Should I Get Tested for COVID-19?

If you develop symptoms such as fever, cough, and/or difficulty breathing, and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or have recently traveled from an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19, stay home and call your healthcare provider.

What do I do if I have mild symptoms of COVID-19?

If you have milder symptoms like a fever, shortness of breath, or coughing: Stay home unless you need medical care. If you do need to go in, call your doctor or hospital first for guidance. Tell your doctor about your illness.

How long does it take for COVID-19 symptoms to appear?

Symptoms usually appear 2 to 6 days after exposure to the virus. However, it sometimes takes longer — up to 14 days

What are the signs and symptoms of COVID-19?

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Among persons who develop symptoms, most experience fever (83%–99%), cough (59%–82%), fatigue (44%–70%), anorexia (40%–84%), shortness of breath (31%–40%), and myalgias (11%–35%). Other non-specific symptoms, such as sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, have also been reported. Loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms has also been reported.

Older people and immunosuppressed patients in particular may present with atypical symptoms such as fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhea, loss of appetite, delirium, and absence of fever.

Symptoms such as dyspnea, fever, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms or fatigue due to physiologic adaptations in pregnant women, adverse pregnancy events, or other diseases such as malaria, may overlap with symptoms of COVID-19.

Children might not have reported fever or cough as frequently as adults.

Can I stay at home to recover if I have only mild symptoms of COVID-19?

Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. Do not leave your home, except to get medical care. Do not visit public areas.

What medication can I take to reduce the symptoms of COVID-19?

In general, taking acetaminophen (Tylenol), naproxen (Aleve) ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) can help lower fevers, help manage muscle aches and body pains and make the course of the illness a little bit more tolerable.

What are some of the most common presenting symptoms of COVID-19?

Initial presentation — Among patients with symptomatic COVID-19, cough, myalgias, and headache are the most commonly reported symptoms. Other features, including diarrhea, sore throat, and smell or taste abnormalities, are also well described (table 3).

How long can long COVID-19 symptoms last?

Long COVID is a range of symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 or can appear weeks after infection. Long COVID can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if their illness was mild, or if they had no symptoms.

Can I have COVID-19 if I have fever?

If you have a fever, cough or other symptoms, you might have COVID-19.

Can you have COVID-19 without a fever?

Yes, you can have Covid (coronavirus) without a fever or with a very low-grade fever that is hardly noticeable, particularly with the Omicron variant. It is also possible to have Covid-19 with no symptoms at all and the only way you would know this is if you took a Covid-19 test.

How long does it take to recover from COVID-19?

Fortunately, people who have mild to moderate symptoms typically recover in a few days or weeks.

Is it normal that I feel sick weeks after having COVID-19?

Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

What is the average recovery time for COVID-19?

Most people feel better within two or three weeks of COVID-19 infection. Once it’s been 10 days since coronavirus symptoms first appeared and you don’t have symptoms anymore, the CDC suggests most people are no longer able to infect others and may end isolation.

How long is someone with COVID-19 infectious?

Infectiousness peaks around one day before symptom onset and declines within a week of symptom onset, with an average period of infectiousness and risk of transmission between 2-3 days before and 8 days after symptom onset.

Can you still get COVID-19 after recovering from it?

Immunity is complicated and, yes, you can still get reinfected with COVID-19. In fact, a recent study found that unvaccinated adults were twice as likely to get reinfected with COVID-19 than those who got vaccinated after they’d recovered from their illness.

Can COVID-19 damage organs?

COVID-19 can cause lasting damage to multiple organs, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver and brain. SARS CoV-2 first affects the lungs through the nasal passages. When the lungs are severely affected, it can affect the heart.

How does the body develop immunity to COVID-19?

Once you’ve been exposed to a virus, your body makes memory cells. If you’re exposed to that same virus again, these cells recognize it. They tell your immune system to make antibodies against it.

How does COVID-19 enter the body?

We know that the virus primarily enters the body through the eyes, nose, or mouth and progresses into the lungs, where the most severe illness occurs. However, the virus replicates in cells, including the blood, and when it does, it alters the blood’s environment.

Which organ system is most often affected by COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger what doctors call a respiratory tract infection. It can affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs).

What are some of the potential long-term effects of COVID-19?

Known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or more commonly as Long COVID, these conditions affect all ages. Long-term effects include fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, sleep disorders, fevers, anxiety and depression.

Can COVID-19 cause kidney failure?

Research suggests that up to half of people hospitalized with COVID-19 get an acute kidney injury. That’s a sudden case of kidney damage, and in some severe cases, kidney failure, that happens within hours or days. It causes waste to build up in your blood and can be deadly.

How does COVID-19 affect the heart and lungs?

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, most commonly affects the lungs but It can also lead to serious heart problems. Lung damage caused by the virus prevents oxygen from reaching the heart muscle, which in turn damages the heart tissue and prevents it from getting oxygen to other tissues.