are sometimes wrong. I have no idea if WIKI is correct, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The first cases of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Italy were confirmed on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese tourists in Rome tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019, caused by SARS-CoV-2.^[2] A week later, an Italian man repatriated back to Italy from the city of Wuhan, China, was hospitalised and confirmed to be the third case of the 2019–20 coronavirus in Italy.^[3] A cluster of cases were later detected, starting with 16 confirmed cases in Lombardy on 21 February.^[4] An additional 60 cases and the first deaths were reported on 22 February.^[5]

There are no "known" cases stemming from the two Chinese tourists in Rome who tested positive for COVID 19 on 31 January, 2020. What I've read indicates that strain was different from the one ravaging Northern Italy.

That would make the first case of "community transmission, i.e. not people from China who fell sick" around February 7th. February 21st was when the first cluster of 60 appeared, all in Lombardia. February 22nd, the next 60.

Still, as I said, bad luck for you, which I regret. I certainly would have felt safe in the airport in Napoli at that time, given that as those people were "returning" to Milano, they would have had to contract the virus days or a week before at least.

That's how viruses work, though. One can be cautious, practice good hygiene, and yet be ambushed. The odds aren't always in our favor.

Still, I agree with you, most people will be fine.

Just take care of yourself, as I'm sure you will. Our thoughts are with you.

 

[bicicleur 2]

4 weeks ago was the peak of the flu season in Belgium. As there were no cases of coronavirus in or around Belgium at the time, influenza is more likely.
By the way, have a look at the graph of "flu-like symptoms" in Belgium this year. On a typical year the number of cases always fall sharply after reaching the peak. This year instead, for the first time, cases started surging up again in mid-fall from week 10, i.e. last week when Covid-19 reached the country. This is just based on the symptoms, not on actual testing. But because the symptoms of Coronavirus are very similar to the flu, it shows that Covid-19 has already reached about 300 per 100,000 people, as the real flu should have fallen to nearly 0 by now. This could be a great way to estimate the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. In this case it would be 30,000 cases last week, when officially there were less than 100 confirmed cases! A huge difference! And that does not even include all the asymptomatic cases and people who didn't report their symptoms to their doctor!

you're right
week 9 there was a school holiday
many families went skiing or for another holiday

they came back week 10
I now remember, I got sick the weekend before week 8, the week before the school holiday
I never got the flew, except this year appearantly

before week 10 the only few cases known in Belgium came from China, they were all tested upon arrival in Belgium and put in quarantaine
week 10 there were lot's of new cases tested positive, more than 90 % coming from Italy
last week, week 11 Corona started to spread inside Belgium

some claim Belgium is now lagging 10 days after Italy
could this be correct?

 

[bicicleur 2]

4 weeks ago was the peak of the flu season in Belgium. As there were no cases of coronavirus in or around Belgium at the time, influenza is more likely.

By the way, have a look at the graph of "flu-like symptoms" in Belgium this year. On a typical year the number of cases always fall sharply after reaching the peak. This year instead, for the first time, cases started surging up again in mid-fall from week 10, i.e. last week when Covid-19 reached the country. This is just based on the symptoms, not on actual testing. But because the symptoms of Coronavirus are very similar to the flu, it shows that Covid-19 has already reached about 300 per 100,000 people, as the real flu should have fallen to nearly 0 by now. This could be a great way to estimate the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. In this case it would be 30,000 cases last week, when officially there were less than 100 confirmed cases! A huge difference! And that does not even include all the asymptomatic cases and people who didn't report their symptoms to their doctor!

if this graph is correct, cases of the flew in Belgium should drop to the zero treshold level by now, and those with symptoms today would be cases of Corona then

 

[bicicleur 2]

I came back on 24/02 so there were already 227 cases confirmed in Italy. Taking into account the 2 weeks incubation, there were already thousands of cases.

that would be the first day of the week 9, the week so many people were on holiday and got the virus there

 

[Angela]

Is it the virus? Who knows?

Woke up sweaty, then shivering, with a sore throat and a headache, and a temperature of 99.6. Is that high enough to matter?

I'm hoping it's just seasonal.

I wouldn't go to the ER with symptoms like this, and take up their valuable resources.

If it gets worse, and I suspect it's the virus, they've set up a couple of special centers for testing. The wait is over two hours, but I'll put on my mask and gloves and go. What a good look!

It's like a movie, right?

If I'm ok in the end, but we're all in lockdown for a while, I'll take a page from another Tuscan and get down to that book I've never finished. No excuses then!

 

[Dagne]

Most of us are going to be infected or already are, so why not compare our symptoms (for people like me who already caught it) and help others recognise the symptoms?

I seem to have caught the virus on my way back from Italy nearly 3 weeks ago. I was in the south of the country, where there were almost no reported cases yet. But my flight back to Belgium was scheduled at the same time as a flight to Milano, sharing the same waiting room (boarding gates next to each others). I suspect that some of the people flying back to Milano were already infected and passed it on to my wife and myself as we started developing symptoms almost exactly 2 weeks later. We share exactly the same symptoms. Since then three other people around me got the symptoms too.

- Fatigue : Most of the time I feel fine, even energetic, then suddenly I feel completely drained and need to sleep for about 2 hours (typical in the late afternoon or early evening). That doesn't prevent me from falling asleep at night, and I actually sleep more than usual during the night too. Last night I slept almost 12 hours! I don't feel bad or uncomfortable. It's good restorative sleep.

- Body aches : That's a typical flu-like symptom. In my case its a mild pain like being poked by a chopstick in places like the back of the hands and feet or on top of the head. Or the eye ache you get when you are sick, especially between the eye and the skull/eyebrow. Sometimes I also feel it at the bottom of my lungs when I breathe in bed. These aches last from 5 to 30 seconds. Nothing serious. Just a bit annoying.

- Fever : My wife and I did not have fever, but two other people did. One low fever for several days and one high fever (38.5°C) for one day only.

- Dry throat and cough : We all have it, but it's very mild.


Runny nose is one symptom that none of us got and is probably not linked to Covid-19. It's not like a cold. Actually a strong cold can be much more annoying when you have to use two boxes of Kleenex per day, even at night, have watery eyes, pain in your sinus and feel like sh*t. In our experienced, Covid-19 is milder. That includes my father, for whom I was quite concerned as he is in the riskier age range, but who seems to be fine after 5 days of symptoms.

How are you and you family members now, Maciamo?

 

[Dagne]

I have been having some symptoms, too:

- strange headache (some 10 days ago for several days)

- diarrhea - just for several days - off and on (the very funny thing, the dog gets it too after me one day latter...)

- strange weakness in my legs (just for half a day, a week ago)

- a bit of itchy throat (for several days, some week ago)

- a bit of dry cough (I have been coughing very slightly for some 3 - 5 days)

- a strange feeling that I cannot fully inhale (it is just as of today)

In general I am very healthy and don't get any kind cold or flu, so this is strange. On the other hand, I am feeling just fine, I don't have fever and I keep on having my walks as usual for 10+ km every day. The cough is so mild and rare that it is almost nothing.

I am not sure if I have the virus, because the symptoms are so very mild, on the other hand, I make a point of not meeting my aunt or making other contacts, just in case.

Overall, Lithuania now has over 200 registered cases and 2 deaths. We are in mitigation phase, where everyone coming in the country have to be quarantined in municipal premisses and all people who want to walk outside have to treat themselves as spreaders - put on a mask (if you have one) and keep distancing.


It is possible to walk and exercise outside, but everything is closed except for groceries and pharmacies. It is very good that even the capital Vilnius is full of empty green spaces where it is pleasant to walk and people are few. Testing is available to risk groups only including anyone working in medical professions. The bad thing is that Lithuanian doctors and nurses statistically are the most vulnerable compared to any other European country (infections taking place in general practises and hospitals).

I wish there was a test which could show if I have already developed antibodies for COVID-19, or these symptoms were not related to coronavirus.

 

[Dagne]

Is it the virus? Who knows?

Woke up sweaty, then shivering, with a sore throat and a headache, and a temperature of 99.6. Is that high enough to matter?

I'm hoping it's just seasonal.

I wouldn't go to the ER with symptoms like this, and take up their valuable resources.

If it gets worse, and I suspect it's the virus, they've set up a couple of special centers for testing. The wait is over two hours, but I'll put on my mask and gloves and go. What a good look!

It's like a movie, right?

If I'm ok in the end, but we're all in lockdown for a while, I'll take a page from another Tuscan and get down to that book I've never finished. No excuses then!

How are you now, Angela?

 

[Maciamo]

How are you and you family members now, Maciamo?

We are fine now. I am just still sleeping more than usual, but that may be because I don't have to get up because of the lockdown.

Like you I was feeling just fine most of the time despite the symptoms coming and going. I had the flu twice in my adult life and it was much worse. I was bedridden for several days with high fever, sweating heavily and barely ate anything. Covid-19 felt more like mild pre-flu symptoms lasting for 10 days without ever getting serious.

 

[Angela]

How are you now, Angela?

Thank you for asking, Dagne.

I'm still running a fever of 99.8 after all these days, and still have a sore throat and headaches, and general exhaustion.

I have no idea if it's Covid 19 or some much less dangerous bug.

I've been staying home just in case; don't want to infect anyone.

The only way to know if I've had/have it, would be to get a test, and I don't meet the criteria. Nor would I use up one of the valuable test kits for these kinds of symptoms until they're available to more people.

If I get worse, there's a mobile center set up now where you can make an appointment and just drive through.

Hope I don't need to do it.

 

[bigsnake49]

I have had a sore throat since Sunday but no temperature and no other symptoms so far. I try to stay home as much as possible and I just scored some gloves at Walmart. I have been using paper towels to touch surfaces such as door knobs, keypads etc.

 

[Dagne]

Keep well everyone, especially you Angela!
I think being emerged in the topic is not good for anyone. Even if you think you are a very rational person and do not worry at all.

I am making a point of doing something else instead - like browsing the internet for my favourite type of yukata that I wanted to have (not that I am really having it) or something else equally as wasteful in terms of time, but not disturbing. Or create my collection of Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/dagneeitutyte/)

I rather follow information on crude oil prices, than on COVID statistics now and listen to in-debth stories about Russian - Saudi oil war, on youtube. Anything will do to distract yourself.

Anyway,

I think there should be easy to use blood test for coronavirus.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...d-test-for-coronavirus-immunity-idUSKBN21C1KK

Such blood test are being approved in China, also about one made in Senegal (costing just $1)
So I think soon anyone will be able to test themselves soon - if they have antibodies in the blood, which technically should mean that such person has immunity against COVID-19.

The not so good aspect of this coronavirus is that it may mutate soon, and people can get infected with different strains of COVID-19 and then it is not fully clear if your prior immunity to one strain of COVID-19 could protect you against another strain.