What is the mild course of COVID-19? The doctor lists the symptoms of the disease

Infection with Omikron is mild in most cases, especially in vaccinated persons. Meanwhile, many people complain that infection is accompanied by high fever, severe fatigue, and other symptoms that are bedridden and do not seem “mild” at all. So what is the mild course of COVID-19 and how do you distinguish it from its moderate, severe and critical form?

1. Many infected expect COVID-19 to go away asymptomatically or with few symptoms, with only a slight deterioration in well-being
2. Meanwhile, a mild course resembles a cold and manifests itself similarly to this type of infection
3. During it, a fever may appear, which – as family doctor Anna Krzyszowska-Kamińska explains – should be happy in most cases, because it is a sign that the body is fighting the pathogen
4. Below we also present a list of the most common symptoms that may indicate a moderate, severe and critical course of COVID-19
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Gentle, which is what?

– It was supposed to be “mild”, and I am lying on the third day with a fever, barely alive. All my muscles ache, my head and throat are sore, my nose is blocked and I can’t even go to the kitchen for food. When will it finally pass? – asks one of the members of the Facebook support group for people with COVID-19.

There are a lot of such questions on the Internet. Patients complain about malaise, but are also worried – are they sure that the coronavirus infection passes gently? When does a mild infection progress to moderate and then severe? With what symptoms should you consult a doctor and seek medical help?

Doubts of the infected stem from the different understanding of the term “mild course” in patients and doctors. For the former, it often means either the complete absence of symptoms of infection (the so-called asymptomatic course), or a slight deterioration in well-being, e.g. a feeling of discomfort or a short-term scratching in the throat.

1. Also read: Coronavirus infection can be passed asymptomatically. How to recognize it? [WE EXPLAIN]

Doctors, on the other hand, think in terms of how they cope with an infection in a patient’s lung and other organs, and whether and what the patient needs treatment. For medics, a mild course is primarily a home course, which does not require a stay in a hospital or even a consultation with a doctor. It resembles a cold, lasts several days, and can be dealt with with home remedies or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.

Bow. Anna Krzyszowska-Kamińska

A mild course of COVID-19 is practically just like a common coldwhich most of us get at least once a year. It’s two or three days of runny nose, mild sinuses, slight joint and muscle pains, malaise – such that I get up in the morning, drink a pot of warm tea and go back to sleep. You may have a fever – up to three days this is perfectly normal. If it lasts longer, it is difficult to break it, etc., it is worth consulting a doctor, whether by phone or stationary.

Why is fever a good sign?

As the doctor argues, fever, if it is not very high, is a symptom that should not worry us, because it is the body’s natural response to contact with the virus.

– The fever should please us. It is a healthy symptom, a sign that the body has fought back and that the immune system is working properly. Please see that the older we get, the less we have a fever. We do not actually observe fever in seniors, even though they experience shortness of breath and we often diagnose pneumonia in them. This is because their vitality is already weakened, he explains.

Bow. Krzyszowska-Kamińska recalls the words of Hippocrates, who said: “give me a fever and I will cure everyone”.

– The fever heals us. This is our natural symptom of the body’s struggle, so you don’t have to stop the fever right away. Of course, if we feel bad, take a pill. I always say to parents who are concerned about high temperature in their children: if the child is really suffering, even at 37,5 degrees, let’s lower the temperature. However, if it is 38 degrees, but functions calmly, hugs, reads a book, let this fever heal, because it triggers an immune reaction in our body. The same is true for adults. Fever must be respected – argues.

The rest of the text below the video.

COVID-19 course – is there an official classification?

Although scientists in many publications discuss the issue of coronavirus infection, no official classification of the COVID-19 course has been developed.

The US National Institutes of Health classifies patients with mild COVID-19 as «people who have any of the various symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell), but who are not short of breath, have difficulty breathing or have an abnormal chest picture ».

In turn, The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a mild condition as “no signs of serious or critical illness”wherein according to WHO, critical illness includes individuals with respiratory failure, septic shock, and / or multiple organ dysfunction. The organization divides the course of COVID-19 into non-heavy, heavy and critical.

However, it has been accepted in the literature that SARS-CoV-2 infection may proceed as follows:

1. asymptomatic,
2. mild,
3. moderate,
4. heavy,
5. critical.

These types are not clearly described as it is not entirely possible. The course of the infection depends on many factors, incl. patient’s age, risk factors, such as comorbidities, but also the lifestyle we lead (proper diet, physical activity, adequate sleep, avoiding stress, maintaining a balance between work and free time), etc. Therefore, even among household members, some people undergo COVID -19 without symptoms, others are moderate, and still others may be critically ill due to infection in the hospital and fight for their lives.

1. See also: Expert: “Coronavirus catches unhealthy people and they usually get sick”

It is also worth remembering that The course of COVID-19 may change over the course of the disease. The infection may be mild at first, then the symptoms may worsen (moderate) and then return to a nice appearance. Similarly initially mild, it can develop into a severe or even critical course. That is why it is so important to observe your own body and react to any disturbing symptom by consulting it with your doctor.

A separate issue related to the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection is long covid, i.e. a set of symptoms that persist several weeks after the infection has resolved. These are symptoms of various types – from skin problems, through problems with concentration and memory (the so-called brain fog), to respiratory or cardiovascular disorders. The long tail of COVID-19 can last for months and significantly destabilize our functioning.

1. What happens in the lungs of long covid patients? A cutting-edge study shows the true scale of the problem

COVID-19 symptoms depending on the course of the disease

The authors of the patient.info website, including British doctors of various specializations, have attempted to list the symptoms characteristic of each type of COVID-19 course. In the article, Dr. Sarah Jarvis, who is a GP (reviewed by Dr. Colin Tidy, also a GP), describes what the mild course of COVID-19 is.

When you have a mild COVID-19 course:

1. you may have a fever, also one that does not reach 37,8 degrees Celsius,
2. you can lose your sense of smell and taste
3. you may experience fatigue, muscle aches or headache,
4. you may have a sore throat and runny nose, although they are rarely very severe
5. you are unlikely to experience shortness of breath
6. the infection does not have a large impact on your daily functioning, understood as taking care of yourself, eating and drinking, maintaining hygiene or sleeping,
7. your appetite is normal or only slightly reduced,
8. you may feel a bit broken
9. symptoms last up to 10 days, rarely longer. 

In another article by family doctor Dr. Mary Lowth (reviewed by Dr. Sarah Jarvis), we can see what symptoms are reported by patients who go through COVID-19 more severely.

When you have a moderate COVID-19 mileage:

1. your cough may be more severe than people with mild symptoms
2. temperature is likely to hit or exceed 37,8 degrees Celsius
3. you may be short of breath when engaging in certain activities which may be an early sign of pneumonia
4. you may have diarrhea (nausea and vomiting are unlikely, however)
5. you may have a headache,
6. you are tired but still able to comfortably move around your own home, take a shower and take care of yourself,
7. you eat normally, breathing does not limit your ability to eat
8. you may feel dry mouth from breathing through your open mouth, but when you urinate it is still pale yellow so you are not dehydrated
9. you rest (lie down, read a book, watch TV) without feeling like you are struggling to breathe, you are not worried that you cannot breathe,
10. you may feel depressed and more tearful
11. these symptoms may last up to 14 days.

When you have a severe COVID-19 mileage:

1. you are visibly out of breath and there is little you can do on your own,
2. you may become breathless even when you are sitting still and therefore not be able to finish the sentence while speaking
3. breathing takes up a lot of your energy, 
4. you have a pain in your chest, abdomen or back when you breathe,
5. you feel tight in your chest, you cannot take a deep breath freely,
6. your body temperature is high
7. you have problems with eating and drinking,
8. you cannot do simple things like reading a book or watching TV because you are too focused on breathing or feeling unwell
9. you may seem confused
10. your heart may beat faster and your blood pressure may be lowered.

1. See also: Pediatrician warns: more and more seriously ill children in hospitals

How is COVID-19 severe mileage different from critical mileage?

Severe pneumonia may develop a condition called ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). The little air sacs in the lungs become so inflamed and moist that they tend to jam and cannot do their job because there is too much inflammatory fluid in the alveoli. You need help inflating your lungs. That’s what the respirator is for. The most critical condition is when sepsis develops and other organs of the body stop working

Explains Dr. Mary Lowth.

Patients with a severe and critical course of coronavirus infection absolutely require hospitalization.

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