Your sore throat can determine if you have contracted Covid-19. Here’s how to understand

On similar tracks, the common symptom of common cold – sore throat- can also determine of you have contracted the coronavirus or not. 

In a recent media briefing World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke of a new sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 that has now been detected in India.

Omicron sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 may fuel into a new Covid infection surge, a top health official in India said on 8 July.

Ghebreyesus also talked about the global sudden surge in coronavirus cases. “Globally reported cases have increased nearly 30 per cent over the past two weeks. Four out of six of the WHO subregions saw cases increase in the last week,” he said. “In Europe and America, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves. In countries like India a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected, which we’re following,” he added.

The SARs-CoV-2 virus is a respiratory illness just like a common cold or influenza. It can impact both the upper and the lower respiratory tract giving light to several symptoms.

Sore throat for symptom

With the oncoming monsoon season after a difficult phase of prolonged heat wave, the season change has caused viral fever with cough and cold in many. 

At such a time, sore throat is very common among patients and recently experts believe the duration of your symptom could reveal whether you have Covid-19 or not. 

However, there are no evidence to support that the sore throat and a Covid-19 are throat are any different. 

What happens during sore throat?

Sore throat is one of the most common symptoms that arises with respiratory infections. Other than that, fever, cough, runny nose, and sneezing are some of the other most commonly reported symptoms in people infected with Covid or common cold/flu.

If you develop a sore throat due to Covid-19, you may experience pain, scratchiness, thickness in your throat, especially while swallowing something. There could be a dry, irritating feeling which could be an outcome of inflammation in the back of your throat.

How to differentiate between Covid and non Covid sore throat?

The best way to differentiate between COVID and common cold/flu is by looking at the severity of the disease and how fast the viruses travel. Covid-19 seems to spread more easily than the flu or the common cold and takes more time when it comes to recovery.

According to the data collected by the UK’s ZOE Covid Symptom Study app, while a sore throat is a less well-known symptom of Covid, it is an early sign of the disease and common among children and adults aged 65 and above.

Besides being “relatively mild”, experts in charge of the app suggest that sore throat from Covid lasts no more than five days.

Anyone suffering from sore throat for over five days should get themselves tested for some other illness, as per the experts.

Reportedly, a Covid sore throat “usually” appears in the first week of illness and can improve “quite quickly”.

“It feels worse on the first day of infection but gets better on each following day,” researchers at ZOE explain.

While sore throat is a commonly reported symptom of COVID-19, it is not the only one. According to the ZOE Covid app, 69% of users have reported headache, making it a leading symptom.

Other signs and symptoms of Covid-19

A person should take a Covid-19 test if they are suffering from the illnesses listed below

– Fever or chills

– Cough

– Fatigue

– Muscle or body aches

– New loss of taste or smell

– Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

– Congestion or runny nose

– Gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea

Remedies for Covid sore throat

One must drink plenty of warm water and stay hydrated. You can also mix a spoonful of honey to soothe the irritation and inflammation in the throat.

Gargling with saltwater is also read to be a soothing practice. You can also do such on throat lozenges, which helps keep your throat moist.

Make sure you get enough rest so that your body’s immune system is recharged and can combat infections efficiently.

In case the home remedies fail, you can take over-the-counter medications prescribed by your doctors to ease your pain.

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