New covid symptoms

[102 fan]

BBC News - Covid: Nine new symptoms added to official list
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60982070

The official list of Covid symptoms has been expanded to include another nine signs of a coronavirus infection.
The UK Health Security Agency's updated guidance now lists symptoms including a sore throat, muscle pains and diarrhoea.
The move comes more than two years into the pandemic, and just days after free testing ended in England.
However, the NHS cautions that many of the new symptoms "are very similar" to those for colds and flu.

The old symptoms were
fever
new continuous cough
loss of sense of smell or taste

And now
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
headache
sore throat
blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick

Not so much changing the goalposts as making them as wide as possible! Those symptoms are also for colds and flu. Part of me is wondering if some medics hate the idea of people not testing when required to pay, with the resulting fall in cases and covid finally disappearing out of the news?

 

[johnnychips]

BBC News - Covid: Nine new symptoms added to official list

Covid: Nine new symptoms added to official list

Sore throats, headaches and loss of appetite are now all officially recognised as signs of infection.

www.bbc.co.uk

The old symptoms were
fever
new continuous cough
loss of sense of smell or taste

And now
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
headache
sore throat
blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick

Not so much changing the goalposts as making them as wide as possible! Those symptoms are also for colds and flu. Part of me is wondering if some medics hate the idea of people not testing when required to pay, with the resulting fall in cases and covid finally disappearing out of the news?

In that case I definitely had COVID on Sunday. There was me blaming four bottles of Leffe!

 

[Freightmaster]

And now...
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
headache
sore throat
blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick

I've had at least one of those "symptoms" several days each week since last November!





MARK

 

[yorksrob]

Who cares. Unless one of those symptoms is "croaking it" no interest.

 

[102 fan]

I could replicate most of them after a day in the garden followed by a night at the pub!

 

[farleigh]

In that case I definitely had COVID on Sunday. There was me blaming four bottles of Leffe!

 

[Class 33]

I've had a sore throat and runny nose for the past few days. I'm certainly NOT taking a Covid test because of that!. It's probably just nothing more than a cold that will clear up within a few days!

 

[scotrail158713]

shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
feeling sick or being sick

That seems like me after I play football or go for a run
And yet the same people will probably say that keeping fit and healthy - such as by exercising - is an excellent way of helping fight off any illness

 

[Peter Mugridge]

shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
headache
sore throat
blocked or runny nose

feeling sick

The first six of those I've experienced most days for the past ten years.

The last one is fairly frequent because I get tonsil stones developing down in my throat and every now and again one will come loose as part of the natural cycle of these things and will contact the side of my throat and trigger the gagging reflex ( although I have managed to avoid actually being sick since December 1982... ).

Including all these things in the symptom list is a pointless exercise designed to continue the fear-mongering.

 

[yorksrob]

So basically at one time or another, covid has exhibited pretty much every symptom is possible to have (except possibly turning your water purple).

 

[kristiang85]

Last week I had a runny nose, a cough and a bit of a sore throat. I was pretty sure it was a run of a mill cold, but out of curiosity I found an old testing kit in my travel bag to check, and it was negative. My wife now has the same cold, and she has to test for school still but is negative for COVID too.

This list is just going to make the hypochondriacs worse. They should just say "If you have the symptoms of a cold, it is a cold (even if caused by COVID)."

To those saying we should know if it's COVID to protect the vulnerable - the vulnerable can be affected by many of the common respiratory viruses, and COVID is likely the one they have the best protection from. So it really doesn't help.

 

[Watershed]

I suspect this change has been able to come about now because of the fact that free testing has (broadly) ended.

Of course this just means the guidance finally reflects what Prof. Tim Spector from the Zoe app has been saying for ages - but the problem is that, particularly with Omicron, there is little to enable you to distinguish Covid symptoms from flu or cold symptoms. So it is not a particularly useful list.

The age-old rule of thumb of 'stay at home if you don't feel well enough to go out' seems perfectly adequate to me.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

So basically at one time or another, covid has exhibited pretty much every symptom is possible to have (except possibly turning your water purple).

Yes. that's how it looks to me.

...and there is in fact a disease which does do that last suggestion of yours; blackwater fever...

 

[Tracked]

So basically at one time or another, covid has exhibited pretty much every symptom is possible to have (except possibly turning your water purple).

and no symptoms ...

 

[WelshBluebird]

Of course this forum would find a way to complain about the medical advice being modified to better reflect the symptoms people actually get. You lot really need to stop assuming everything is "moving the goalposts" or a conspiracy. The facts are COVID can and does cause a variety of symptoms and so it is only right that the medical advice around the illness is updated to reflect those symptoms.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Of course this forum would find a way to complain about the medical advice being modified to better reflect the symptoms people actually get. You lot really need to stop assuming everything is "moving the goalposts" or a conspiracy. The facts are COVID can and does cause a variety of symptoms and so it is only right that the medical advice around the illness is updated to reflect those symptoms.

A lot of those symptoms look like a common cold to me, excuse me if I’m sceptical but it seems there are some in the media that want to continue this irrational hysteria, the cold hard facts is that we got to get on with it now and move on.

 

[Cdd89]

Of course this forum would find a way to complain about the medical advice being modified to better reflect the symptoms people actually get. You lot really need to stop assuming everything is "moving the goalposts" or a conspiracy

I agree.

Not only that, this change actually benefits those who don’t want more restrictions (i.e. most of this forum!), as it brings the symptoms (in a population with prior immunity) into line with illnesses that society already tolerates.

 

[WelshBluebird]

A lot of those symptoms look like a common cold to me, excuse me if I’m sceptical but it seems there are some in the media that want to continue this irrational hysteria, the cold hard facts is that we got to get on with it now and move on.

The reporting of correct symptoms has nothing at all to do with the "irrational hysteria" or a want to "not get on with it".
It is to do with accurately reporting the symptoms of an illness. I don't understand why that is controversial at all?
I've had COVID and some of my symptoms were the "new" ones being reported. Why shouldn't those symptoms be added to the medical advise exactly?

Actually, the reason the symptoms are probably only now being added officially is specifically because we don't have legally mandated self isolation anymore as yes, the symptoms are quite wide ranging and so if someone needed to isolate whenever they got any of those symptoms, well we would have had a much harder 2 years than what we did. So in effect its a sign that those who want to get on as normal have won the argument.

 

[greyman42]

Actually, the reason the symptoms are probably only now being added officially is specifically because we don't have legally mandated self isolation anymore

I never realised self isolation was legally mandated or have i just forgotten?

 

[Watershed]

I never realised self isolation was legally mandated or have i just forgotten?

It was legally mandated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for quite a long time. It's no longer legally mandated in any part of the UK, although it remains guidance in Scotland.

 

[greyman42]

It was legally mandated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for quite a long time. It's no longer legally mandated in any part of the UK, although it remains guidance in Scotland.

Yes i had forgotten! Was any action ever taken against the people who ignored it? Just shows how quickly some of us have moved on from Covid.

 

[Watershed]

Yes i had forgotten! Was any action ever taken against the people who ignored it? Just shows how quickly some of us have moved on from Covid.

I'm sure there will be data out there somewhere; if not, an FoI request will probably reveal all. It was always going to be largely "honour" based, though.

 

[102 fan]

Of course this forum would find a way to complain about the medical advice being modified to better reflect the symptoms people actually get. You lot really need to stop assuming everything is "moving the goalposts" or a conspiracy. The facts are COVID can and does cause a variety of symptoms and so it is only right that the medical advice around the illness is updated to reflect those symptoms.

Do you want this to carry on or do you want us to try to live with this virus? We lived with colds and flu's for many, many years. That new list comprises symptoms for a host of complaints, and also easily induced voluntarily.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Do you want this to carry on or do you want us to try to live with this virus? We lived with colds and flu's for many, many years. That new list comprises symptoms for a host of complaints, and also easily induced voluntarily.

In terms of "trying to live with the virus" - surely part of that is understanding the various symptoms people get?
As for colds and flus - we understand and document the symptoms colds and flus give. We don't "hide away" some symptoms from official resources like you seem to want to do for COVID.
Living with COVID isn't burying your head in the sand pretending the illness no longer exists like some members of this forum sound like they want to do. It is about understanding the impacts the illness will have on people (right now, and going forward in time) and mitigating against them if necessary (e.g. annual vaccinations for the more vulnerable like we do with flu etc). Part of that has to be knowing the symptoms surely?

 

[danm14]

It was legally mandated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for quite a long time. It's no longer legally mandated in any part of the UK, although it remains guidance in Scotland.

It was never legally mandated in Northern Ireland (other than where as a result of non-UK/Ireland foreign travel) but it was misrepresented as such, until it was accidentally admitted to be guidance in a speech justifying removing all restrictions and turning them into guidance.

 

[greyman42]

BBC News - Covid: Nine new symptoms added to official list

Covid: Nine new symptoms added to official list

Sore throats, headaches and loss of appetite are now all officially recognised as signs of infection.

www.bbc.co.uk

The old symptoms were
fever
new continuous cough
loss of sense of smell or taste

And now
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
aching body
headache
sore throat
blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick

Not so much changing the goalposts as making them as wide as possible! Those symptoms are also for colds and flu. Part of me is wondering if some medics hate the idea of people not testing when required to pay, with the resulting fall in cases and covid finally disappearing out of the news?

A skivers charter.

 

[Freightmaster]

A skivers charter.

Even if that was true, surely it would only appeal to those workers who are able to live on statutory sick pay,
which doesn't go far these days, especially with the recent rise in utility bills?


Or am I missing something??




MARK

 

[nw1]

A lot of those symptoms look like a common cold to me, excuse me if I’m sceptical but it seems there are some in the media that want to continue this irrational hysteria, the cold hard facts is that we got to get on with it now and move on.

It's starting to make me really quite annoyed now. Making people feel guilty about going out and meeting people every time they have a headache or a runny nose is completely unacceptable.

Just hope it changes by hayfever season otherwise we'll all be stuck at home

 

[P Binnersley]

While the list of Symptoms has expanded, your are only advised to stay at home if you have a high temperature, or feel really bad:

What to do if you have symptoms​

Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and either:

• you have a high temperature
• you do not feel well enough to go to work or do your normal activities

Take extra care to avoid close contact with anyone who is at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/main-symptoms/

Just a continuous cough or change of taste and you can mostly carry on as normal. So the symptoms have expanded, but the recommendation to isolate has been reduced.

 

[NorthKent1989]

It's starting to make me really quite annoyed now. Making people feel guilty about going out and meeting people every time they have a headache or a runny nose is completely unacceptable.

Just hope it changes by hayfever season otherwise we'll all be stuck at home

Me too, the whole idea of living with covid is to stop harping on about it, there’s literally bigger things in the world right now than a virus that has evolved into a sniffle

Didn’t delta have symptoms similar to hayfever last year

The reporting of correct symptoms has nothing at all to do with the "irrational hysteria" or a want to "not get on with it".
It is to do with accurately reporting the symptoms of an illness. I don't understand why that is controversial at all?
I've had COVID and some of my symptoms were the "new" ones being reported. Why shouldn't those symptoms be added to the medical advise exactly?

Actually, the reason the symptoms are probably only now being added officially is specifically because we don't have legally mandated self isolation anymore as yes, the symptoms are quite wide ranging and so if someone needed to isolate whenever they got any of those symptoms, well we would have had a much harder 2 years than what we did. So in effect its a sign that those who want to get on as normal have won the argument.

No it’s completely about beating a dead horse which is what the media had done with covid, the media won’t accept that the argument has been won, living with covid means not constantly reporting on it