Covid - remind me again...

When we came back from a weekend in Barcelona in September (4 people went and met one other out there) the day after getting back one tested positive next day me and one other plus friend that we met over there all tested positive. One was negative for a week then tested positive, just as everyone else tested negative !She was in close contact with a number of others during that week no one else took it
( it was the second time for all of us all had just a bad cold, but one was very very poorly )

Our local hospital is full to bulging with Covid at the moment and a message has been given out to please not go to A and E unless completely necessary

Thanks for the useful reply GSM. I still have 2 tests and will wait till tomorrow to take them, as Thursday is exercise class and choir practice, so I'll need to know if I'm contagious before that.

Having said that, DH went to a dentist appointment yesterday. I said shouldn't he cancel it but he said his gum hurt badly.

DS1 feels better now, so he was only affected for a day or so. He reckons he got it at an event he attended last Saturday week, so that was 8 days before he came out with the symptoms.

Sorry, useful info was from Marydoll. (Should have guessed that)

Apparently the lateral flow tests don't work with everyone.
I know some who's had Covid 4 times, every LFT has shown negative, but when she's had PCR testing it's been positive every time.

Do we need to know whether it’s Covid or just some other virus?

There is no obligation to test. If you are suffering from any viral illness it is sensible to avoid contact with vulnerable folk. Simple really.

Blinko, the vaccination is to protect us , we may still catch Covid but will hopefully survive!! I am so grateful that the vaccine was developed and rolled out so efficiently.

Good idea to keep a test kit in. I got Covid first time n was ok but February this year got it again n ended up in hospital. As someone stated on here they thought the vaccination was to prevent it. I think it just reduced symptoms but def not in my case when got it second time

Granny1London

There is no obligation to test. If you are suffering from any viral illness it is sensible to avoid contact with vulnerable folk. Simple really.

But even young, fit and other “non-vulnerable” people (including children) are experiencing the post infection consequences of COVID.

It is estimated that up to 40% of infections are symptom free. As has already been said, the incubation period varies widely and it's not that “the tests don't work for all people” it's rather that the LF tests were not designed to detect the current variants. Even for the earlier Omicron & Delta variants there were around 15% false negative results. Add to this that many people either won't be conducting the LFTs properly or don't know how to.

I understand the best way to get a reliable result is to swab 5 areas (not just the nostrils) - lower gums left side, lower gums right side, throat and both nostrils.

I am wondering g if the old tests don’t show positive for these new Covid strains. I was really unwell with fatigue ,upset stomach and cold symptoms. The test said I was negative. My energy levels are still not back to normal 6 weeks later. I was unwell a week after the jabs so do I do wonder if it was connected?

Treat it like a cold
Without the vaccine think how ill you would have been having caught the virus
There is no mandatory rules for isolation or staying away from work obviously if you feel ill you may be unable to carry on as normal but otherwise ---Keep Calm and CARRY ON

Well said Hazelnuts!

Taking of COVID (someone mentioned in a post)....I have just had an invite (ages 65). Hub had the had the jab 3 weeks ago and came out in an awful itchy rash which he's still got (albeit a little better). I'm put off having another now, with that and with the thought that surely we are vaccinated enough. Thoughts ?!

Who knows what will happen in the future regarding covid booster jabs but certainly for the time being I think it’s sensible to accept any vaccinations going.

These vaccines have been developed to help us to fight serious illness, so surely we owe it to ourselves and others to continue to have them.

Although I can understand why those who have had a bad reaction might be reluctant to have any more, surely it’s very difficult to say with absolute certainty that the vaccine was to blame ?

I think she is referring to UK not US or Germany

For Grammaretto -- ye GODS!!!!! Your "I thought these vaccinations were to prevent us catching the virus. If not what are they for?" just beggars belief! How many vaccinations stop you getting those diseases, many just moderate the symptoms.

It's been stated ZILLIONS of times, across all media, that a Covid jab is to 1) reduce the effect of what you may get, and 2) reduce the effect of what you might pass on. Thus over time, the disease gets greatly slowed and reduced. Where were you? How did you miss that info?!

And that's what happened across Western Europe and N America, with a vast and very quickly developed set of vaccines doing exactly what was intended, overall, an incredible success.

The test kits we bought were nose swab type but we always swabbed throat too. I had covid three times in the early part of this year. The first 2 times I caught it in Yorkshire while visiting my DS and his family, though they didn't get it. On both occasions my DD was with me and the first time she had all the same symptoms but didn't test positive. Second time she didn't have symptoms but isolated anyway. The 3rd time I was home alone when tested with very faint positive. I had to miss a big family occasion and DD had to go there direct without coming home to avoid contact. I'm currently unwell having had what seems like a bad sore throat and cold but I haven't tested yet. I've only a couple of tests left so I'm waiting 'til I really want to go out. Unfortunately they are probably not 100% reliable but we can only do our best!

Grammaretto

I thought these vaccinations were to prevent us catching the virus. If not what are they for?
I was not well just before my birthday party in the summer. I bought test kits and tested negative so the party went ahead.
I gave the extra kits to a friend who'd just returned from USA feeling ill. She tested negative, her DH positive.
They isolated themselves for a few days.

Later I discovered that the event I had attended the week before the birthday had people dropping like flies with covid
I still have catarrh 3 months later from my non covid. I've had the booster Jag.
Don't know what to believe.

I sympathise, I had covid a month ago and haven't been withouth symptoms (including the catarrh) ever since though I'm testing negative. I am due for a booster and am really irritated because I tried to have one six weeks ago but my GP said the vaccine was "coming soon".
Knowing how I feel now I suspect that I've had it a couple of times before, though I've never tested positive.
Sadly the jabs don't prevent us from getting it, supposedly just reduce the symptoms.
My husband has a dodgy heart and has had every booster available but still appears to have it now, though not really ill.

Polwal

Taking of COVID (someone mentioned in a post)....I have just had an invite (ages 65). Hub had the had the jab 3 weeks ago and came out in an awful itchy rash which he's still got (albeit a little better). I'm put off having another now, with that and with the thought that surely we are vaccinated enough. Thoughts ?!

Immunity apparently doesn't last that long, whether you get it from having Covid or the jab. I understand that the disease mutates all the time too, so you may catch a different variant.

My Covid jabs are up to date. The first Monday in October I went to Sainsburys, the only place I'd been, and on the Wednesday developed the latest variant. A month later I'm still not right, but boy do you get stared at if you wear a mask now...even to protect others as I was...

I believe it’s 5 days

I had Covid before it was known about (anti body test showed clearly). I’ve had most of the jabs and been really unwell for a few days after. I haven’t had Covid since. My sister refuses the latest jabs, caught Covid (badly) and it affected her aortic aneurysm and it ruptured and she died. It’s a known affect of Covid. No one told her about that sadly as it’s only becoming clear the more ruptures are being found (post mortem included this information and references). She knew she had a AAA just by chance as she had an MRI for her back pain. Most women are not aware. I’d have the jab over the illness any day.

Smokers themselves have a heightened chance of serious disease. We all need to avoid second-hand and air pollution. We need to stay up-to-date with our vaccinations. Remember they protect us from the more deadly virus that puts us in hospitals, and many died horrible deaths from COVID-19, which eventually manifests in the lungs. I think many are now calling their flu or a cold COVID. It's good to have a test kit around home. Better safe than sorry! Viruses love smoke btw.

Just getting over a nasty attack of Covid which lasted for two weeks. I had been to three different events in one week with members of the local Friendship Group where we are aged between 70 and 95. I was due to have members of the group here for a very short slow stroll followed by tea ,coffee, cakes and biscuits on the following Monday so my husband and I delayed our latest covid jab just in case we had any after- effects. The day before they were due to come I woke up with what seemed like very heavy cold symptoms that got much worse as the day went on. We both did covid tests and they were both positive. I cancelled the event on the Monday to avoid infecting anyone else and because I was really ill. It turned out that older people in the village were dropping like flies. At least 12 people from the group had covid. What I don't know now is how long do we wait to have the latest jab as we have just had covid?

We were on the O N S covid testing scheme for about 2 years, including blood test for the last year. We have now received test kits for the winter round of covid but have had our booster jabs. It should be interesting.