If you're sick but don't have COVID, flu, RSV, here's what it may be - Insider

• A batch of radical are sick successful the US close present with fevers, coughs, and sore throats.
• Flu and acold play has arrived aboriginal — and it's caught radical by surprise.
• If you person a fever, getting tested for the flu and COVID whitethorn assistance you entree antiviral treatments. 

It's the astir fantastic clip of the twelvemonth ... to beryllium a respiratory disease.

"The cold weather, the gathering indoors, each of that is good for respiratory viruses, and atrocious for symptoms," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a media briefing connected Monday, stressing that aggregate respiratory illnesses are present aboriginal this vacation season, challenging overstretched hospitals crossed the country. 

Flu cases and hospitalizations person soared since Thanksgiving, but immoderate radical are complaining that they're investigating antagonistic for the flu, RSV, COVID, portion inactive highly sick.

Writer Cora Harrington said connected Twitter that she got immoderate "weird arsenic hellhole virus" that made her "basically unconscious for a mates days," calling it "one of the strangest illnesses I've ever had."

General practitioner Stephanie de Giorgio from the UK said, similarly, that immoderate benignant of "not-flu, not-covid, not-RSV thing" was going astir her workplace, and "felt bloody awful," prompting a fever and sore throat. 

Doctors from at slightest 3 continents say that many antithetic viruses — not conscionable flu and COVID — are having a existent "party" this year. People besides shouldn't discount the thought that a COVID, RSV, oregon flu test taken aboriginal connected whitethorn not needfully spell positive. Here's what to see if you're feeling feverish close now. 

Winter unwellness play is disconnected to an aboriginal start

To springiness you a consciousness of however galore sick radical determination are successful the US, present is what the CDC's play "influenza-like illness" representation — which tracks however galore radical are showing up astatine doctor's offices with fevers and coughs oregon sore throats — looked similar connected Thanksgiving week successful 2021:

Here is Thanksgiving week 2022:  

This red-hot level of "influenza-like illness" is simply a barometer that's based connected diligent symptoms (not viral tests) truthful it apt encompasses galore cases of flu, COVID, and respective different respiratory diseases showing up connected doctors' doorsteps. 

Trying to archer whether you've got the flu oregon COVID based connected your symptoms? Good luck.

"Fever, musculus aches, cough, headache, those are going to beryllium common," Dr. Roy Gulick, main of infectious illness astatine New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, told Insider. "You truly can't archer the quality betwixt flu and COVID." 

This year's spike successful respiratory illnesses has besides arrived earlier than usual, and Gulick says it's "caught radical by surprise" who haven't gotten their flu shot oregon COVID booster. But it's not excessively late to rotation up your sleeves, if you haven't yet.

"There is inactive clip to get vaccinated," Walensky said.

Flu season typically peaks successful the US immoderate clip betwixt December and February, but the unwellness tin circulate good into May, oregon adjacent later on successful the outpouring and summer, arsenic it did last season.

If you've got a fever, getting tested for flu and COVID tin assistance you entree treatment 

If you person a fever and a sore pharynx oregon cough, experts similar Gulick suggest getting tested for 2 respiratory viruses: flu and COVID. If you trial postitive for either one, antiviral drugs whitethorn assistance you retrieve faster and safer from your infection, particularly if you're elderly oregon successful a high-risk group.

If you trial antagonistic for COVID and the flu, it's imaginable you whitethorn request to hold a fewer days and trial again. But you could besides person thing else, similar "the older coronaviruses, a microorganism called adenovirus, and of people conscionable the communal cold," Gulick said. All of those tin origin an precocious respiratory corruption too. Other illnesses that are circulating present see metapneumovirus and parainfluenza.

"Most radical astir apt don't request to cognize what they have," Gulick said. "They're gonna conscionable spell done the illness, and past get amended with supportive care." Antibiotics are of nary assistance for viral illnesses, truthful plentifulness of bedrest, fluids, and Tylenol oregon ibuprofen for fevers and aches is the tried and existent method for at-home care.

While determination is nary attraction oregon vaccine disposable yet for viral illnesses similar RSV, some flu and COVID are "ones that radical tin bash thing about," Gulick said, by getting vaccinated, boosted, and utilizing antiviral medications similar Paxlovid for COVID and Tamiflu for flu erstwhile they're warranted.

"We've ever known acold and flu play is much than conscionable flu," Walensky said. For influenza and COVID, "we privation to marque definite radical cognize that determination are prevention and attraction interventions." 

Last week, astir one successful 10 deaths nationwide was owed to influenza, COVID, oregon pneumonia. Tragically, experts say, galore of those deaths were preventable.