Over the weekend, I had both a rapid covid test (negative) and a PCR test (also negative).

[Terabith]

I've been having some cold/ flu symptoms.  Just now realized that while my sense of smell is not entirely gone, it is significantly diminished.  I couldn't smell the cat box I was scooping, and other things I was tying it on had definite psychological expectations on (vanilla extract, etc).  

Do I need to get another test?  

Or....maybe I'm just congested?  

Edited August 24, 2021 by Terabith

[sassenach]

Let me ask you it this way, do you think you'll be able to relax without another test? I don't think I could, even though 2 negative tests is pretty compelling.

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, sassenach said:

Let me ask you it this way, do you think you'll be able to relax without another test? I don't think I could, even though 2 negative tests is pretty compelling.

Not so much, although the ongoing cold/ flu symptoms still have me pretty muddle headed, honestly.  

[Katy]

Go get another test and assume you’re positive in the mean time.

[fraidycat]

It could just be a cold. IIRC, you are double vaxed and don't spend much time in crowds, right? 
 

After two negative tests, I'd chalk it up to a different cold/RSV virus and just stay home for as long as possible (10+?days) to be safe.

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

It could just be a cold. IIRC, you are double vaxed and don't spend much time in crowds, right? 
 

After two negative tests, I'd chalk it up to a different cold/RSV virus and just stay home for as long as possible (10+?days) to be safe.

Correct.  I am double vaccinated, always mask in public, and I don't spend much time in crowds.  My risk level seems low.  But today was my youngest's first day of school.

I don't have NO sense of smell.  It's just massively diminished.  And could easily be explained by congestion.  But still.....not being able to smell the cat box is disconcerting.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Terabith

[fraidycat]

Just now, Terabith said:

Correct.  I am double vaccinated, always mask in public, and I don't spend much time in crowds.  My risk level seems low.  But today was my youngest's first day of school.

I don't have NO sense of smell.  It's just massively diminished.  And could easily be explained by congestion.  

If it's just diminished and not completely gone, it probably is just congestion like back in the "good ol' days".

[kbutton]

16 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

It could just be a cold. IIRC, you are double vaxed and don't spend much time in crowds, right? 

After two negative tests, I'd chalk it up to a different cold/RSV virus and just stay home for as long as possible (10+?days) to be safe.

I would do this too.

Loss of taste and/or smell happens with other illnesses, just not as distinctly. I think every sinus-y cold I had as a kid made things at least taste funny, and often, I couldn't taste them at all. I have heard of people losing their sense of smell (sometimes long-term) after the flu also.

[desertflower]

Like others said it can be another virus. I will tell you my story.

my husband, with a 5 layered mask, went back to work in an office on a Monday. July 26th. Most people did not wear a mask where he worked.  2 days later my husband’s breathing is irregular, and my son, one of my daughters and me had a temp of a 100. I also had a headache.  We were only sick for about a day. My husband and I took an at home test. Negative. Two days after that, my husband gets an email saying someone was positive on Monday. The only day he went into work. So, he went to a testing site Friday evening. Negative. 

a few days later, my other daughter is congested for a day and my dog was sick for 3 days. My dog had a fever, was sluggish, and I am pretty sure loss his sense of smell because he wouldn’t eat his treat. He’s only been sick one other time when I suspected we had Covid before lockdown. 
 

we didn’t go anywhere prior to that Monday. In fact, I can testify that we didn’t go anywhere that whole month which was July. We did go to the store like 4 times and the library in the end of June because we were celebrating that we were vaccinated. 😂  

this delta variant may be more easily transmissible than we think.  

[Not_a_Number]

18 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

If it's just diminished and not completely gone, it probably is just congestion like back in the "good ol' days".

That's my guess, too. 

[whitestavern]

38 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I've been having some cold/ flu symptoms.  Just now realized that while my sense of smell is not entirely gone, it is significantly diminished.  I couldn't smell the cat box I was scooping, and other things I was tying it on had definite psychological expectations on (vanilla extract, etc).  

Do I need to get another test?  

Or....maybe I'm just congested?  

My vaxxed friend got two negative tests after being exposed to someone who was positive (unknown at the time). She finally got a positive result 8 days post-exposure. 

[Ausmumof3]

Covid loss of smell is not usually related to congestion.

That said we’ve had people testing positive up to 15 days after exposure but usually not symptomatic 

[Katy]

Ragweed pollen is really bad this year.

[Harriet Vane]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

Correct.  I am double vaccinated, always mask in public, and I don't spend much time in crowds.  My risk level seems low.  But today was my youngest's first day of school.

I don't have NO sense of smell.  It's just massively diminished.  And could easily be explained by congestion.  But still.....not being able to smell the cat box is disconcerting.

It's uncanny how similar our situations are. I have a negative PCR test, double vaccinated, always mask in public, and don't spend much time in crowds. Honestly, I'm mostly shut down. Yet I've been horribly sick all week and my asthma is absolutely horrible. I'm isolating just in case and seriously wondering about RSV or the flu.

[importswim]

When I lost my sense of smell due to Covid I wasn't at all congested. It was so strange because I could breathe normally but couldn't smell or taste anything. Any other symptoms?

As far as the other things go I would test again in a few days to make sure.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Harriet Vane said:

It's uncanny how similar our situations are. I have a negative PCR test, double vaccinated, always mask in public, and don't spend much time in crowds. Honestly, I'm mostly shut down. Yet I've been horribly sick all week and my asthma is absolutely horrible. I'm isolating just in case and seriously wondering about RSV or the flu.

I'm so sorry for both of you! I would test again myself. No matter how locked down one is, if you've somehow managed to pick up a cold or flu virus, you could just as easily (more easily, because it's more contagious) have picked up Covid. So, I would want to be sure. But hopefully it's something else and you're both better soon.

[melmichigan]

My DD had covid earlier this year and her only symptoms were "bad allergies" and a partial sense of smell that still hasn't returned.

[Terabith]

50 minutes ago, melmichigan said:

My DD had covid earlier this year and her only symptoms were "bad allergies" and a partial sense of smell that still hasn't returned.

I feel like I have the flu.  I mean, along with the no sense of smell thing.

[itsheresomewhere]

There is a nasty cold going around along with other viruses.  I would bet it is one of those after two negative tests. 

[Not_a_Number]

3 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

There is a nasty cold going around along with other viruses.  I would bet it is one of those after two negative tests. 

I think the tests are relatively reliable when people are symptomatic. 

[Harriet Vane]

3 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

I think the tests are relatively reliable when people are symptomatic. 

I agree, and so does my doctor. Given the fact that I have a ragweed allergy and it's the height of the season, it's reasonable to say that a negative PCR test means I have a run-of-the-mill sinus infection compounded by allergies. I'm isolating out of an abundance of caution and staying strictly indoors so I do not have to breathe any ragweed pollen and set off the asthma. Delta is everywhere, but all the other ailments are still out there, too.

[ElizabethB]

People notice it more with Covid since everyone is paying more attention to less common symptoms, but that has been a well known less common symptom of flu for a while. A biography of Noah Webster showed one of his diary entries noting that he was sure he had a flu, not a cold, because he lost his sense of smell.

Edited August 25, 2021 by ElizabethB

[Terabith]

What worries me is I’m not particularly congested.  I can breathe easily through my nose.  Once in awhile I have a sneezing jag and blow my nose, but I feel clear when I can’t smell the litter box and other things smell off.  

[Hilltopmom]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

What worries me is I’m not particularly congested.  I can breathe easily through my nose.  Once in awhile I have a sneezing jag and blow my nose, but I feel clear when I can’t smell the litter box and other things smell off.  

I’d quarantine, test again, and most importantly- please do NOT send your child to school when you are having symptoms. 

[mlktwins]

8 hours ago, Terabith said:

I feel like I have the flu.  I mean, along with the no sense of smell thing.

Have you had a flu test?  A school district a couple of counties from me (in VA) just closed for a week due to a lot of flu!

[Storygirl]

1 hour ago, Hilltopmom said:

I’d quarantine, test again, and most importantly- please do NOT send your child to school when you are having symptoms. 

I would follow the local school and health guidelines on this. In my area, if someone is vaccinated and is a close contact to someone who has tested positive, the student is allowed to go to to school but has to wear a mask for 10 days. If they test negative after 5 days, they can stop wearing the mask. Obviously, different schools have different mask and quarantine rules, so be aware of local guidance.

Being at school is important. I would not keep my child home for a week because I was sick with something and had tested negative for Covid. If someone in the household had tested positive, things would be different, and we would, of course, follow the health department rules for quarantining. But that is not the case for the OP.

I would trust two negative tests. There are other illnesses going around.

[Terabith]

I’m trying really hard to be responsible here, but my autistic kid with learning disabilities, in a school district that will not accept someone else’s illness as an excuse, will never recover from missing the first week of school. There’s no virtual option or way to make anything up.  If I keep her home, she’s toast and we forfeit the year.  A week absence means you flunk automatically, and there’s no way for her to make that up. 
 

The whole family is fully vaccinated, in Happy Masks, and has barely left the house in 18 months.  I have tried so hard to do my part.  But I took two negative tests as soon as first symptoms hit, because of this, and they were negative.  I feel terrible, but given school policy and the fact that my autistic 16 year old hasn’t been in any group situations since March 2020, I feel like keeping her home against school policy is also doing the wrong thing.  
 

I have been crying all night.  I don’t know any way to be a good person here.  

[Not_a_Number]

5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I’m trying really hard to be responsible here, but my autistic kid with learning disabilities, in a school district that will not accept someone else’s illness as an excuse, will never recover from missing the first week of school. There’s no virtual option or way to make anything up.  If I keep her home, she’s toast and we forfeit the year.  A week absence means you flunk automatically, and there’s no way for her to make that up. 

The whole family is fully vaccinated, in Happy Masks, and has barely left the house in 18 months.  I have tried so hard to do my part.  But I took two negative tests as soon as first symptoms hit, because of this, and they were negative.  I feel terrible, but given school policy and the fact that my autistic 16 year old hasn’t been in any group situations since March 2020, I feel like keeping her home against school policy is also doing the wrong thing.  

I have been crying all night.  I don’t know any way to be a good person here.  

You've had two negative tests. She's vaccinated. You're vaccinated. I don't think letting her flunk school is the sensible decision here. 

COVID will spread in your local schools with or without you, given their policies. I very much doubt you'll be the one spreading it. Don't feel bad. 

[Innisfree]

2 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

You've had two negative tests. She's vaccinated. You're vaccinated. I don't think letting her flunk school is the sensible decision here. 

COVID will spread in your local schools with or without you, given their policies. I very much doubt you'll be the one spreading it. Don't feel bad. 

Yes, this. You have done due diligence. I'd send her to school, given the whole situation.

[Innisfree]

Wanted to add that I hope you feel better soon. 

[TravelingChris]

My dd2 is sick-for almost a week now.  She has had 2 negative tests- quick and PCR, double vaccinated, almost certainly also had COVID in December, and she is going back to urgent care today.  She has been doing  round the clock nebulizer treatments and was put on a steroid dose pack on Saturday but obviously needs more steroids and maybe antibiotics at this point.

[Drama Llama]

57 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I’m trying really hard to be responsible here, but my autistic kid with learning disabilities, in a school district that will not accept someone else’s illness as an excuse, will never recover from missing the first week of school. There’s no virtual option or way to make anything up.  If I keep her home, she’s toast and we forfeit the year.  A week absence means you flunk automatically, and there’s no way for her to make that up. 
 

The whole family is fully vaccinated, in Happy Masks, and has barely left the house in 18 months.  I have tried so hard to do my part.  But I took two negative tests as soon as first symptoms hit, because of this, and they were negative.  I feel terrible, but given school policy and the fact that my autistic 16 year old hasn’t been in any group situations since March 2020, I feel like keeping her home against school policy is also doing the wrong thing.  
 

I have been crying all night.  I don’t know any way to be a good person here.  

You need to send her to school, and not feel guilty. 

Each of us needs to do what we can, without major cost to our family, to keep the virus down.  And then we need to accept that there is still going to be some risk.  You've done everything it's reasonable to expect you to do, and then some more.  The cost of losing a year of education is too great for the very minor chance that a) you're positive despite two negative tests, b) you passed it to your vaccinated kid, c) she passes it to a classmate who is either vaccinated or chose not to be vaccinated and d) that leads to a bad outcome.  

Being a good person about covid doesn't require us to be perfect, or have zero risk.  It requires us to do our best, and avoid as much risk as we reasonably can.  You've done that.  You are a very very very good person.  

[Terabith]

Not so sure the issue is congestion.  I really am not stopped up.  So not sure that's an honest explanation.  

GP has NO appointments for testing.  Going back to urgent care at noon for test.  Sigh.  Was hoping to get it over with early and crawl back into bed.  I feel pretty awful.

[mlktwins]

19 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Not so sure the issue is congestion.  I really am not stopped up.  So not sure that's an honest explanation.  

GP has NO appointments for testing.  Going back to urgent care at noon for test.  Sigh.  Was hoping to get it over with early and crawl back into bed.  I feel pretty awful.

Please get a flu test also.  Lots of flu going round in my part of VA.

[Terabith]

1 minute ago, mlktwins said:

Please get a flu test also.  Lots of flu going round in my part of VA.

I will ask for one.

[Spryte]

Yes, flu is here in my part of VA, too.

Feel better!

[importswim]

I'm glad you're asking for a flu test! I've been tested for Covid a couple of times. The first time I thought I might have it (I didn't) they made sure to test for the flu right after. I just assumed that was something that all doctors did.

I hope that you start feeling better soon and can rest well.

[Bootsie]

I am sorry you are feeling so bad.  A few weeks ago DD felt miserable for almost a week; she never ran fever but was congested, sore throat, headache, and exhausted.  She had 8 COVID tests in 7 days (both antigen and PCR); every one of them was negative.  We were being extra cautious in that I was needing to fly home the next week; so, I had two COVID tests and both were negative.  She has a one bedroom apartment we were sharing.  Most places we had been had been outdoors and we had been together.  She knows no one else that was sick.  I didn't pick up whatever she got from the source she got it and I didn't pick it up from her when we were confined to sharing a small space.  Who knows what she had and where she got it?

[Farrar]

Hugs, Terabith. I think I hate the way this makes us have to constantly weigh risks and make decisions the most of all.

[Terabith]

It does not appear that there’s an option to get a flu test or physical exam with a covid test.  The system is just odd. 

[mommyoffive]

Sending some hugs and hoping you feel better.  I hate the weight of every choice we have to make right now.  It is so stressful and exhausting.  

The school flunking someone who misses a week that is HORRIBLE!!!  My gosh that needs to change in a pandemic and just in normal times when kids get a long sickness.  That is so unfair

[Terabith]

Negative for flu and again for rapid covid. Said sometimes viruses just mess with smell.  So that makes things simpler.  They have me a shot of toradol for the headache and a shot of phenergan for nausea and told me to go to bed.  Hopefully I'll be over this crap by tomorrow.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Terabith

[mommyoffive]

43 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Negative for flu and again for rapid covid. Said sometimes viruses just mess with smell.  So that makes things simpler.  They have me a shot of toradol for the headache and a shot of phenergan for nausea and told me to go to bed.  Hopefully I'll be over this crap by tomorrow.

Good news.  I hope the meds give you some relief.  Rest rest.

[Not_a_Number]

44 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Negative for flu and again for rapid covid. Said sometimes viruses just mess with smell.  So that makes things simpler.  They have me a shot of toradol for the headache and a shot of phenergan for nausea and told me to go to bed.  Hopefully I'll be over this crap by tomorrow.

Get lots of rest. I'm really glad it was all negative. 

[Harriet Vane]

I'm so sorry for your misery, Terabith. And I fully support your decision to keep your kid in school--you've done more than many to be responsible in this situation.

[ktgrok]

are you staying hydrated? That headache may be dehydration from the nausea. 

[ktgrok]

I've lost sense of smell before from sinus infections, and they can cause naseau from the post nasal drip. Sometimes my NOSE is clear, but the sinuses are congested - the pain is in the front of the head and worse if you bend over. Sometimes feels sharp like water up the nose but mostly just headache and pressure in the front of the head, bad taste in the mouth maybe, and nausea from swallowing snot. Once my sense of smell was so gone that I threw away a jar of vapor rub thinking it had "gone bad" since I couldn't smell it at all. Got a new jar - and couldn't smell it either! I mean, I stuck my nose right down in a tub of vapor rub and smelled NOTHING! That was years before covid, so was definitely just a bad sinus infection. 

I also get chills, fatigue, aches from a bad sinus infection. It can be my first clue that I'm getting one, actually. 

What works for me is TONS of fluids - until you slosh. And mucinex. I get the 12 hour tablets so it is easy to remember to take it around the clock. The muxinex plus extra fluids thins the secretions so the body can get them out - you may notice more drainage but that's a good thing. Plus ibuprofen to take down swelling in the sinuses, if your stomach can manage it. Sudafed - the real stuff - if you can. That combo will knock it out mostly, especially if you get antibiotics. 

Hugs. 

(oh, and I think loss of smell can be a bit pyschosomatic - when my son tested positive I kept thinking my sense of smell was lessened, and then alter I'd find myself noticing an odor just fine...it was only when I was thinking about it that I couldn't smell things well)

[Terabith]

No, honestly, I haven't probably been hydrating enough.  Between my belly being a little queasy and the super super sore throat, drinking as been a chore.  I haven't avoided it entirely, but over the weekend, a doctor commented on how "dry" I was.  So definintely making more of an effort there.  

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

No, honestly, I haven't probably been hydrating enough.  Between my belly being a little queasy and the super super sore throat, drinking as been a chore.  I haven't avoided it entirely, but over the weekend, a doctor commented on how "dry" I was.  So definintely making more of an effort there.  

When my throat hurts hot tea feels so good.  Maybe a tea that is good for your stomach would be helpful too.   Hoping you get lots of rest/

[ktgrok]

12 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

When my throat hurts hot tea feels so good.  Maybe a tea that is good for your stomach would be helpful too.   Hoping you get lots of rest/

Agreed. cold hurts terribly, lukewarm I can force down, but hot feels best. It must override the pain nerves, sort of like scratching an itch.