If you have a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath, get tested. Even if your symptoms are mild.
You should get a COVID-19 test if: You have new symptoms such as fatigue, headache, body/muscle aches, cough, fever, sore throat, and/or congestion. You have symptoms and are at high risk for severe illness because of other medical conditions, age, or have a compromised immune system.
Colds are usually diagnosed by their symptoms alone as there is no lab test for cold viruses. But since there is an overlap in symptoms with colds and COVID-19, taking a COVID-19 test can help determine what is causing your illness.
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.
Get Tested for Sore Throat & COVID-19
If you do develop a sore throat with COVID-19 or any other reason, it's important to seek medical attention, especially if the pain gets worse or doesn't clear up within 48 hours, to receive an accurate diagnosis, and determine which treatment is best for you.
If you have symptoms, test immediately.
If you use an antigen test, a positive result is reliable, but a negative test is not always accurate. If your antigen test is negative, take another antigen test after 48 hours or take a PCR test as soon as you can.
Common causes
A sore throat is often a symptom of: colds or flu – you may also have a blocked or runny nose, a cough, a high temperature (fever), a headache and general aches. laryngitis (inflammation of the voice box) – you may also have a hoarse voice, a dry cough and a constant need to clear your throat.
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.
A common symptom of COVID-19 is a dry cough, which is also known as an unproductive cough (a cough that doesn't produce any phlegm or mucus). Most people with dry cough experience it as a tickle in their throat or as irritation in their lungs.
About one-third of people with COVID-19 experience a cough with mucus (phlegm). This is due to lung congestion that can occur during the infection and persist even after it resolves. Your lungs and airways can start to produce extra phlegm when you catch a virus like COVID-19.
Like flu and COVID-19, colds are also caused by viruses and can be passed to others. Symptoms of a cold tend to be mild. You may have a runny nose, cough, congestion, and sore throat. But you won't usually have the aches and fever that are common with COVID-19 and flu.
Many people who get mild symptoms of COVID-19 say that it feels like the common cold. But mild COVID-19 can also be like the flu or allergies – the following resources highlight how to tell the difference: COVID-19 symptoms vs. flu symptoms.
Dozens of conditions can cause a recurrent, lingering cough, but the lion's share are caused by just five: postnasal drip, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic bronchitis, and treatment with ACE inhibitors, used for high blood pressure and heart failure.
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
While the cough itself isn't contagious, the germs the cough spreads can be. Whether visible or not, each time someone coughs, particles are spread into the air. Therefore, although you won't immediately catch a cough from a person coughing, you can certainly catch an illness from the germs spreading through the air.
Does coughing up mucus mean you're getting better? In most cases, coughing up mucus means your body is working to fight off an infection, and it is in the healing stages. Drink plenty of fluids to help thin the mucus.
Green and cloudy: viral or bacterial infection
A lot of the symptoms of viral infections – fever, cough, headache, loss of smell – overlap for COVID-19 and other viral infections like the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and the common cold.
The stages of a cold include the incubation period, appearance of symptoms, remission, and recovery.
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 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.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): Cough
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and fluids. Use pillows at night to elevate your head for a dry cough. Take cough drops to soothe your throat. Use a cool mist humidifier with water only.
Breathing through your mouth — often because of chronic nasal congestion — also can cause a dry, sore throat. Irritants. Outdoor air pollution and indoor pollution such as tobacco smoke or chemicals can cause a chronic sore throat. Chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol and eating spicy foods also can irritate your throat.
The first symptom of a cold is usually a sore throat. This is generally followed by sneezing or a blocked, sore or runny nose. Usually, 1 in 3 people with a cold will get a cough and feel unwell. You will usually feel worse during the first 2 to 3 days before gradually starting to improve.
A cough is a reflex action to clear your airways of mucus and irritants such as dust or smoke. It's rarely a sign of anything serious. Most coughs clear up within 3 weeks and don't require any treatment.