Diagnosis and care for long COVID Most long COVID symptoms can be managed at home and will go away on their own within 12 months. A small number of people might experience symptoms for 12 or 24 months. Long COVID is not contagious, even though you may still have symptoms.
Having long COVID does not mean that you are still contagious. Even though you may feel sick, other people cannot "catch" long COVID from you.
If you have not had a test to determine if you are still contagious, you can leave home after these two things have happened: At least 10 days have passed since the date of your first positive test AND. you continue to have no symptoms (no cough or shortness of breath) since the test.
Even if mild symptoms remain, you are likely not contagious after 10 days. However, if you have a weakened immune system or severe illness (requiring hospitalization, intensive care or even intubation), you can be contagious for up to three weeks or more.
By the 10th day after COVID symptoms begin, most people will no longer be contagious, as long as their symptoms have continued to improve and their fever has resolved. People who test positive for the virus but never develop symptoms over the following 10 days after testing are also probably no longer contagious.
Cold-related coughs can last for up to eight weeks. The good news is that you're typically only contagious for the first three to five days of the initial respiratory infection, says Dr. Buhr. A lingering cough will usually clear up on its own as postnasal drip improves and inflammation decreases.
The symptoms, such as chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath, chest pain, and intense fatigue, can be debilitating. Severe cases of Long COVID can even affect the body's organs. But imaging tests don't always show the origins of those symptoms.
As you get better from COVID you might have a dry cough that lasts for a long time. This can develop into a cycle. Coughing can make you breathe through your mouth and change your breathing pattern. This allows dry cold air to enter the throat and lungs quickly.
You can spread the common cold from a few days before your symptoms appear until all of the symptoms are gone. Most people will be contagious for up to 2 weeks. Symptoms are usually worse during the first 2 to 3 days, and this is when you're most likely to spread the virus.
Your GP may refer you to a long Covid clinic, or a specialist who can help treat the individual symptoms you're experiencing, such as physiotherapy or psychological support. Speak to your GP or healthcare professional to ask if you're being referred.
Sometimes the symptoms can even go away and come back again. For some people, Long COVID can last weeks, months, or years after COVID-19 illness and can sometimes result in disability.
While most people with Long COVID have evidence of infection or COVID-19 illness, in some cases, a person with Long COVID may not have tested positive for the virus or known they were infected.
In high-risk settings, they may be considered infectious from 72 hours before symptoms start. People with mild illness are generally considered recovered after 7 days if they have been asymptomatic or have not developed any new symptoms during this time. But some people may be infectious for up to 10 days.
Cover coughs and sneezes and wash hands even after you return to work or school. Keep in mind that even if your symptoms don't include a fever, you still may have the flu and may be contagious.
Yes. While the presence of mucus may indicate an underlying issue, coughing up phlegm is a good thing because it helps clear irritants, allergens and infections out of your system.
Getting a referral to a long COVID service
They may suggest some tests to find out more about your symptoms and rule out other things that could be causing them. These might include: blood tests.
Speak to a GP if:
you've had a cough for more than 3 weeks. your cough is particularly severe. you cough up blood. you experience shortness of breath, breathing difficulties or chest pain.
A chronic cough is a cough that lasts eight weeks or longer in adults, or four weeks in children. A chronic cough is more than just an annoyance. A chronic cough can interrupt your sleep and leave you feeling exhausted. Severe cases of chronic cough can cause vomiting, lightheadedness and even rib fractures.
Is a postviral cough contagious? It is not possible to transmit a virus through a postviral cough. After a cold, for instance, a person may have a cough for several weeks. However, they can only pass it on for up to 2 weeks after the infection begins.
Everyone's immune response is different, and we can spread the virus for different amounts of time. Masking on days 6-10 helps reduce the risk that we will get others sick after recovering from COVID-19. Most people are no longer infectious after day 10.
COVID-19 rebound is when people with COVID-19 get better, then begin to get symptoms 2-8 days after they have recovered. They may also test positive again.
How long do omicron symptoms last? Most people who test positive with any variant of COVID-19 typically experience some symptoms for a couple weeks. People who have long COVID-19 symptoms can experience health problems for four or more weeks after first being infected, according to the CDC.