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Coronavirus - every symptom you need to be aware of including delirium and tummy ache

Living
 Patients of the virus share more symptoms than what health sites advise (Photo: Shutterstock)

More people struck down with coronavirus say they are experiencing more symptoms than what health sites advise.

Currently, the four Covid-19 symptoms listed include a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, a loss of smell and a loss of taste.

The list varies massively around the world, leading to criticism from experts about the 'dodgy' advice.

For example, The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has added a runny nose or congestion, nausea and diarrhoea to the recognised symptoms of Covid-19.

However, a number of other symptoms have been identified by Covid-19 patients, including fatigue or extreme tiredness, breathlessness or feeling short of breath, loss of appetite, a dry cough and feeling hot or having a temperature.

Less common signs being reported by those infected include lesions on the feet, testicular pain and a strange 'buzzing' or 'fizzing' sensation on the skin.

Others have reported feeling increased levels of mental fatigue or 'brain fog' shortly before being diagnosed.

Here's a round-up of all the coronavirus symptoms you should be aware of.

1. Headaches or confusion

 Many coronavirus patients have complained of neurological symptoms (Photo: Shutterstock)

Experts say many coronavirus patients admitted to hospital have complained of neurological symptoms, such as headache, confusion, seizures, and even strokes.

Delirium usually affects patients who require ventilator support, and is caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide in the body.

Neurologist Dr Kevin Conner the majority (80%) of patients on intensive care units will experience some level of delirium.

Worryingly, delirium can lead to long-term brain damage, while patients who experience it are also less likely to survive, according to the experts.

While delirium is a well-known side effect of coronavirus, some experts believe that its treatment is being mismanaged.

2. Needing the toilet more

A mild symptom of coronavirus that is being reported with increased regularity is the need to go to the toilet more often.

Dr Diana Gall explained to the Express: "Digestion problems and changes in bowel habits - particularly looser stools and making more frequent trips to the toilet - are sometimes the first signs that you’re coming down with something, not just with this coronavirus.

"However, diarrhoea has been reported as an early symptom in patients who have later tested positive for Covid-19."

A new study, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, analysed data 204 patients with Covid-19 in China’s Hubei province and found nearly 50 per cent had diarrhoea, vomiting or abdominal pain.

3. Testicular pain

 Some coronavirus sufferers have experienced pain in their testicles (Photo: Shutterstock)

Another slightly less common symptom of the coronavirus, is testicular pain.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School  filed a case report about a 42-year-old man who tested positive for the virus, after going to hospital with a ‘stabbing pain’ in his testicles.

While doctors could find nothing wrong with his testicles, a CT scan showed damage in his lungs.

Two days later, the man was diagnosed with Covid-19.

4. A buzzing sensation

One of the more curious symptoms is a buzzing sensation that runs through the body.

While it has not been listed as an official symptom to watch out for, many people have posted online about experiencing a 'fizzing' feeling.

Tarana Burke, recognised as the founder of the #MeToo movement, said that her partner had the illness and the sensation that his 'skin felt like it was burning'.

Twitter user @Miafia described having “an electric feeling on my skin.”

Dr Daniel Griffin, chief of infectious disease at ProHealth Care Associates in the US, has suggested the feeling may be part of an auto-immune response to a patients' nervous system.

“Clearly it’s been identified, but we’re just not sure yet how widespread it is,” he told the New York Post.

5. Lack of appetite

 A loss of appetite is another possible symptom (Photo: Shutterstock)

To varying degrees those who have caught the coronavirus have complained of losing their appetite.

While some may be just a little less intrigued by their food than usual, others, such as racing blogger Stephen Power, have no desire at all to eat.

He believes he contracted the disease while at Cheltenham Festival.

The North West London man said: "I've been in bed with a nasty fever, headache, mild cough & back pain for nearly four days now, I'm completely exhausted and have no urge to move or eat."

6. Foot lesions

Medical experts in Spain are currently investigating whether those who have the virus could be identified by small lesions on the feet.

Last month, The Spanish General Council of Official Podiatrist Colleges shared a statement revealing that several coronavirus  patients had lesions on their feet.

The statement said: "They are purple lesions (very similar to those of chickenpox, measles or chilblains) which usually appear on the toes and normally heal without leaving a mark."

They added that it was a "curious finding" which had also been observed in "numerous"  Covid-19 patients in Italy and France, as well as Spain, according to dermatologists and podiatrists.

The lesions were more commonly noticed in younger people with the virus, including teenagers and children, although some adults were also found to have them.

7. Tummy ache

 Tummy ache has also been reported as a symptom in many cases (Photo: Shutterstock)

As with a loss of appetite, enduring a tummy ache may easily be passed off as a sign of something more innocuous.

However, a newly published study by the American Journal of Gastroenterology links tummy problems to Covid-19.

They found that 48.5% of 204 people who have been infected by the coronavirus in China's Hubei province had digestive symptoms such as diarrhoea that can cause tummy pain,

8. A dry cough

Perhaps the most recognisable of the Covid-19 symptoms, given how different it can sound compared to a typical cough.

The cough is generally new for you - or different if you generally have a smoker's cough - and persistent.

More often than not it will last for at least half a day or longer.

9. Sore throat

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its symptom list to include a sore throat.

However, this symptom appears to be quite rare. “Currently, we estimate that sore throat occurs in about 10% of coronavirus cases,” Michael Lerner, MD, a Yale Medicine laryngologist told Health.com.

10. A high temperature

 A high temperature is common symptom (Photo: Shutterstock)

Like a dry cough, a high temperature is what the NHS and other health organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) say is a common symptom.

According to the NHS, this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

11. Loss of taste and smell

The official UK guidelines were recently updated to include a loss of taste and loss of smell as coronavirus symptoms.

The NHS explained: "A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal."

12. Mental fatigue or 'brain fog'

Although this has not been officially chalked up as a symptom, Covid-19 sufferers have reported experiencing mental fatigue.

Thea Jourdan told the Mail  that she first thought she may have been infected when she got a tickle in her throat and a headache.

The mum-of-three then began to experience brain fog.

"Initially I felt exhausted, as if I was dragging myself through a treacle and had no choice but to go to my bed. I had no meaningful cough and I wasn’t running a fever," the Hampshire woman told the publication.

"But I had a peculiar sensation of something settling deep within my lungs, almost like breathing in talcum powder."

Others have also reported struggling to hold on to thoughts or remember things throughout the day.

13. It's difficult to catch your breath

 A tight chest is most common among young people (Photo: Shutterstock)

If your chest starts to feel tight or you cannot breath, you may have caught the coronavirus.

Most young people or those without pre-existing health conditions are unlikely to experience this symptom.

Dyspnea - the term for when someone has difficulty breathing - may be coupled with a tightness in the chest, rapid breathing and heart palpitations.

14. Sore eyes

The best way to describe the sensation of burning eyes is to compare it with the itchiness and irritation you would face if you suffer with hayfever or other allergies.

This kind of itchiness and irritation can also come about when you’re among smog, smoke, dust, mold and even animals.

The only difference between these cases and the cases described by coronavirus patients, is the fact that the virus triggers this symptom and not an external factor like pets.

15. Shaking with chills

Cold chills are a symptom patients have complained from, but it is quite rare.

In a study, based on 55,924 cases in China from the date the virus was first spotted to February 22, 11.4 percent of coronavirus sufferers reported feeling chills.

16. Muscle or body aches

The CDC updated its guidelines this week, to include muscle or body aches to its list of Covid-19 symptoms.

New York University researchers found a link between sore muscles and serious Covid-19 cases during an analysis of 53 patients in Wenzhou, China.

Megan Coffee, the infectious-disease expert who led the study, said deep muscle soreness, known as myalgia, were often exhibited by patients.

However, Professor Coffee said she would ask a patient about shortness of breath before other less serious symptoms, such as body aches.

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