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Comment by tzs | Hacker News Reader

> They are either paucisymptomatic (you have mild symptoms - maybe too mild to notice)

Or you notice them but because they also match symptoms of colds and allergies, and you’ve been getting them on and off for months, you assume they aren’t COVID.

I don’t think there has been an interval longer than a week since February during which I didn’t have at least a couple symptoms that could have been COVID.

I’ve not had the taste/smell loss, and all my contact with other people has been masked and brief, and I’m in an area where spread has been low, so I’ve probably not had it, but I wish we had widespread cheap testing so I could know.

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> Or you notice them but because they also match symptoms of colds and allergies, and you’ve been getting them on and off for months, you assume they aren’t COVID.

Exactly. I have occasionally runny nose combined with sporadic sneezes and coughs pretty much every winter. If someone like my had so "mild" COVID symptoms they would consider themselves asymptomatic (paucisymptomatic?), and rightfully so. (My actual COVID symptoms were not as mild, but not very serious either.)

> I don’t think there has been an interval longer than a week since February during which I didn’t have at least a couple symptoms that could have been COVID.

It's remarkable the number of people anecdotally reporting similar symptoms - often out of character for otherwise robustly healthy individuals. I'm guessing some sort of psychosomatic response to the year's stresses.

Is it that out of character though?

I have been having the same, but the main reason why I notice it now is that every time I have any symptom, even the mildest of them, I take notice and consider the possibility of Covid, whereas in past years I would forget about them if even notice at all.

For context, I'm a fairly healthy individual who hasn't seen a GP or other medical doctor in at least a couple years, probably longer. Last time I've been to one was because of exercise-related injuries.

> every time I have any symptom, even the mildest of them, I take notice and consider the possibility of Covid

This is hypochondria isn't it? A pathology in its own right, no doubt caused by current events.

Of course it isn't. I don't even bother about mild symptoms, much less go see a doctor or look for a cure. I just take note.

It's not hypochondria, it's simple awareness.

Oh I totally understand you

That being said it seems the most specific symptom is loss of smell/taste so unless you have that it's probably something else (disclaimer: not a doctor and this is not medical advice)

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