I made a mistake and feel so guilty

MayBee70

There is a test for flu. They say that, if you see a £20 note on the floor and walk over to it to pick it up you haven’t got flu. If you’ve got flu you can’t move. So many people say they have flu when they have a bad cold.

Yes, my husband is one of them - so irritating!

I always say to him you're still walking about so you have a cold not flu!

I had glandular fever when I was a very fit 25 year old. I was ill for two years, stopped playing squash, running was exhausted most of the time. I’d say I never recovered my fitness, often felt exhausted, achey joints and muscles. Various blood tests found nothing wrong.
Long story short, I was diagnosed in my mid 40’s with psoriatic/rheumatoid inflammatory arthritis and several other auto immune conditions. The consultant dated it to the GF which attacked my immune system allowing these various health problems. He was very positive about the way I’d managed to live and work

Covid seems to be capable of attacking our immune systems. Long Covid is a serious issue

I've had 'flu once in my life. I thought I was dying, couldn't lift my head off the pillow for days.
Your test is spot on, Maybee!

There is a test for flu. They say that, if you see a £20 note on the floor and walk over to it to pick it up you haven’t got flu. If you’ve got flu you can’t move. So many people say they have flu when they have a bad cold.

Yes.
And orchestras which include wind instruments.

Singing has always been designated a high risk activity re Covid (or any virus I expect) because of the projected breath.

I started with a cold a few weeks ago and when I got a high temperature DH said maybe I should do a test. It was positive and I stayed away from social things until I tested negative - only a few days in fact. I mentioned to someone that I had not sung in a concert because I had Covid and she was very rude and asked me why on earth had I tested and it was nothing to worry about now. This was very annoying, particularly as I probably got the Covid from someone in a singing session a few days before the 'cold' started, who tested positive a few days after. This person was quite poorly with it in fact, but had had no symptoms on the day of the session.

How can an asymptomatic person feel guilty? You can’t test all the time. They do nothing wrong in carrying on with their lives. Of course this endangers vulnerable people but I don’t see a solution.

Marydoll I agree with everything you've said. I have been ill with M.E. for 35 years, which developed after I caught Glandular Fever, so it could be described as Long GF. It has spoilt my life. I am juggling a number of other conditions including asthma, and have had cancer twice during those years, and can't afford to add Long Covid to the list.

I know my cousin and some of my friends think I am over-cautious, but I am the one who would have to deal with it, not them.

If I had a sore throat, even if I tested for Covid and was negative, I wouldn't go and visit anyone, particularly someone in the late stages of pregnancy as mentioned in an earlier post. Other viruses can be damaging.

Easy for me to say “Oh, just get over it.” But I do come from the perspective that (still) some people are not aware that you can be completely asymptomatic and still have Covid and be spreading it around!

So there are those people walking around not aware of what they’re doing and everyone reading this may or may not get Covid.

I think the asymptomatic people are the ones that should feel guilty. And you, my dear, may have learned to not go out till it passes the safe stage.
USA Gundy

I agree we all have a duty to try to protect the clinically vulnerable, but I think we have to incorporate covid into common sense now. Why don’t have tests for other viruses such as flu which also kills people. If we have symptoms of illness we should presumably stay away from those who may be susceptible, we don’t need a test to tell us that.

I guess we should all have a (moral) duty to protect the CEV amongst us - and the CEV have a duty to protect themselves by not putting themselves in places too much where they might contract Covid - busy shops, churches, cafes, etc.

I had a sore throat yesterday, we were going to visit my son and DIL who is expecting a baby any day now. Just to be safe I took a test. If it was positive not have visited. I think there is still a use for testing.

Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to. Most people with Covid don’t bother anyway. It’s not just Covid, common sense says if you are feeling unwell stay at home, but of course, many people feel fine so are out and about.

Farmor, I have to disagree with you. The CEV status was revised in Scotland and some conditions removed.
I was contacted recently to say my health conditions had been looked at and I will still remain on the CEV database.

So much misinformation on this thread, Everyone is different and has needs pertinent to only them.
I am surprised at how many experts are on this thread.

Don’t beat yourself up you didn’t intentionally go out with it. Hope your feeling better soon.

esgt1967 However, I feel we need to move away from testing for Covid (does anyone test for flu?)

I dont think there is a test for flu?

I dont think testing for covid should be discouraged, if you know you are going to meet with people who are more vulnerable?
That wouldnt be kind, let alone anything else.

I agree with the points made by esgt1967. Unfortunately the UK decided early on to designate some people "clinically extremely vulnerable " which wasn't the case in other countries such as Ireland, where I live. That cev status seems to have never been changed, despite Covid having changed very significantly from the earlier versions and much less likely to kill people. Being designated cev has obviously caused a lot of fear, probably not warranted at this stage.

I know of a number of people who in UK would be designated cev, who have caught Covid but were no worse affected than others (just common cold symptoms) and recovered fine. Some of the other respiratory viruses doing the rounds, flu, rsv, and various other infections are as bad if not worse than Covid and have always led to the deaths of some people (we have to die of something!)
Current advice that people with any respiratory symptoms should try to avoid spreading, is sound, but we cannot keep everyone with a slight runny nose or cough at home or no-one could work in the winter!

Please everyone be aware its not just us oldies who are at risk of long effects of covid....that "simple cold".
Young people yes even your dearly loved grandchildren could be affected. lung blood clots extreme fatigue to name just 2 things you dont want them to get.
So if you know you have covid keep your distance, wash your hands, cover your sneezes, wear a ms.ak in crowded places, shop at quiet times, and dont hug your children and grandchildren.
Don't boast about how you really don't give a damn. It may one day indirectly affect you and yours.

Bonnybanko, I think you are confusing me with the OP!!!!

You know me personally, I certainly wouldn't go anywhere if I had Covid!!!

Marydoll hear hear. I gave a number of auto immune diseases and COVID could easily be very bad for me. I don't understand the blasé attitude I'm seeing here at all

Marydoll yes you should have stayed at home knowing you had Covid, my twin sister went into a shop when she had hepatitis B knowing she was highly infectious she was a bright orange at the time . I reprimanded her for doing that, silly b .

Get well soon and don’t do that again 😷

But that's true of all people Marydoll with regard to Covid. There are many people for example who wont hear any arguments against the lockdowns for example, I would ask those people to spend some time looking at the chaos they have left behind on some of our most vulnerable young people.

However, I feel we need to move away from testing for Covid

Unfortunately for some of us, that is not an option. To obtain anti-virals, you must have evidence of a positive Covid test.
Fortunately here in Scotland, they are available free of charge to those who are CEV and we are advised by NHS Inform to keep a supply at home.

We all have different attitudes to Covid, dependent on our circumstances.
I wonder how many of those dismissive of the possible severity and consequences of Covid would change their opinion if their health status changed and they were now deemed CEV.

My previously fit and healthy and fully vaccinated SIL is still attending the hospital for lung problems, after contracting Covid at work three years ago. It is just not a simple cold for some.
If Covid is no longer a threat, why are medical institutions and some countries re- introducing the wearing of masks? Is it just scaremongering?

I will not allow Covid to dictate my life, but I will never fly again and don't use public transport if necessary. After reading some of the posts on here, I know that is the right decision for me. Having had eight vaccinations on the advice of my clinicians, I will continue to take everyone offered me. Those vaccinations and anti virals in hospital within twenty four hours of testing positive, (there is a seventy two hour window) prevented me from becoming seriously ill.
Unfortunately, unless I enter a nunnery, I could unwittingly be exposed to it.

I am of the opinion, there is a stigma attached to being CEV. We are people, who overreact to Covid and are making a fuss about what many on GN consider a simple cold. Oh and we are a burden on the overstretched NHS.
I have mentioned this before. I was advised during the pandemic, that if I contracted Covid, I would not be treated in ICU, because there was no point and it would free a bed for a younger person. Some of you have no idea.
Walk a day in our shoes.

There is still a real "stigma" (for want of a better word) around Covid. Just like the flu, it is a virus that affects people differently and any virus has the potential to significantly harm some people (or sadly, cause their deaths). I don't test for Covid anymore although some people at work do and then, if it is positive, decide not to come in for ages even if they don't feel particularly unwell.

As other posters have said, we do need to learn to live with Covid as we have learned to do with flu and we should take care not to infect other people if we can, just as we would with any other infectious virus/disease, and if somebody feels really ill they should stay at home if possible. However, I feel we need to move away from testing for Covid (does anyone test for flu?) and just be sensible when we are feeling under the weather, whether potentially it is Covid or not.