How Does COVID-19 Start?

Prevention is better than cure, anytime! But when you cannot prevent a disease, it is always better to diagnose it at an early stage. The later the stage, the more severe the illness. And the COVID-19 infection is no different. In this day and age, where anyone can be infected with the virus, when its mutated variants may become more and more dangerous with time, it is doubly important to detect the early COVID-19 symptoms and begin the treatment as soon as possible. But what are the early signs which show that you may have contracted the virus?

First Signs that You’ve Contracted COVID

The first and earliest symptom of the coronavirus infection is fever. A rise in your body temperature usually occurs with any kind of infection, not just COVID, since it is the natural response of your immune system. Thus, fever may not be the surest sign of contracting the virus, but it is definitely the time after which you should conduct self-tests, use test kits like the Healgen tests, and start looking for other symptoms. The first signs of COVID-19 that generally follow fever are the following:

Chills: Are you feeling cold despite the warm weather? Are you shivering needlessly every now and then?

Sore Muscles: Have your muscles started aching abruptly, regardless of whether you exercise daily?

Headaches: Have you started experiencing incessant headaches (not counting your hangover)?

Loss of Taste or Smell: This is probably the most glaring early symptom of COVID-19. More often than not, you have contracted the virus if you have lost the sense of smell and taste.

Other initial symptoms of the COVID-19 virus include dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

The Incubation Period for COVID-19

The incubation period is, basically, the time it takes for the virus to show symptoms post-infection. It is widely believed that the first symptoms of COVID-19 usually show up around five to six days after the virus has entered your body. In certain cases, it may take your body more than ten days to realise that it’s infected with the virus. In other really rare instances, symptoms may start showing up within a day or two. You may rest easy if you experience no symptoms after a couple of weeks of exposure.

Common Symptoms of COVID

Have you experienced some, or maybe all, of the aforementioned first signs of COVID-19? Now, you need to test yourself again with a self-test kit, like the Flowflex antigen test, and keep a lookout for the more common symptoms of the virus. Almost every infected person so far has exhibited most of the following symptoms at one point or another.

Persistent Fever: High fever of more than 100 degrees Celsius for a longer period of time (say, about a week) is an indication of coronavirus infection.

Extended Fatigue/Lethargy: Remember the feeling of extreme laziness in the wee hours of the morning, just before waking up? Do you feel that throughout the day?

Sore Throat: Has your temporary dry cough given rise to a lasting sore throat? Do your persistent coughs rarely produce mucus?

Runny Nose: Do you need to clean your nose every now and then? And even after cleaning, do you feel like it’s still running?

Nausea: Remember the feeling of having alcohol for the first time? The dry heaving, prolonged headaches, and constant retching? That’s nausea, and it usually occurs if you are infected.

Diarrhea: Uneven bowel movements, mostly loose and watery, are probable symptoms of COVID-19.

Though the loss of taste and smell is comparatively rare among the infected, it can assuredly be included in the common COVID-19 symptoms timeline. In essence, the common symptoms of COVID-19 are the same as those of the common cold, with a few additional anomalies.

Severe Symptoms of Coronavirus

Common symptoms, if left unchecked, might ball up into a severe illness which may call for emergency measures. So as soon as you start feeling any of the following, get medical help immediately.

Breathing Issues: Shortness of breath lasting for a longer time, like you are constantly having trouble breathing, then it is a serious matter. Rush to the hospital right away!

Lasting Chest Pains: Chest pain for a short while after a heavy workout is one thing. But if it continues throughout the day and the day after, then it may be an indication of severe COVID.

Sleeping Addiction: As you know, sore muscles and lethargy are some of the early COVID-19 symptoms. These very disorders may eventually worsen into a kind of sleeping addiction where you find it difficult to stay awake.

Numb Features: Does your face feel numb? Have your lips turned blue? Look in the mirror; do you notice a stark asymmetry in your features, say lopsided cheeks from the right?

Other severe symptoms of coronavirus may also include numbness of arms and slurring of speech.

When to See a Doctor

You may think that you need to see a doctor right after the first symptoms of COVID-19 start showing up. Not true! The first thing you should do after noticing the early symptoms is to get tested for the virus. No need to visit the doctor for this purpose. Just look for a self-assessing kit, particularly the COVID-19 lateral flow test to buy online or at the nearest pharmacy. If the test comes positive, then immediately isolate yourself so that those near and dear to you won’t be infected.

Post isolation, wait for a few days to see whether your symptoms are decreasing. If they are escalating instead, only then come out of isolation to consult a doctor. Especially if you are finding it difficult to breathe or your symptoms have become severe, then you should get yourself hospitalised.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up, the COVID-19 symptoms timeline goes something like this: fever, headaches, lethargy, common cold, and loss of taste or smell. After that, if you are careful, then the symptoms may slowly start abating. Otherwise, they may escalate into severe illnesses and more intense symptoms like breathing problems, chest pains, numbness, etc.