As infections of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — go on to spread around the world, there accept been reports that symptoms, in some respects, are different from those of Delta variant infections. Do symptoms really differ? What should you await out for?

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What do nosotros know about the symptoms of an infection with the Omicron variant? Image credit: Pierre Crom/Getty Images.

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On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of business organization, which became known every bit Omicron.

The variant has caused concern among wellness authorities because it appears to be highly transmissible and likelier to reinfect.

In that location have also been some worries that Omicron can bypass the protection conferred past COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer maintains that three doses of its mRNA vaccine are able to neutralize Omicron in laboratory experiments and that ii doses may still prevent serious illness following infection with this variant.

For these reasons, countries worldwide have been taking various measures and precautions to reduce the spread of Omicron among their populations.

Nevertheless, within a world in constant motion, it may exist impossible to end information technology from spreading altogether. Some cause for optimism may be that various reports advise that infections with this variant tend to cause milder symptoms than those with previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, such every bit Delta.

But how can someone tell if they accept the Omicron infection? Are the symptoms the same as those of infections with previous variants?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the possible symptoms of a SARS-CoV-2 infection without specifying a variant. These are:

  • fever or chills
  • cough
  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • fatigue
  • muscle or body aches
  • headache
  • new loss of taste or smell
  • sore pharynx
  • congestion or runny olfactory organ
  • nausea or vomiting
  • diarrhea

Nevertheless, the CDC notes this list is not exhaustive, and people might experience dissimilar symptoms or combinations of symptoms. Furthermore, anecdotal reports on social media and other platforms claim that more specific combinations of symptoms characterize Omicron infections.

The Zoe COVID Study — conducted by researchers from health science company ZOE and King'south College London in the United Kingdom — uses data from over 4,000,000 participants.

The study's contempo analysis aimed to determine whether there were any differences between the most mutual symptoms of infection with the Delta variant and the most common symptoms of infection with Omicron.

They compared symptoms reported via the Zoe COVID Written report app by U.1000. participants who tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2021, when Delta was ascendant in the U.K., with those who tested positive in December 2021 when Omicron had become the dominant variant.

Preliminary analysis indicated that the most commonly reported symptoms reported in both months were largely the same: a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, and a sore throat.

The findings suggest no potent differences in the most commonly experienced symptoms likely acquired past the two SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Nonetheless, according to this self-reported data, the ZOE scientists also annotation that loss of scent and gustatory modality appear to be less common amidst people recently testing positive for COVID-19.

Medical News Today spoke to Dr. David M. Cutler, family unit dr. at Saint John's Physician Partners in Santa Monica, CA, to detect out more than about doctors' advice regarding symptoms of an Omicron infection.

Dr. Cutler reiterated that symptoms vary and may not stand up out in any detail way, compared to signs of infection with previous variants.

"The diverseness of symptoms seen with Omicron is the same as with other SARS-CoV-2 variants," he said. "It seems quite notable that people affected by the same variant may experience quite different symptoms. Some get nasal stuffiness, others headache, sometimes trunk aches, and others become a sore throat."

However, he noted, "[s]erious lung infections announced to be less likely with Omicron than [with] prior variants."

That may exist because, unlike other variants, Omicron preferentially infects the upper respiratory tract. This may also be why it seems to cause milder symptoms, co-ordinate to WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud.

"We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike the other ones, that could crusade severe pneumonia," he says, though cautions that more studies are necessary to confirm this.

In that location have likewise been some anecdotal reports that lateral flow tests — besides known equally LFTs — may exist less effective at detecting the presence of an Omicron infection.

Such tests, which people can exercise at home, are based on samples taken from a person's nose, throat, or both and are meant to detect certain viral antigens, which indicate the presence of a viral infection.

Co-ordinate to Dr. Cutler, "[l]ateral flow tests are inherently inaccurate [because] [t]hey do not detect low levels of virus equally well as PCR tests."

RT-PCR tests, or PCR for short, are based on samples taken from both a person's olfactory organ and throat. These samples, even so, undergo laboratory testing, which tin reveal whether SARS-CoV-two specific genes are present. PCR tests are more sensitive and generally held as existence more accurate.

Testing for genetic markers can also reveal, more specifically, the SARS-CoV-2 variant.

Some health agencies, such as the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA), accept nevertheless declared that, when used correctly, LFTs should detect infections with any SARS-CoV-2 variant in most cases.

A laboratory evaluation of lateral flow devices currently in employ in the U.Chiliad past the UKHSA besides suggests that LFTs detect Omicron every bit finer equally previous variants.

What happens if you get infected with the Omicron variant, and symptoms are balmy enough not to crave hospitalized care? How can yous care for a mild infection at domicile?

"There are no specific home non-prescription drug remedies for preventing or treating [COVID-19]," Dr. Cutler noted.

The all-time remedies are similar to those you might use to care for mild influenza symptoms or a common cold:

"Recommended handling is directed at the symptoms: stay hydrated, rested, and well-nourished. Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to salve headache, body aches, or fever. Avoid unproven remedies like hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, zinc, and vitamin D, which have no known value and can cause agin effects."

– Dr. David One thousand. Cutler

As they say, though, prevention is meliorate than cure, so taking measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones from becoming infected with Omicron or whatever other SARS-CoV-ii variant is the best approach.

"The all-time method to prevent infection with any SARS-CoV-2 variant is a multiple technique approach," explained Dr. Cutler. "I like to call this a 'Swiss cheese' approach."

"[J]ust like you need multiple layers of Swiss cheese so that you lot tin't see whatever ham through the cheese holes in a sandwich, yous need multiple types of protection to prevent [COVID-19]. No one protective technique is 100% effective. Vaccines, masks, distancing, ventilation, and avoiding ill or unvaccinated people are all important and effective to prevent you from getting [an] infection. And isolating when you are infected is critical in preventing you from spreading [the virus] to others."

– David M. Cutler

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