All Covid symptoms to look out after four new ones detected in study

Date11 February 2021
Published date11 February 2021
Publication titleDaily Record, The / Sunday Mail: Web Edition Articles (Scotland)
Classic and already known symptoms of COVID-19 are a new and continuous cough, fever, and loss of a sense of taste and smell.

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Those who display any of those three warning signs are urged to self-isolate and be tested immediately.

Currently the free NHS test is only offered to those who have one of the trio of official symptoms.

However, experts are now closely monitoring changes in how the virus spreads and attacks following the arrival of new variants in the UK - including the Kent strain, the South African variant, and the Bristol variation of the original coronavirus.

And according to researchers from two different studies there could now be 16 symptoms in total, including the original official three and new suspected ones

Even if you don't have one of the official three symptoms, experts are suggesting you may need to self isolate if you become aware of having the lesser-known symptoms of coronavirus.

Scientists believe one in three people are estimated to be asymptomatic which is one reason why the virus has spread so quickly around the UK and the rest of the world - resulting in more than 2million deaths.

Unfortunately some of the other symptoms of the deadly bug are very similar to other seasonal illnesses, meaning people may think their COVID-19 infection is something less sinister.

This week a new study this week identified four key symptoms commonly reported by those with coronavirus.

One of these symptoms - the chills - is a new finding that was not previously identified in the UK's ongoing symptom tracking research.

More than one million people in England took part in the new study which revealed the chills, a loss of appetite, and muscle ache were all signs of contracting COVID-19.

The more symptoms displayed, the more likely people were to test positive for coronavirus.

Despite this, around 60% of those with the virus did not report any signs they had caught the bug in the week before they took the test.

The researchers estimated that testing for the three official symptoms would only pick up around half of all symptomatic infections.

But they claimed if they included the additional four symptoms they had identified in their test, an estimated three-quarters of symptomatic infections could be picked up.

According to the study, age difference affected the likelihood of certain symptoms - which you can read more about in detail below.

In an earlierZoe COVID Symptom Studyall but the chills had previously been highlighted.

The Zoe researchers found six symptoms were most commonly reported outside of the three official symptoms. They are: headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle pains, diarrhoea, skin rash, and confusion and delirium in elderly people.

Researchers working with epidemiologists at King's College London in this leading UK study, are also looking closely at on 'COVID tongue'.

The study tracks symptoms of more than 4million people around the world, with the UK app users' entries being used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to help predict case numbers across the UK.

Researchers from the Zoe study have warned that people with COVID still present with less common symptoms like skin rashes that don't get on the official Public Health England (PHE) lists.

Recently they provided alist of early warning signs, and published a study in the British Medical Journal about the six most common clusters of COVID symptoms, which you can also read in detail below.

Three official NHS symptoms

1. New, continuous cough

'Continuous' according to the NHS means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.

For those who already have a cough, it may be worse than usual.

A persistent cough symptom is more frequently reported by adults aged between 18-65 than by the elderly or children, the Zoe COVID app study of a sample of 4,182 individuals with positive test results found.

The Imperial study said that children are less likely to report the cough or fever compared with adults.

2. High Fever

A high fever is an early warning sign which is usually one first key symptoms to appear - and disappear the quickest, researchers say.

A fever, according to the NHS, means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back.

The health service advises you do not need to measure your temperature, however in both children and adults, a temperature 38C is considered to be a fever.

To check if a child has a fever, you should check if they feel hotter than usual when you touch their back or chest, and whether they feel sweaty, or look or feel unwell.

According to the Zoe COVID app researchers, 40% of all age groups said they had a fever in the first seven...

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