5 ms·

The USA currently has nine million active cases. I actually think at this point if you have cold symptoms it may be more likely you have covid than a common col

The USA currently has nine million active cases. I actually think at this point if you have cold symptoms it may be more likely you have covid than a common cold. (Though maybe someone has data in cold cases to clarify the cross over point)

timr 6y ago
> The USA currently has nine million active cases. I actually think at this point if you have cold symptoms it may be more likely you have covid than a common cold. Your intuition is wildly off-base here. Nearly all of us catch at least one cold a year, mostly during the winter months. There are, quite literally, hundreds of millions of colds a year. There's also ~half a dozen viruses in circulation at any given time that cause cold-like symptoms, vs. one for SARS-CoV2.
- vkou 6y ago
  How many colds are you expected to catch on a year where the country is under lockdown, and many people are staying at home, or wearing masks? There aren't great stats for the common cold, but the flu seems to be affecting only a quarter of the people hit by it in a usual year.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  I catch colds roughly 7-8 times per year. It sometimes feels like I have cold symptoms more days than I don’t. I currently have cold symptoms. If I had to isolate every day I had a cough, sore throat, congestion, or sneezing, I’d be under house arrest most of the year. I think it’s vitally important that we have accurate COVID tests that can definitively distinguish a case of the cold from a case of COVID.
  - admax88q 6y ago
    At the end of the day everything is a judgement call. In this case I believe you're an outlier, guidelines are usually structured for the general case. Should you specifically treat every cold like it could be COVID? Maybe not, but should somebody else who gets sick only 1-3 times a year treat every cold like it could be COVID? That seems a lot more reasonable. Not to mention it is wise and courteous to stay home and avoid exposing yourself to lots of people when you are sick regardless of if its COVID or not.
    - calvano915 6y ago
      Not everyone can afford to stay home with minor illness. Not everyone will be employed if they stay home and can't "cover" their days off with measly 40 hrs a year of paid time for such purpose ( if they have any paid time at all). This issue existed long before COVID. COVID is spreading partially due to this issue. Many people have no choice but work to avoid homelessness and/or hunger.
  - disabled 6y ago
    You should be tested for primary immune deficiency, based on the frequency of your colds alone. If you do have primary immunodeficiency, it is treatable with subcutaneous immunoglobulin, in most cases. Either way, it is treatable. I am personally on subcutaneous immunoglobulin for two rare immune-mediated neurological diseases, and I have not had a cold in over 3 years, when I would get them a couple of times per year. It helps tremendously. These are the 10 warning signs of primary immune deficiency in adults: Adults If you have two or more of these signs, speak to your doctor about a possible Primary Immunodeficiency. 1. Two or more new ear infections within 1 year 2. Two or more new sinus infections within 1 year, in the absence of allergy 3. One pneumonia per year for more than 1 year 4. Chronic diarrhea with weight loss 5. Recurrent viral infections (colds, herpes, warts, condyloma) 6. Recurrent need for intravenous antibiotics to clear infections 7. Recurrent, deep abscesses of the skin or internal organs 8. Persistent thrush or fungal infection on skin or elsewhere 9. Infection with normally harmless tuberculosis-like bacteria 10. A family history of Primary Immunodeficiency
- Osmium 6y ago
  That's a fair point, there's some more good discussion on this here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03519-3 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03519-3 For the broader point, regardless whether or not someone is more likely to have a common cold or COVID given the same group of symptoms, I think the point stands that if someone has symptoms consistent with COVID they should proceed as-if they have COVID -- especially given the current case rate in US.
- kadoban 6y ago
  Are you sure? Do nearly all of us catch a cold _this_ year? I know the flu is way down this year due to covid-related behavioral changes. I'd be surprised if common colds are unaffected.
- slg 6y ago
  The steps we are taking to reduce COVID spread also reduce the spread of the cold. I would be absolutely shocked if we don't end up having our lowest impact cold and flu season in decades this year. That isn't to say the grandparent comment is correct, just that you can't really use a comparison from prior years as an indication of how many people will get a cold this year.
  - timr 6y ago
    > The steps we are taking to reduce COVID spread also reduce the spread of the cold. ...and cases are going up, so it's probably safe to assume that there are lots of colds being transmitted, as well. And as I said, there are many cold viruses in circulation, at all times. Even if you believe that "the steps we are taking" are working, you have to assume that they're disproportionately effective for the common cold in order to make the statement the OP was making. Say what you will about SARS-CoV2, but it's more-or-less like any other respiratory virus in terms of transmission characteristics. There's no particular reason to believe that anything we're doing would stop rhinovirus or RSV, but not SARS-CoV2.
    - slg 6y ago
      This doesn't follow at all because you are comparing the current state of laxing COVID precautions to the previous state of near zero cold precautions. For example, tens of millions of people are currently working from home and the workplace is one of the primary places colds spread. If we treated COVID like the cold we would already be on the other side of the pandemic because it would have already ripped through the population and millions would be dead.
      - timr 6y ago
        > This doesn't follow at all because you are comparing the current state of laxing COVID precautions to the previous state of near zero cold precautions. I am not. There are, right now, 5-6 cold viruses in common circulation. There is one SARS-CoV2 virus. Nothing we are doing would be expected to suppress other respiratory viruses, but not this one.
- mxcrossb 6y ago
  Thanks for the response, that’s a good point.

timr 6y ago

> The USA currently has nine million active cases. I actually think at this point if you have cold symptoms it may be more likely you have covid than a common cold. Your intuition is wildly off-base here. Nearly all of us catch at least one cold a year, mostly during the winter months. There are, quite literally, hundreds of millions of colds a year. There's also ~half a dozen viruses in circulation at any given time that cause cold-like symptoms, vs. one for SARS-CoV2.

vkou 6y ago
How many colds are you expected to catch on a year where the country is under lockdown, and many people are staying at home, or wearing masks? There aren't great stats for the common cold, but the flu seems to be affecting only a quarter of the people hit by it in a usual year.
ryandrake 6y ago
I catch colds roughly 7-8 times per year. It sometimes feels like I have cold symptoms more days than I don’t. I currently have cold symptoms. If I had to isolate every day I had a cough, sore throat, congestion, or sneezing, I’d be under house arrest most of the year. I think it’s vitally important that we have accurate COVID tests that can definitively distinguish a case of the cold from a case of COVID.
- admax88q 6y ago
  At the end of the day everything is a judgement call. In this case I believe you're an outlier, guidelines are usually structured for the general case. Should you specifically treat every cold like it could be COVID? Maybe not, but should somebody else who gets sick only 1-3 times a year treat every cold like it could be COVID? That seems a lot more reasonable. Not to mention it is wise and courteous to stay home and avoid exposing yourself to lots of people when you are sick regardless of if its COVID or not.
  - calvano915 6y ago
    Not everyone can afford to stay home with minor illness. Not everyone will be employed if they stay home and can't "cover" their days off with measly 40 hrs a year of paid time for such purpose ( if they have any paid time at all). This issue existed long before COVID. COVID is spreading partially due to this issue. Many people have no choice but work to avoid homelessness and/or hunger.
- disabled 6y ago
  You should be tested for primary immune deficiency, based on the frequency of your colds alone. If you do have primary immunodeficiency, it is treatable with subcutaneous immunoglobulin, in most cases. Either way, it is treatable. I am personally on subcutaneous immunoglobulin for two rare immune-mediated neurological diseases, and I have not had a cold in over 3 years, when I would get them a couple of times per year. It helps tremendously. These are the 10 warning signs of primary immune deficiency in adults: Adults If you have two or more of these signs, speak to your doctor about a possible Primary Immunodeficiency. 1. Two or more new ear infections within 1 year 2. Two or more new sinus infections within 1 year, in the absence of allergy 3. One pneumonia per year for more than 1 year 4. Chronic diarrhea with weight loss 5. Recurrent viral infections (colds, herpes, warts, condyloma) 6. Recurrent need for intravenous antibiotics to clear infections 7. Recurrent, deep abscesses of the skin or internal organs 8. Persistent thrush or fungal infection on skin or elsewhere 9. Infection with normally harmless tuberculosis-like bacteria 10. A family history of Primary Immunodeficiency
Osmium 6y ago
That's a fair point, there's some more good discussion on this here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03519-3 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03519-3 For the broader point, regardless whether or not someone is more likely to have a common cold or COVID given the same group of symptoms, I think the point stands that if someone has symptoms consistent with COVID they should proceed as-if they have COVID -- especially given the current case rate in US.
kadoban 6y ago
Are you sure? Do nearly all of us catch a cold _this_ year? I know the flu is way down this year due to covid-related behavioral changes. I'd be surprised if common colds are unaffected.
slg 6y ago
The steps we are taking to reduce COVID spread also reduce the spread of the cold. I would be absolutely shocked if we don't end up having our lowest impact cold and flu season in decades this year. That isn't to say the grandparent comment is correct, just that you can't really use a comparison from prior years as an indication of how many people will get a cold this year.
- timr 6y ago
  > The steps we are taking to reduce COVID spread also reduce the spread of the cold. ...and cases are going up, so it's probably safe to assume that there are lots of colds being transmitted, as well. And as I said, there are many cold viruses in circulation, at all times. Even if you believe that "the steps we are taking" are working, you have to assume that they're disproportionately effective for the common cold in order to make the statement the OP was making. Say what you will about SARS-CoV2, but it's more-or-less like any other respiratory virus in terms of transmission characteristics. There's no particular reason to believe that anything we're doing would stop rhinovirus or RSV, but not SARS-CoV2.
  - slg 6y ago
    This doesn't follow at all because you are comparing the current state of laxing COVID precautions to the previous state of near zero cold precautions. For example, tens of millions of people are currently working from home and the workplace is one of the primary places colds spread. If we treated COVID like the cold we would already be on the other side of the pandemic because it would have already ripped through the population and millions would be dead.
    - timr 6y ago
      > This doesn't follow at all because you are comparing the current state of laxing COVID precautions to the previous state of near zero cold precautions. I am not. There are, right now, 5-6 cold viruses in common circulation. There is one SARS-CoV2 virus. Nothing we are doing would be expected to suppress other respiratory viruses, but not this one.
mxcrossb 6y ago
Thanks for the response, that’s a good point.