7 Subtle Signs You Might’ve Had Covid-19 Without Realizing
With all the reports about Covid-19
infection rates spiking again, it’s only natural to wonder if you
actually might have had Covid-19 already without realizing it.
Considering we now know the virus was already spreading before cities
started to enter lockdown in the first place, it is a valid question.
Other factors that may make you wonder if you've had Covid-19 already
are the high rate of asymptomatic cases and the overlapping symptoms
with the common cold and the flu. All of these make the novel
coronavirus an elusive one.
There are the most common and typical
Covid-19 symptoms which include persistent dry cough, muscle or body
aches, fatigue, and shortness of breath (to see a full list of possible
symptoms click here). But there are other, more ‘obscure’ symptoms that
could indicate you endured a mild case of Covid-19. Here are 7 subtle
signs you may have been infected, and what to do about it.
1. You were sick around last February
According to infectious disease experts, if
you were sick before January, it probably wasn’t Covid-19. The first
confirmed case of coronavirus in the US was reported on January 20,
2020, and the first documented community spread happened in late
February. Community spread refers to a Covid-19 diagnosis in someone who
did not travel to countries with the virus or come into contact with a
known sick person, according to the CDC.
If you were sick from mid-January to mid-February, it’s possible you had
Covid-19. Widespread testing wasn’t readily available at that time, not
to mention the outbreak took place during peak cold and flu season, so
it’s quite possible you were battling coronavirus and didn’t know it.
2. You lost your sense of smell and taste at some point
This seems like the hallmark of Covid-19,
but experts stress it’s by no means a surefire sign. As many as 64.4
percent of people with Covid-19 report a loss of smell or taste,
according to a study published in April 2020 in the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA). 27 percent of the patient who lost
their sense of smell had “some improvement” within 7 days, while most
were better within 10 days. In some cases, unfortunately, the symptom
can linger for months after a patient recovers from Covid-19.
While this symptom is strongly associated with Covid-19, the loss of
smell and taste can also appear with other respiratory viruses, like the
cold and the flu, or even seasonal allergies.
3. You had strange wounds on your toes
“Covid toes” became a well-known symptom
relatively recently. They are marked by a purple or red itchy wound.
“Skin manifestations, particularly of the toes, could be something that
makes people who weren’t tested look back and say ‘was that a
manifestation of Covid-19?'” said Benjamin Singer, MD, an assistant
professor in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, to The Healthy.
4. You noticed your child developed a strange rash
There have been concerning symptoms of
rashes and multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in children who had
Covid-19, the CDC states. Most children who become infected with the
coronavirus have only a mild illness. But in children who go on to
develop MIS-C, some organs and tissues — such as the heart, lungs, blood
vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin, or eyes — become
severely inflamed.
Other signs of MIS-C include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea,
neck pain, and fatigue. If you notice any of these signs in your child,
call your doctor.
5. Your stomach was acting up
Covid-19 is a respiratory illness, but as
we came to know, not everybody experiences coughing or shortness of
breath. For some, diarrhea may be the first and only sign of Covid-19,
according to a March 2020 study in The American Journal of
Gastroenterology. Researchers suggest that people with new-onset
digestive symptoms should raise suspicion. It could suggest you have
been infected, so try and look back to remember if you’ve been in
contact with any confirmed individuals.
6. You had a sudden stroke
A link has been found between Covid-19 and
increased stroke risk - even among younger patients. Inflammatory
diseases seem to increase the risk of stroke, as the inflammation tends
to trigger blood clotting and activates plaques in the blood vessels and
arteries, making them stickier and more unstable. According to Jeremy
Payne, MD, director of the Stroke Center at the University Medicine
Neurosciences Clinic in Phoenix, stroke rates go up during flu season as
well for similar reasons, and a similar mechanism is likely happening
among Covid-19 patients.
Our intention, of course, is not to cause a scare, so it’s important to
note that the stroke risk from the virus seems very small. Moreover,
here are the warning signs you may be developing a blood clot.
7. You woke up with pink eye
Pink eye infection, or conjunctivitis, may
be a sign of coronavirus, but this is very rare, according to the
American Academy of Ophthalmology. To give you an idea, research done in
April 2020 examined a total of 1,167 people with either mild or severe
COVID-19. They found that only 1% of people with mild symptoms developed
pink eye, while it occurred in 3 percent of people with severe
symptoms.
So if you had pinkeye in the past year it is not necessarily a telltale
sign you had Covid-19, and if you happen to contract it in the near
future, there is no reason to panic. Just call your healthcare provider
and follow their instructions.
What to do if you think you had Covid-19
If you’re in doubt but have a strong feeling you did have Covid-19, seek
antibody testing, experts agree. “If you are even asking the question,
‘did I have Covid-19,’ order the test. The more we know about how many
people have had exposure, the better,” says Matthew G. Heinz, MD, a
hospitalist and internist at Tucson Medical Center in Tucson. You don't
need to have had symptoms since many people don’t experience any
symptoms at all.
Antibodies are produced when the body
mounts its immune response to an infection, and this is the only way to
know whether your body has contracted the coronavirus. Antibody tests
can also tell whether someone has been infected with Covid-19 in the
past as opposed to having an active infection. One thing to remember is
timing the test right. Don’t get tested too soon after symptoms occur as
that could lead to a false-negative result.
The bottom line is - if a high percentage of people in a community are
immune to a disease, its chances of spreading from person to person
decrease. For some people, that knowledge could understandably save a
lot of stress and worry.