New statistics revealed this week that one in eight people in England had caught coronavirus by the end of last year.
Surprising though this may seem, the latest estimates suggest as many as one in three people who have caught Covid-19 can display no symptoms at all.
With current Government guidelines saying you should only get a test if you have symptoms, this means many wouldn’t have had a test to confirm a positive result.
So this begs the question – have you had coronavirus, and how can you tell if you’ve already had it?
Metro.co.uk spoke to expert Dr Chris Morris, who is a GP and also a medical director at the HealthHero virtual care provider, to answer these questions.
Consider an antibody test
The first thing Dr Morris suggested was getting an antibody test.
‘This will indicate whether your immune system has produced antibodies in response to being infected with the virus,’ he explained.
Antibody tests work by collecting a sample of blood to see if you’ve successfully managed to previously fight off the virus.
Free antibody tests are currently only offered to NHS and care staff, as well as some hospital patients and care home residents.
They can be bought privately – from pharmacies such as Superdrug – and performed at home, but these can be expensive.
Dr Morris admitted though that antibody tests do have their limitations.
‘That being said, it can take as long as three weeks for a blood antibody test to come back positive and we are still not sure as to what extent these antibodies produce immunity, and if they do, for how long,’ he explained.
‘These tests are also difficult to come by and, even if they are positive, cannot tell you exactly when you had the virus.’
It is thought antibodies can protect against reinfection for at least five months, but it may not be for longer than this. So if you had coronavirus during the first wave, you may not have antibodies now.
And although people who suffered serious symptoms have been shown to produce a strong antibody response, people who were asymptomatic may not have as many antibodies, and they may not retain them for as long.
Assess your symptoms
Dr Morris recommends looking back over the last few months and thinking about any symptoms which could match with those of Covid-19.
He said: ‘The challenge with upper respiratory infections is that they can all present with symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat, aches and pain.’
He says the main symptoms of a cold and the flu can help differentiate them from coronavirus.
With a common cold, most of the symptoms are ‘wet’ and remain in the upper airway such as a wet cough, blocked nose and sneezing. The presence of mucus is a giveaway.
With the flu, the whole body is often affected with the added headaches, body pain and fatigue.
‘In comparison, Covid-19 has a unique presentation and despite there being lots of reports around new and emerging symptoms, there are just three main symptoms you need to look out for,’ added Dr Chris.
‘These are a new and continuous cough, a loss or change to your sense of taste or smell and a high temperature.
‘The loss of taste and smell is a particularly good indicator of coronavirus, but it is worth remembering that other viruses and allergies can cause this symptom too.
Other less common reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, runny or stuffy nose, headache, chills and gastrointestinal problems.
‘But these are less common, and usually only indicate Covid-19 if experienced in conjunction with one of the three primary symptoms,’ Dr Morris said.
Some coronavirus sufferers may also experience symptoms which continue for weeks or even months after the illness, in a phenomenon called ‘long Covid’.
Did someone else you know test positive?
Dr Morris further said if someone in your household or support bubble tested positive for Covid-19, then it is likely you have also been exposed to the virus even if you do not display symptoms.
‘Around 20% of individuals are estimated to be asymptomatic, so the absence of symptoms is not clear evidence that you have not had the virus,’ he explained.
Regardless of whether you’ve previously had coronavirus, the Government says you must follow lockdown regulations and get your vaccine when you are invited to do so.
This is because it is unclear how long protection from reinfection lasts – and it still may not stop you from spreading the virus to others.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/23/how-you-can-tell-if-youve-already-had-coronavirus-13930040/