The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now added six new symptoms to its list for the coronavirus.
They include muscle pain, headache, sore throat, chills, shaking accompanied with chills, and loss of smell/taste.
These symptoms have been added to the pre-existing list of fever, cough, and shortness of breath that could indicate contraction of the virus. Shortness of breath had since been modified by the CDC to “shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.”
While showing any of the aforementioned symptoms does not provide definitive evidence for having COVID-19, they have been used as guidelines to help medical practitioners and the public catch the signs.
COVID-19 patients may experience a wide range of other issues, but the evidence supporting those remains anecdotal. Symptoms typically appear between 2 and 14 days after virus exposure, and studies reflect that patients may actually be most infectious prior to ever showing symptoms.
There have been sporadic cases of gastrointestinal issues reported as well as a recent phenomenon known as “COVID toes“ in which children and young adults develop blue or purple lesions on the feet and toes.
This newly-modified, more extensive list may especially prove to be helpful since the number of test kits available is limited, and people are required to show symptoms prior to testing.
While the virus has proven to be both highly contagious and in some cases deadly, most people who are infected will be asymptomatic or display only mild symptoms.
The CDC advises you to “seek medical attention immediately” for continued pressure or pain on the chest, difficulty breathing, bluish face or lips, or a new “confusion or inability to arouse.”
