What It’s Like
to Have COVID-19
What are the most common symptoms of
COVID-19?
Experts have
identified three main symptoms of this disease: fever (100.4 degrees
Fahrenheit or higher), a newly developed dry cough and shortness of
breath. These symptoms may appear individually or together. To ensure
you’re getting an accurate reading, take your temperature at least 30
minutes after eating, drinking or exercising and at least six hours
after taking fever-reducing medications.
What are other COVID-19 symptoms you may
feel?
Along with the
classic trio of COVID-19 symptoms, you may also experience body aches,
fatigue, a runny nose, a sore throat, a loss of your sense of smell or
taste, headaches or gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea. These
symptoms don’t always occur but, if they do, they’re easy to confuse
with the symptoms of a cold, flu or seasonal allergies. The main way to
tell the difference between COVID-19 and these other conditions is if
your symptoms worsen or don’t improve after about a week.
What does a mild or moderate case of
COVID-19 feel like?
In about 80% of
known COVID-19 cases, the resulting illness is mild or moderate. This
can range from feeling like you just have a bad cold to feeling like
you have the flu and can’t get out of bed. Although you may feel
unwell, people with a mild or moderate case usually don’t need to be
hospitalized and can care for themselves at home. The typical recovery
time is one to two weeks.
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