Got COVID? Check for This Sequence of Symptoms.

A study recently published in the research journal Frontiers shared that there might be an order to the symptoms seen with COVID-19.

The study was conducted by the University of Southern California and utilized records collected from the World Health Organization in February of 2020 of nearly 56,000 positively tested individuals of COVID-19.

The study was looking at the theory of symptoms' appearances in COVID-19, influenza and other similarly symptomatic results of these viruses.  The study showed that COVID-19 commonly had an order of symptoms that presented themselves in a particular way, most of the time.

The study shared the common symptoms of COVID-19, like other viruses, include fever, cough, body aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  How they commonly present could help you determine whether you should stay put or go to work or school.

For COVID-19, the first group of symptoms can appear in this sequence or all at once:

• Fever
• Cough
• Body aches

The next group of symptoms are the gastrointestinal issues that seem to come later after the initial symptoms of fever, cough, and body aches:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea

The study noted that the order of the gastro issues, first the upper gastro system's response and then the lower gastro system response, seemed to be a somewhat reliable indicator of COVID-19 infection, as opposed to other illnesses such as SARS or MERS.

The study underscores the need for at home temperature taking before going out because this is one of the first indicators for us to self-assess a possible COVID-19 infection and to help stop the spread of this novel virus.