Common Cold or Coronavirus? Experts Say Official List of COVID-19 Symptoms Should Be Expanded

Doctors are starting to observe coronavirus cases that resemble a severe cold, particularly in locations where the hazardous delta variety is rapidly spreading. As a result, specialists believe the official list of Covid-19 symptoms should be increased.

A group of scientists said the UK should follow the lead of other countries and incorporate a larger spectrum of symptoms. According to the NHS website, a high temperature, a new continuous cough, and/or a loss or change in a person's sense of smell or taste are all classic Covid-19 symptoms.

While shortness of breath and other lung problems remain among the most concerning Covid-19 symptoms, it appears that upper respiratory complaints, including as congestion, a runny nose, and a headache, are becoming more common.

The possibility of a change in symptoms does not mean that the sickness should be dismissed as a simple cold. Coughs and sneezes produce respiratory droplets that can infect others who are more vulnerable. And even mild cases can deteriorate and become more serious.

What Are The New Symptoms?

Cough, headache, and exhaustion were the most commonly reported symptoms by those who took part in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey.

According to the most recent ONS data, 61 percent of those who tested positive had symptoms. According to the ONS, 42 percent of these had a cough, 39 percent had a headache, and 38 percent experienced exhaustion. A quarter of respondents said they had muscle aches, and 32% said they had a sore throat. Meanwhile, a third of those surveyed said they had a temperature, and 21% said they had lost their sense of smell, and 15% said they had lost their sense of taste.

ZOE Covid Study said headaches, sore throats, and runny nose are now the most commonly reported symptoms. The Delta variation is more likely to cause these symptoms.

The CDC has long included congestion and a runny nose as traditional "common cold" symptoms on their list of probable Covid-19 symptoms. The FDA has no immediate plans to amend symptom guidance, according to an NBC News representative.

What Do the Experts Say?

Dr. Alex Crozier and colleagues, including Sage member Professor Calum Semple, write in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that limiting testing to only patients with fever, cough, or a change in taste or smell could "miss or postpone diagnosis of many Covid cases."

They believe this will impede efforts to stop the virus from spreading. Widening the requirements for self-isolation and eligibility for symptomatic testing, according to the committee, could boost Britain's pandemic response by expanding the symptom list.

They claim that the "limited" case definition "limits" early detection of contagious people, limiting the Test and Trace program's efforts. They went on to say that non-traditional symptoms "typically show earlier".

The Centers for Disease Control in the United States has 11 more symptoms than the United Kingdom, while the World Health Organization has nine more. They stated that the testing capabilities can now help people with a larger range of symptoms. They claim that testing patients for a single non-specific symptom would overburden capacity in the UK, but that "combinations of symptoms could be employed to help discover more instances sooner without overburdening testing capacity".

"The UK's decision to adopt a narrow case definition was based on ease of communication, avoiding confusion with other infections and preserving testing capacity. This situation is now different —- testing capacity is high," authors said per Sky News.

Covid-19 has been linked to a variety of symptoms. Many patients do not initially or ever encounter the UK's formal case-defining symptoms, and other symptoms often appear sooner. Limiting symptomatic testing to persons with these official symptoms will result in the discovery of many Covid-19 cases being missed or delayed, complicating attempts to stop transmission.

Expanding COVID-19's clinical case definition, self-isolation criteria, and symptomatic testing eligibility could help the UK prepare for a pandemic.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.