The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now warns there may be more symptoms associated with the coronavirus than first thought.
The CDC updated its website to include six new symptoms. They include:
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
Those symptoms are in addition to the original warning signs: fever, cough and shortness of breath, which have been updated to include difficulty breathing as well.
“In addition to fever, cough, shortness of breath, things like headaches, sore throat, muscle aches, those are really things that we have seen with coronavirus disease,” said Dr. Ben Singer, a pulmonary and critical care specialist on the front lines at Northwestern Medicine.
“We've been saying all along that the symptoms between coronavirus disease and what people think of as the flu overlap to a large degree,” Dr. Singer said.
Dr. Singer said expanding the symptoms is appropriate and will likely open up testing to more people who are feeling sick, but he hopes people won’t rush to testing sites without calling their doctor first.
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“Calling your doctor with concerning symptoms is always a good first step to find out what the next steps are,” Dr. Singer said.
For the first time, the CDC also spells out when you should seek medical attention immediately. Those symptoms include:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- Bluish lips or face
- New Confusion or inability to arouse
“If you have confusion, or if you have what we call cyanosis, like a bluish color to your lips or fingers, those are what we would call severe or highly concerning symptoms,” Dr. Singer said.
