How long do mild COVID-19 symptoms last? Everyone is different, so it's hard to give an exact timeframe. But mild COVID-19 symptoms often go away in five days. If your symptoms last for more than two weeks, contact your doctor – especially if your symptoms are getting worse instead of better.
Recovery from COVID-19 may take 10 to 14 days or longer depending on your symptoms. Some people have symptoms that go on for months even after they are no longer infected or able to spread the disease to other people.
But some people may be infectious for up to 10 days. Symptoms in children and babies are milder than those in adults, and some infected kids may not show any signs of being unwell. People who experience more serious illness may take weeks to recover. Symptoms may continue for several weeks after infection.
You are most infectious (or contagious) in the first 5 days after your symptoms start. You can also spread COVID-19 in the 48 hours before your symptoms start. If you never have symptoms, consider yourself most infectious in the 5 days after you test positive.
I do not have symptoms
Use an antigen test. Repeat negative tests following FDA recommendations. After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time. Some tests, especially PCR tests, may continue to show a positive result for up to 90 days.
If you test positive for COVID-19 and have no symptoms – you may end after day 5. If you test positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms – you may end after day 5 if: You are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) Your symptoms are improving.
People are thought to be most contagious early in the course of their illness. With Omicron, most transmission appears to occur during the one to two days before onset of symptoms, and in the two to three days afterwards. People with no symptoms can also spread the coronavirus to others.
You must self-isolate for 7 days while you recover. This includes if you have had COVID-19 before. Day 0 is the day your symptoms started or when you tested positive, whichever came first. Your Household Contacts do not need to isolate.
Even if mild symptoms remain, you are likely not contagious after 10 days.
Mild illness: Individuals who have any of the various signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell) but do not have shortness of breath, dyspnea, or abnormal chest imaging.
The average recovery time for those who have mild or normal cases of COVID-19 or flu is between one and two weeks. If you have COVID-19, the CDC recommends isolation from others. Also, make sure you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
A person may have mild symptoms for about one week, then worsen rapidly. Let your doctor know if your symptoms quickly worsen over a short period of time.
You can have COVID-19 and spread it to others even if you do not have symptoms. Your COVID-19 test can be negative even if you are infected. Most people do not test positive for the virus until days after exposure. You may also be exposed to the virus afteryou are tested and then get infected.
A dry cough is one of the most common coronavirus symptoms, but some people may have a cough with phlegm (thick mucus). It can be difficult to control your cough but there are a few ways to help.
Remember that your cough will be better on some days, worse on other days and at different times of the day.
Gradually build up exercise – seize the time when you are feeling less tired and go for a short walk – but you MUST still avoid any contact with others. However, at this stage lookout for breath related symptoms (see below what to look for).
Your infectiousness is highest 1 day before the start of your symptoms and begins to wane about a week later for most people. The Omicron variant has a shorter incubation period, compared to other variants. For the Omicron variant, the incubation period is 1 to 4 days.
People with moderate or severe COVID-19 should isolate through at least day 10. Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days.
Still, 19% of those who were asymptomatic continued to test positive on day 10, the study found. Keep in mind that it's possible to get COVID-19 more than once — even three or four times. So if there's a gap of weeks or months in between your positive tests, you might actually have a new infection.
While you may not see any symptoms, you may still be contagious. Understanding your infection and its contagious period will help you and others stay healthy.
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
Most people with COVID-19 get better within a few days to a few weeks after infection, so at least four weeks after infection is the start of when Long COVID could first be identified. Anyone who was infected can experience Long COVID.
You should also isolate if you are sick and suspect that you have COVID-19 but do not yet have test results. If your results are positive, follow the full isolation recommendations below. If your results are negative, you can end your isolation.
Many people who are infected have more mild symptoms like a scratchy throat, stuffy or runny nose, occasional mild cough, fatigue, and no fever. Some people have no symptoms at all, but they can still spread the disease.” Fever seems to be one of the more common early markers of COVID-19, Kline noted.