An expert has shed light on how long you could be contagious for those suffering from winter illnesses currently prevalent in the UK. With the NHS cautioning about a potential “quademic” over the festive season, due to high cases of Covid, flu, norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), it’s challenging to pinpoint which illness one might have and how long they could be spreading it.
With this in mind, one expert shared how long you should try to isolate yourself for if you have any of these illnesses. Doctor Carla Garcia Carreno, director of infection prevention and control at the Children’s Medical Centre Plano, spoke to CBS News to explain more.
Covid
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that individuals can spread the Covid from one to two days before symptoms emerge and up to eight to 10 days after. It notes: “The majority of transmission appears to occur during the early periods of infection, particularly in the one to two days before symptoms start and within the first few days of symptom onset.”
The NHS outlines the symptoms of Covid as follows:
- A high temperature or shivering (chills)
- A new, continuous cough
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- An aching body
- A headache
- A sore throat
- A blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick.
However, infected people without symptoms can also transmit the virus. The CDC advises ending isolation if you have been fever-free for 24 hours and improved symptoms.
“Once the person is fever-free for 24 hours without the use of any fever-reducing medicines like ibuprofen, they should be a little bit out of the woods…but also your respiratory symptoms need to be improving,” Dr Garcia Carreno added.
But you should still take precautions to keep others safe. She continued: “For example, try to social distance from others, and, if possible, wear a mask. That’s usually recommended for an additional five-day period.”
In the UK, self-isolation is no longer mandatory. The NHS recommends you try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you or your child have symptoms and either:
- Have a high temperature
- Do not feel well enough to go to work, school, childcare, or do your normal activities.
It says: “You can go back to your normal activities when you feel better or do not have a high temperature.” But if you have taken a test that comes back positive, the NHS says you should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days.
Flu
The CDC is issuing a caution to the public, advising that people tend to be “most contagious” in the first three days of falling ill. “Some people, including young children and people with weakened immune systems may be contagious for longer periods of time,” it clarifies.
Symptoms of the flu can rapidly manifest, characterised by:
- A sudden spike in temperature
- Bodily aches
- Exhaustion or fatigue
- Persistent dry cough
- Throat soreness
- Headaches
- Sleep disturbances
- Decreased appetite
- Gastrointestinal upset or abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting.
Following its advice for Covid, the CDC suggests a return to usual activities once 24 hours have passed without fever, without relying on medication, alongside an overall improvement in health.
Norovirus
With norovirus, also known as viral gastroenteritis, individuals affected typically recover within one to three days but are capable of transmitting the virus even after they feel better. The CDC cautions that: “You can still spread norovirus for two weeks or more after you feel better.”
The symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, elevated temperature, headaches, and muscle aches. Dr Garcia Carreno stressed the easy transmission of the virus, specifically via vomit and faecal matter leading to oral ingestion; hence strict hand hygiene is key. Bleach-based cleaners are essential for deactivating the virus, he added.
She advised that if you live with someone who has norovirus, it’s crucial to sterilise or decontaminate the bathroom they’ve used and avoid sharing cups and utensils to prevent both gastrointestinal and respiratory viruses.
RSV
According to the CDC, individuals with RSV are typically contagious for three to eight days and may become contagious a day or two before symptoms appear.
RSV symptoms include:
- A runny or blocked nose
- A cough
- Sneezing
- Tiredness
- A high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills)
- A cough that gets worse
- Shortness of breath
- Faster breathing or long gaps between breaths
- Difficulty feeding (in babies) or loss of appetite
- Noisy breathing (wheezing)
- Confusion (in older adults).
The same CDC guidelines for Covid and flu also apply to RSV – people can end isolation after being fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicines and have improved symptoms.