COVID-19 cases now milder, affecting upper respiratory tract, say doctors.
Doctors Say COVID-19 Symptoms Now Resemble Allergies or a Common Cold
A number of doctors have admitted that COVID-19 symptoms have now become more mild and are nearly indistinguishable from allergies or the common cold, often affecting the upper respiratory tract.
They noted that some of the notable COVID-19 symptoms, including a cough or a loss of taste or smell, are less common among patients.
“It isn’t the same typical symptoms that we were seeing before. It’s a lot of congestion, sometimes sneezing, usually a mild sore throat,” Dr. Erick Eiting, the vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai, told NBC News on Sept. 16.
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Dr. Eiting noted that “just about everyone who I’ve seen has had really mild symptoms,” referring to urgent care COVID-19 patients. “The only way that we knew that it was COVID was because we happened to be testing them.”
A study that was published in The Lancet, meanwhile, shows that symptoms for COVID-19 have become more mild since the omicron variant emerged and supplanted the delta variant in late 2021. Hospital admissions, too, have declined since then, along with initial symptoms such as a loss of taste or smell, according to the paper.
“The SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, omicron, appears to be less severe than delta,” the abstract says, noting there has been a “lower rate of hospital admission during omicron prevalence than during delta prevalence.”
Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told NBC News that the mild symptoms are, in part, due to previous immunity.
“Overall, the severity of COVID is much lower than it was a year ago and two years ago. That’s not because the variants are less robust. It’s because the immune responses are higher,” the doctor said.
Several doctors who spoke to the network said that COVID-19 now commonly starts with a sore throat.
Dr. Michael Daignault, an emergency physician in California, told the network that “especially since July, when this recent mini-surge started, younger people that have upper respiratory symptoms … 99 percent of the time they go home with supportive care.”
The upper respiratory tract includes the nose, nasal cavity, mouth, throat, and voice box. The lower respiratory tract includes the trachea, lungs, and bronchial tubes.
Dr. Grace McComsey, with Case Western University, stated that with the onset of the sore throat, some COVID-19 patients had “a burning sensation like they never had, even with strep in the past.”
“Then, as soon as the congestion happens, it seems like the throat gets better,” she added, estimating that about 10 to 20 percent of patients lose their sense of taste or smell now.
COVID or Something Else?
Infectious disease physician and researcher Pritish Tosh of the Mayo Clinic told The Messenger that “when people aren’t feeling well with some sort of upper respiratory illness, it can be difficult to ascertain whether it’s an allergy, cold, influenza, or COVID.”
“And there’s some clues that can help distinguish them, but sometimes it’s completely indistinguishable, especially if the symptoms are not very severe,” he said. “If there is fever involved, it is not an allergy. However, you can have a sneezing, a cough and watery eyes with an allergy.”
He said that “more severe infections, the kind that make it really hard to breathe, where you get really high fevers and it knocks you out for days and days—that is really unlikely to be a cold,” adding, “Now we’re in the realm of influenza or COVID.”
Mask Mandates?
The comments from doctors come as a number of hospitals across the United States have reimplemented mask mandates in recent weeks. Several hospitals last week moved to upper respiratory tract, say doctors.”>bring back face coverings due to what officials say is a rise in COVID-19 hospital admissions.
On Sept. 15, the Baystate Health system in Massachusetts announced that it would require masks for anyone entering patient rooms or patient care areas. That includes doctors, nurses, visitors, and patients, it said.
In Pennsylvania, Mount Nittany Health said on Sept. 14 that it would mandate employees to wear masks while engaging with patients. The mandate will run until Sept. 29, according to a news release cited by a local outlet, but it doesn’t include a mandate for visitors or patients.
Around the same time, Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May County, New Jersey, confirmed that it would also be reinstating a mask mandate. There’s no mandate for visitors or patients, officials told local outlets.
The new rules come weeks after several hospitals in upstate New York, Massachusetts, and California reimplemented masking, although some did not make face coverings mandatory for patients and visitors.
Data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that hospitalizations across the United States are up 8.7 percent in the week ending Sept. 2. The total number of COVID-19 hospital admissions is still quite low in relation to previous increases in hospitalizations.
Why is it important to seek medical advice and get tested for COVID-19 if experiencing respiratory symptoms, even if they resemble allergies or a common cold
Dr. Tosh emphasized the importance of seeking medical advice and getting tested for COVID-19 if someone is experiencing respiratory symptoms, regardless of whether they resemble allergies or a common cold. Prompt testing and diagnosis can help prevent the spread of the virus and ensure appropriate care and treatment.
In conclusion, doctors are now observing milder symptoms of COVID-19 that are often mistaken for allergies or a common cold. Symptoms such as coughing, loss of taste or smell, which were previously considered hallmark signs of COVID-19, are now less common. The omicron variant appears to cause less severe symptoms and lower hospital admission rates compared to the delta variant. COVID-19 may present with a sore throat as the initial symptom, followed by congestion in the upper respiratory tract. It is crucial to consult a healthcare professional and get tested for COVID-19 if experiencing any respiratory symptoms, even if they resemble allergies or a common cold. With the ongoing efforts to control the pandemic, staying vigilant and seeking medical advice when necessary are crucial for minimizing the spread of the virus and ensuring appropriate care for individuals affected by COVID-19.
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