Have you caught Covid recently - updated poll 2022-23

[Leighsw2]

Well, here I am a week later after my earlier post. Symptoms have largely disappeared (slight sort throat), but still testing positive on LFT. Let's see what happens tomorrow. Supposed to be attending a big in-person event on Thursday, but I won't go it I think I'm infectious.

 

[_Russ_]

Can understand why most wouldnt want to but mentioning your age (even approximately) and perhaps a very vague co morbidity even yes/no to having any, would add a lot to the picture of how different people are doing at this stage

Just a thought for those who arent bothered by posting such info

 

[Ms Ordinary]

Just scrolled up to the top & looked at the poll results - 56% saying never had Covid ever suggests either poll results are out of date (very possible) or that the population answering here is skewed towards older / more cautious / more clinically vulnerable, which I'd suspect is about right.

Isn't it something like only around 30% if that, of general UK population that have never had Covid now?

 

[souljacker]

Just scrolled up to the top & looked at the poll results - 56% saying never had Covid ever suggests either poll results are out of date (very possible) or that the population answering here is skewed towards older / more cautious / more clinically vulnerable, which I'd suspect is about right.

Isn't it something like only around 30% if that, of general UK population that have never had Covid now?

The poll question isn't 'never had covid ever' though, it's have you had it recently. I had it in Jan 2021 but not since so am in the 'Nope' category.

 

[_Russ_]

You have to pay but if you get one from this site all profits go to the NHS:

Covid-19 Antibody Test

monitormyhealth.org.uk

Have you done yours yet? im stood here stabbing fuck out myself and I cant get the amount of blood they want

 

[platinumsage]

Have you done yours yet? im stood here stabbing fuck out myself and I cant get the amount of blood they want

Still waiting for my kit, our local post is a bit slow atm.

Did you drink water, warm your hands up and rub your finger as suggested?

 

[Epona]

Have you done yours yet? im stood here stabbing fuck out myself and I cant get the amount of blood they want

I did one as part of a study back in 2020, I have a needle phobia so I had OH kind of hold me down and jab my finger - bled like a stuck pig

 

[_Russ_]

Still waiting for my kit, our local post is a bit slow atm.

Did you drink water, warm your hands up and rub your finger as suggested?

Took an aspirin had a cup of coffee jerked around a bit and got enough out in the end, thought they only needed a drop or 2 but its actually a fair bit

 

[Leighsw2]

Well, here I am a week later after my earlier post. Symptoms have largely disappeared (slight sort throat), but still testing positive on LFT. Let's see what happens tomorrow. Supposed to be attending a big in-person event on Thursday, but I won't go it I think I'm infectious.

So this is day 8 and I'm still testing positive on LFT. Symptoms largely gone, except slight sore throat and occasional cough. At what point should I be concerned if I keep testing positive?

 

[planetgeli]

Can understand why most wouldnt want to but mentioning your age (even approximately) and perhaps a very vague co morbidity even yes/no to having any, would add a lot to the picture of how different people are doing at this stage

Just a thought for those who arent bothered by posting such info

I'm 58 and on long term steroids (nearly 2 years) because of a couple of complications. And like I said, virtually nothing happened. My gf was in close proximity to me all the time, she's older than me, and she didn't catch it.

I think I had a low viral load. Based on only 7 days positive plus 2 days 'could be/couldn't be' on the LFT (at the start).

 

[prunus]

So this is day 8 and I'm still testing positive on LFT. Symptoms largely gone, except slight sore throat and occasional cough. At what point should I be concerned if I keep testing positive?

Not yet. Both my son and I tested (strongly) positive for 11 days, though mostly symptomless by well before that point.

We could literally trigger +ve results by just spitting on the test well.

 

[Leighsw2]

Thanks. I'm on the horns of a dilemma as I'm supposed to be attending this major event (c.250-300 people) on Thursday, which will be 10 days after my first positive test. Am I still likely to be infectious on Thu if I test positive tomorrow? I don't want to be spreading this thing!

 

[mr steev]

Have you done yours yet? im stood here stabbing fuck out myself and I cant get the amount of blood they want

I've been doing these every month for getting on a couple of years for the ONS. From much trial and error I've discovered the side of the end of my ring finger works best. Run under hot water first, then a quick prick easily gives me 5ml

 

[farmerbarleymow]

You have to pay but if you get one from this site all profits go to the NHS:

Covid-19 Antibody Test

monitormyhealth.org.uk

Mine was delivered today so will stab myself in the morning. Curious to see if I ever contracted it without any symptoms.

eta - that was a bit of a faff. The instructions say to try and stand up while you milk blood from your finger - fine in theory but really hard to aim the drops of blood into the tiny tube from that distance. Managed to fill about half the tube before knocking it on the floor so I had to start again.

 

[mr steev]

Mine was delivered today so will stab myself in the morning. Curious to see if I ever contracted it without any symptoms.

If you've had a jab then you won't be able to tell, as that will show anti-bodies. When I first did mine I thought for a minute that I must've had it, then remembered my vaccination

 

[farmerbarleymow]

If you've had a jab then you won't be able to tell, as that will show anti-bodies. When I first did mine I thought for a minute that I must've had it, then remembered my vaccination

I bought the double test that shows if I've had natural infection, and also the level of ABs from vaccination. For the natural infection it's just a yes or no, but it is supposed to give you the level of ABs from the vaccine.

 

[mr steev]

I bought the double test that shows if I've had natural infection, and also the level of ABs from vaccination. For the natural infection it's just a yes or no, but it is supposed to give you the level of ABs from the vaccine.

Ah right. I didn't realise tests could tell the difference

 

[elbows]

Ah right. I didn't realise tests could tell the difference

Its because the vaccines only have viral spike info in them, so the antibodies produced by vaccination only target the spike. And when this fact is combined with a couple of different sorts of antibody tests, we end up with this sort of situation:

Most people infected with SARS-CoV-2 generate antibodies against the structural proteins of the virus. Most antibodies are made against parts of the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins. Tests available to NHS clinicians are lab-based and measure antibodies made against these proteins: anti-S or anti-N antibodies. All SARS-CoV-2 vaccines currently licensed in the UK, USA and EU contain only the S protein or gene. Therefore:

• anti-N positive confirms previous infection
• anti-S positive confirms previous infection and/or response to vaccination

So if people have the tests that look for antibodies relating to N, they will only be positive if they've actually been infected.

That quote is from Antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2: key information

 

[platinumsage]

Mine was delivered today so will stab myself in the morning. Curious to see if I ever contracted it without any symptoms.

eta - that was a bit of a faff. The instructions say to try and stand up while you milk blood from your finger - fine in theory but really hard to aim the drops of blood into the tiny tube from that distance. Managed to fill about half the tube before knocking it on the floor so I had to start again.

I thought 0.6ml would be easy but after three attempts on different fingers using all three safety needles I only had 0.4ml, so I had to stab myself with a sewing needle to get enough to send it off.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I thought 0.6ml would be easy but after three attempts on different fingers using all three safety needles I only had 0.4ml, so I had to stab myself with a sewing needle to get enough to send it off.

I had to use two fingers in the end. Not enough blood was coming from my ring finger, the one they recommended, so my little finger came to the rescue.

 

[mr steev]

Just changed my vote

 

[platinumsage]

Posted my kit last night and just got the results, very impressive turnaround.

I got a negative N-test and a positive S-test (>2500.0 U/mL which is the highest band they report).

So it seems I haven't had it (not surprised, never had symptoms) and still have reasonable antibody levels after my booster in December (again not really a surprise but good to know).

 

[Ranbay]

So after like 5-6 weeks I finally fell normal and myself, ( well as normal as i can be anyways) still have some chest issues and heavy breathing, not been to the gym for ages so back there Monday and that's going to be the real test

 

[cesare]

So after like 5-6 weeks I finally fell normal and myself, ( well as normal as i can be anyways) still have some chest issues and heavy breathing, not been to the gym for ages so back there Monday and that's going to be the real test

Glad you're feeling so much better! That was nasty.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

Posted my kit last night and just got the results, very impressive turnaround.

I got a negative N-test and a positive S-test (>2500.0 U/mL which is the highest band they report).

So it seems I haven't had it (not surprised, never had symptoms) and still have reasonable antibody levels after my booster in December (again not really a surprise but good to know).

Tbf I tested negative in an antibody test but after now having had confirmed COVID, I’m 99% certain I had unconfirmed COVID previously. More from the lingering effects than anything else.

Apparently asthmatics may be more likely to have a forgetful immune system though. Which would make a huge amount of sense for me across my life so far!

 

[Voley]

My sore throat has finally gone, just over a month after having Covid. Really glad to see the back of it - I was beginning to wonder if some permanent damage had been done.

It came back yesterday. Exactly the same as last time - right hand side, felt the same. Lasted the morning then went again. Really weird.

 

[Riklet]

very common to have returning symptoms with covid IME. loads of my friends have had this. Things coming and going. some had full on covid symptoms and loss of taste and smell recurring while testing negative, months after infection. Then things vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

A doctor told me it's pretty normal with a lot of stronger viral infections.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

Just changed my vote after this:

Routine morning test before heading to work at the hospital, not gona happen now.

 

[haushoch]

Tested positive for the first time last Saturday, followed by Mr haushoch, who tested positive on Monday. I had mild flu like symptoms (fever, headache, cough, achy joints) at the start, and then tiredness and a very painful sore throat for a few days. Now I feel better, though I am still tired and will take it easy. Mr haushoch had a really rough night on his first night and I ended up calling an ambulance, and they took him to A&E overnight. His temperature suddenly went through the roof, his blood oxygen levels dropped to the levels where the NHS online advice is to call an ambulance, he started to feel dizzy and had palpitations. That was so scary, and just shows you how unpredictable Covid can be. He's also better now, and he was given the all clear in hospital after they did all sorts of checks. His main ongoing symptoms after he came back home were headaches and dizzyness.

We're both triple jabbed and in our early 50s. Don't want to do this again in a hurry.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

So anyway, mid 50s triple jabbed.
Wouldn't have known without the test and with hindsight I can see that I've actually had symptoms since Thursday of last week but tested negative 3 times during that period as I had to go work into hospital.
Symptoms were:

• transient fatigue (2/3 hours at a time), which I mistook for "need an afternoon nap"
• cough which I thought was just a worsening of my smokers cough
• I have been having shortness of breath since September 2020 so not sure as I was due to go hospital yesterday after work to get some tests done about this.
• some headaches (I only ever get them via hangovers or sickness normally)
• Feeling cold more so than usual

Since testing, I got some shivers, greenies as of this morning and the runs, but mostly mild for me so far.

Just hope I didn't infect anyone during the incubation/early period as I was working small unventilated venues and some music session at the hospital and had a band rehearsal for 3 hours, I wore a FFP2 mask for all these bar the last one.