Symptoms of coronavirus in humans

Contents

Symptoms of coronavirus in humans
The first symptoms of coronavirus
Symptoms of coronavirus in men
Symptoms of coronavirus in women
Mild coronavirus symptoms
Symptoms of a recurrent coronavirus
Symptoms of the intestinal coronavirus
Coronavirus without symptoms: how to understand what it is
Coronavirus symptoms depending on the strain
Popular questions and answers

Coronavirus unpleasantly surprised doctors and ordinary people. Due to its mutations, more and more aggressive strains appear, which are more infectious and can cause severe complications by the 5-7th day of illness.

A new strain, the Delta Coronavirus, is rapidly spreading in many countries. He, according to doctors and scientists, acquired other properties, due to which he became more dangerous. The infection statistics are also alarming. Mortality in different countries varies greatly – from 0,85% to 13,22%¹.

You can understand how dangerous the coronavirus is by comparing it with other types of influenza:

Raznovydnost	Infected	Died	Mortality
Seasonal Flu (2019)	3 – 5 million	99 – 200 thousand	3,3 – 4%*
Swine flu (2009)	221829	1906	0,9%
Bird flu (2003)	861	455	52,8%
Coronavirus (2019 – 2021)	9,8 million in the Russian Federation and 256 million in the world	281 thousand in the Russian Federation and almost 5 million in the world	6,85%

* According to the National Medical Research Center for Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases, the mortality rate from influenza is 0,01-0,2%. The difference here is related to the calculation method: in some cases, all sick and even potential cases are taken into account, and somewhere only severe cases are taken into account.².

According to doctors, the symptoms of COVID-19 coronavirus in the early stages are no different from ordinary SARS and flu. Its danger is that it often gives a complication in the form of viral pneumonia, and it develops very quickly.

The main symptoms of coronavirus COVID-19³:

weakness;
temperature increase;
dry cough;
a sore throat;
lack of smell;
headache;
labored breathing;
heaviness in the chest.

In addition to the main symptoms of coronavirus, there may be diarrhea. In addition, against the background of the underlying disease, bacterial and fungal infections can join. In some cases, the disease has no symptoms at all.

The first symptoms of coronavirus

The first symptoms of COVID-19 coronavirus are similar to other respiratory viral infections. Large-scale studies conducted in China (72 thousand patients were examined) showed that in 80% of cases the disease proceeds in a mild form: runny nose, cough, low temperature. In 14% of patients, a severe form was observed – they developed viral pneumonia. Another 5% of cases are extremely severe, in which respiratory failure develops, and this can lead to respiratory arrest and death⁴.

COVID-19 is especially dangerous for the elderly, as well as patients with chronic diseases:

cardiovascular pathologies;
diabetes;
chronic lung diseases (COPD, asthma);
oncology.

– In case of any manifestation of SARS, you should seek medical help. Only specialists can adequately assess the clinical manifestations and prescribe treatment, says PhD, anesthesiologist-resuscitator Maksim Shubin. – Do not self-medicate. In severe cases, the disease is often complicated by pneumonia. This requires hospitalization of the patient in a specialized hospital and intensive care in the intensive care unit.

Symptoms of coronavirus in men

According to studies conducted in various countries of the world, it has been noticed that men tolerate coronavirus infection worse than women. They have lung damage more often, the percentage is higher, as is the severity of the course.

In addition to all the symptoms described above, scientists noted a number of features of the course – some men complained of pain in the testicles, and a decrease in testosterone was found in the blood test. But this fact still needs to be studied, such symptoms are not typical for all patients.⁵.

Symptoms of coronavirus in women

As mentioned above, there is evidence that women tolerate coronavirus infection somewhat easier. But it’s worth mentioning right away that we are talking about women of young and middle age, without obesity and chronic diseases. With the advent of new strains of the virus, reports of severe infection in women have become more frequent. An example is the singer Maxim (Marina Abrosimova), for whose life doctors fought for several months after she was connected to a ventilator with 40% lung damage.

Pregnant women require special attention. Their infection can be severe, with complications in the lungs due to the fact that the growing uterus reduces respiratory volumes, metabolic processes and hormonal levels change. But there is evidence of the successful treatment of expectant mothers and the subsequent birth of healthy babies.⁶.

Mild coronavirus symptoms

For a mild course of infection, symptoms are typical, similar to many other acute respiratory viral infections. This is a low temperature, recurrent headache of low intensity, increased fatigue, discomfort or soreness in the throat, chills, pale skin, aching muscles and joints, and very rarely a runny nose. The vast majority of patients note severe weakness, which leads to the fact that it is very difficult to get out of bed and do the usual things.³.

Symptoms of a recurrent coronavirus

To date, data on the manifestations of re-infection with coronavirus infection are contradictory. Although everyone, including those who have been ill and vaccinated, is at risk due to virus mutations, most data indicate that reinfection is more easily tolerated and does not lead to critically dangerous complications.

But this is in cases where the patient is young and relatively healthy. In people with oncology, immune problems, autoimmune and severe somatic diseases, re-infection can be difficult, especially if the first time the disease was asymptomatic or mild⁷.

Symptoms of the intestinal coronavirus

In some people, coronavirus infection affects the walls of the stomach and intestines, provoking symptoms similar to the “stomach flu”³. Signs of damage to the respiratory tract may be accompanied by nausea, rarely vomiting, and diarrhea. They usually occur against the background of temperature or precede it.

Diarrhea is not prolonged, nausea is not very pronounced, vomiting is usually due to intoxication and the influence of high temperature.

Coronavirus without symptoms: how to understand what it is

It is possible to determine infection with a coronavirus infection without symptoms only after a laboratory examination. It detects the presence of class M antibodies, which indicate the acute phase of the disease.

The fact of an asymptomatic infection transferred some time ago can confirm testing for IgG, their formation occurs at a time when the immune system has already coped with the virus and synthesizes protective antibodies against it.

Coronavirus symptoms depending on the strain

To date, there is no unequivocal evidence that certain strains of coronavirus resulting from mutations lead to the development of radically different symptoms.

There are certain differences in the period of incubation, infectivity of viruses, but basically all the main manifestations of the infection are similar.⁸.

Indian coronavirus symptoms

According to experts who treat coronavirus infection caused by a new delta strain around the world, in this variant of the disease, in addition to the previously described manifestations, abdominal pain, joint pain, loss of appetite, and hearing problems are somewhat more common. Vein thrombosis in the lower extremities, diarrhea, fever are also possible.

But coughing and loss of taste, smell, are less typical for him⁹.

British coronavirus symptoms

The course of infection caused by the British strain of coronavirus infection has its own characteristics. They were noticed by researchers from several countries¹⁰. So, patients often experience cough and sore throat, muscle aches, severe weakness.

But the loss of taste with smell in patients is less pronounced.

African coronavirus symptoms

At the end of November, British scientists reported a new strain of coronavirus from South Africa and Botswana called “omicron”. Its hallmark is a strong sense of fatigue. The remaining symptoms in patients are similar to influenza: dry cough, fever, increased sweating, mainly at night, and body aches. A more severe course of the disease during infection with the omicron strain is not confirmed.

Symptoms of coronavirus in humans