If you’ve been feeling a bit lethargic and out of sorts lately, it might comfort you somewhat to know that you’re not alone.
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More Brits are reporting suffering from severe bouts of the common cold as the leaves change colour. But medical professionals say there is no need to panic.
COVID-like Symptoms?
Most of the thousands of people affected by the common flu that seems to be going around, show symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. Many are the accounts on social media from people suffering from this cold.
Some Facebook users shared how badly hit they have been:
I barely slept, I'd wake up in the night just coughing, a constantly runny nose and feeling so tired... Two weeks now and it's not funny at all. First cold I've had in years, and it's floored me.
With most schools resuming in-person classes, there’s been a spike in Fresher’s Flu - an increase in viral symptoms as students transmit and exchange viruses from their homes with each other.
One student told the BBC:
Normally I'm still able to go about my day, but this one left me with muscle fatigue, a lost voice and headache that meant I've just stayed indoors.
Negative results indicate what they have instead is a harmless but nasty cold infection.
Theory and Caution
Doctors have actually come up with a theory that seeks to explain the rise in cases of the ‘worst cold ever’. It is basically down to our immune systems taking a break from fighting these viral diseases while we were isolating and social distancing.
Dr Ron Eccles, Emeritus Professor at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences, told Patient.info :
If you've been exposed to a particular virus before, you may not develop any symptoms at all, because your immune system has been primed to fight off the infection. With common colds we generally don't have such a strong immune response, and therefore we probably don't get lifelong immunity to a particular virus.
However, the caution still remains to take a PCR test if you are feeling unwell. And please stay away from others until you get better.
It may not be COVID, but no one wants to catch a cold from you, especially if it’s the ‘worst cold ever’.
