COVID symptoms have evolved
COVID symptoms have always been fever, headache, runny nose, sore throat and sometimes loss of smell and taste. Ever since the coronavirus was discovered as a novel virus, it has mutated to several variants and hence the symptoms seen in people when infected by these variants have also changed to a great extent.
Currently the Omicron variant is driving COVID cases worldwide with new variants in every short span of time. The symptoms seen during this time are not very different from the symptoms seen in the earlier variants of the coronavirus like Delta.
However, the difference lies in the order, the prevalence and the dominance of the symptoms.
Sore throat
Sore throat became a distinct symptom of Omicron COVID infections and the symptom was seen commonly during early January 2022 when the number of cases peaked.
A typical sore throat, which is seen in a respiratory tract infection, feels like extreme pain in the throat while talking, eating or even during swallowing. The throat gets itchy. Sometimes people experience burning sensation in the throat.
Sore throat became more common during the time when the BA.5 sub variant of Omicron was dominant.
Data from the ZOE COVID study app had found that more than 50% of the COVID infected people had sore throats. The study ranked this symptom first among 19 other symptoms.
Runny nose
Runny nose is another common COVID symptom which has remained constant in the list of symptoms from earlier waves.
A typical description of a runny nose is thin watery discharge from the nose. Sometimes this can irritate the nostril and cause sneezing.
In the early days of the pandemic, it was thought that having a runny nose was not a symptom of COVID-19, and was much more likely to be a sign of a regular cold. However, data from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app suggests that having a runny nose can be a sign of COVID-19.
The study, which has been tracking COVID symptoms from the beginning of the pandemic, has listed runny nose as the second most common sign of COVID seen currently.
Blocked nose
Before COVID came into existence, blocked nose was a common symptom of cold and flu.
In this the nose feels blocked or congested. It hinders normal breathing and at times the person has to gasp for breath.
Though initially it was not seen commonly in COVID infected people, later it became one of the common symptoms of this upper respiratory tract infection.
In the latest COVID symptom list, ZOE health study app had listed 10 common symptoms of COVID in which blocked nose is in the third spot.
The other symptoms of COVID we should be wary of
Apart from these top COVID signs, there are other signs of COVID we need to be wary of. Studies have shown that their occurrence is lesser in comparison to top symptoms but the fact that they are a strong indication of the infection requires us to know them properly.
The other COVID symptoms are: sneezing, cough without phlegm, headache, cough with phlegm, hoarse voice, muscle aches and pains, and altered sense of smell.
What should I do when I see these symptoms?
If you experience a sore throat or headache or a runny nose, first of all take COVID test.
Depending on your test result, you can start medication.
Take sufficient rest, eat healthy food and keep yourself hydrated.
If you live with your family, then keep yourself isolated. If you go to work, take leave and stay at home. Staying away from others will cut down the risk of transmission of the virus given the fact that newer Omicron sub variants have high transmission rate.
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