7 Signs You May Have Had COVID-19

Without Realizing It, According to Doctors

Korin Miller
9 September 2020,

From Marie Claire

Whether you had a “bad cold” this winter or recently endured a cough that would
not quit, it’s only natural to wonder if you might have had COVID-19  without
realizing it. That’s especially true now that infectious disease experts say the virus
was likely already spreading before cities started to lock down and put social
distancing  orders in place.
“As the weeks progress, it’s become evident that this is a virus that was widespread
throughout our country, particularly in more populated areas, sooner than we
thought,” says William Schaffner, M.D. , an infectious disease specialist and
professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
So, could you have had COVID-19 without realizing it? It’s possible. “Most people
who have coronavirus have an uncomplicated case of infection, and it could be
indistinguishable from the cold or influenza ,” explains infectious disease
expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D. , senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for
Health Security. Plus, some people have no symptoms at all—up to 40% of
infections, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know with 100 percent certainty if that illness you
dealt with last winter was COVID-19 or if you happened to pick up an asymptomatic
case at some time. But experts say some signs can be tip-offs that you might have
had COVID-19 already. Here are the top ones to know, plus what it means for
immunity.

1. You had a “bad cold.”

Early in the pandemic, people believed that COVID-19 didn’t start circulating in the
U.S. until late February and March. New research from the University of Texas
suggests otherwise. For the study, scientists analyzed throat swabs taken last
winter in people who had suspected flu cases. These swabs were done in Wuhan,
China (where the novel coronavirus  originated) and Seattle, Washington (where the
first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the U.S.).
The researchers discovered that for every two cases of the flu, there was one case
of COVID-19. As a result, they believe COVID-19 likely arrived in the U.S.
sometime around Christmas.
“It took longer to get out to rural areas so, if you were on a farm this winter and you
had the sniffles, you probably just had a cold. If you were in New York City or
 another major city, you might have had a COVID infection and never knew it,” Dr.
Schaffner says.
It can be tough to distinguish a cold from a mild form of COVID-19 without a test,
depending on which symptoms you experience , he says, but colds don’t typically
cause shortness of breath, severe headaches, or gastrointestinal symptoms  like
COVID-19 can. Here’s the full list of the CDC’s official symptoms :
 Fever or chills
 Cough
 Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
 Fatigue
 Muscle or body aches
 Headache
 New loss of taste or smell
 Sore throat
 Congestion or runny nose
 Nausea or vomiting
 Diarrhea