Current Events > those of you who caught covid: was it better or worse than a flu?

(+) Yeah! (+)

in my case the flu was way, way worse, and the last time i had it was when i was much leaner/healthier/active than i am now when i got covid last month

i honestly think it comes down to some vague constellation of genetic factors. my whole family is overweight and unhealthy but covid was closer to a cold than a flu for us (all vaxxed to be fair). my 75 year old unvaccinated diabetic obese aunt caught it and even she was fine. but then i have friends who are like 9% bodyfat and crossfit is their whole life and covid knocked them out for 3 weeks with lingering symptoms >_>

my actual time being sick was basically nothing. mild sore throat and a 99 fever for three days. ive had heart problems ever since, though, and now see a cardiologist.

i got covid in january and have always been an active cross country runner/hiker/general fitness guy. only 23. it really does just seem completely random how some of these cases turn out.

Covid was maybe slightly worse than most flus I've had (though there was one time I got a flu that was really bad, albeit shorter-lived than covid was), but it still wasn't that bad - though note that I am triple-vaccinated against covid. On the other hand, never had a flu shot.

I had swine flu back in 2009 and it was like being hit by a truck with a 40C fever.

Covid got my throat pretty bad, worst throat pain I've had in a while but other than that it was bearable.

Super flu.

I've had worse sicknesses for sheer discomfort, but COVID held on and on.

About the same really. I've had bad allergy days that were worse than both, though 1 of the times I've had the flu it was comparable to those bad allergy days.

That said I had been double vaxxed before I ended up with COVID, so I'm sure that helped keep COVID from being worse than it was.

Bout the same as the flew but the loss of smell
was for sure different

Worse. I had a headache for 2 days that wouldnt go away no matter what I did, basically meaning I couldnt do anything to occupy my time and just had to sit around, bored and in pain. After that it downgraded to just a regular Flu, but those first two days were rough.

It was pretty much nothing. I was sick for like 12 hours.

Worse than most flus, but slightly better than the worst flu I've caught.

I was asymptomatic - only knew I had it because I got tested because there was an outbreak at work, and my father-in-law has pre-existing health conditions so I wanted to reassure him before he came for Christmas.

Ended up having to isolate so no hosting duties on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day, only had to do dinner for me and the missus rather than a load of different people who all have their own picky wants, and having a longer Christmas break from work than planned, and felt fine the whole time.

Worse since it lasted longer and ran my immune system into the ground. Ended up with a black fungus infection on the roof of my mouth that tried to infect my left eye. It ate a hole through the roof of my mouth towards the eye.

I got lucky without going in for antibiotics. Anything close happens again I will walk to the ER if I have to, I got lucky.

Last time I had the flu was swine flu almost 15 years ago. I do remember that being pretty bad but covid fucked me up pretty hard

I haven't had the flu in 20+ years so I don't really have a comparison. Covid wasn't bad; about 1 day of feeling crappy and then several days of doing nothing while I wait to be non-contagious.

Can't remember the last time I had flu. COVID, about three weeks ago, granted me body aches, fever, and fatigue. Not sure if the sinus congestion and drainage came from COVID, but those symptoms came at the same time as the others. Sinus issues still persist.

I can't speak for myself but most of my work colleagues who had Covid a second time said it was a lot worse than the first time. So for them it all depends on which time they were suffering with it.

I thought the vaccine was supposed to make it less severe.

I've never tested positive but when I had the flu I slept for 2 days and drank very little but otherwise felt terrible. Wouldn't like to suffer like that again.

My COVID was mild, I had both shots when I got it. Barely lasted 3 days.

I dont get the flu vaccine and the last time I got it, I was sick pretty bad for a week.

it was less severe than the common cold

(vaxxed + boosted here)

Many times worse than the flu

The flu is way worse but covid lasted about a week longer than the flu would have.

Unvaxxed and no lingering symptoms.

The flu didnt give me ed.

I've never had the flu, but I had common colds that knocked me on my ass worse than when I had Covid.

Granted, I'm double vaxxed and boosted for Covid, and immediately when on Paxlovid when I knew I was positive, so that may have something to do with.

I have had it twice. First time was like the flu, the second time felt like a head cold.

I had typical flu symptoms for about 24 hours(chills, muscle soreness) then it felt like I had a cold for a couple of days. I also would wake up feeling short of breath periodically, which was a little scary, but overall not really a big deal. I had the swine flu back in 2009, that was a way worse experience by far.

I was also vaccinated when I caught COVID fyi

i actually had both recently. my flu had one single day that was worse than covid. i had the worst aches i ever had in my life. could barely move. but after that day, it felt like a regular flu/cold.

my flu like covid symptoms felt pretty regular, but i lost my taste for a little while. really freakin sucked. also i think even after i recovered, my libido was pretty low.

covid worse overall.

I have Covid now and it kicked my ass for 3 days

Had Covid for the first time couple months ago and usually I can power through the Flu like a regular cold, but this one stopped me in my tracks. I actually got nausea from it which was a first and had to sleep for most of 3 days. Then it just disappeared just as fast as it came on the 4th day.

FortuneCookie posted...

Super flu.

I've had worse sicknesses for sheer discomfort, but COVID held on and on.

This. It wasn't so bad but my cough is hanging on about a month later.

I also had one day where I was so congested that it made my face hurt which was the worst. At least that only lasted one day and the sore throat, running nose, etc. were bearable.

I avoided it until a few months ago. Vaccinated+boosted and from what I've read the current strains aren't as serious, just super contagious. I felt like death for a couple days then just had some intense sinus pressure for a week and lost my voice.

Had the flu a few years back and it was about the same but the "felt like death" part lasted a couple more days.

I haven't had it personally, but my mom has it right now & it's basically been the same as the flu.

modena posted...

Ended up with a black fungus infection on the roof of my mouth that tried to infect my left eye.

damn :(. my experience with covid: lesser than the flu (shots lowered its severity). despite my health conditions probably be worse off without it.

did lose my taste/smell for 5 days. had the will to eat but no flavor. even tried walmart cherry dr pepper (tasted like cough syrup). only thing i could tolerate was sour kool-aid.

So, I just tested positive for it today.

Symptoms started Sunday. Minor sore throat, runny nose, congestion and pleghm. No fever or loss of taste/smell. No chills or muscle soreness. So far its no worse than other colds Ive had, and definitely not as bad as flus Ive had.

Flu is dramatically worse for me. Covid had a few hours of fever but otherwise weren't too bad. Flu hits me like a truck. Covid had light symptoms that hung around for like a month though. Once I'm done with the flu it's gone gone

I have never had the flu, but wife has and my symptoms were nowhere near as bad as flu symptoms and lasted only 2 days. Vaxxed and boosted.

I have tested positive 3 times and never had any symptoms except a slightly heavy chest twice for about 3-4 days. But never had any cough or cold or fever or lethargy.

Tested positive back in 2020. Again in delta and Omnicron.

Vaxxed and Boosted only cause my mom was and still is freaking out. Took one for the team. Im a healthy 48 year old.

Stopped testing if exposed about 6 months ago. Im around thousands of people every week so Im constantly exposed.

Covid was worse, and it's lingered longer. Still have leg pains and a persisting cough, long after the rest of the symptoms and the general feeling of being sick has passed.

I had a fever for 3 days and my stomach is fucked up but slowly getting better. This was on Saturday.

I think it averaged out to be about the same. Only had the flu once in my life and it sucked as much as you'd expect. When I had covid, the only real symptom I had was a sore throat, but it was the absolute worst sore throat I've ever had in my life. Felt like swallowing glass. So that one symptom averages out to be as bad as the full flu.

I tested positive for it but had no symptoms whatsoever. So better.

I had it twice, the first time was hell but I never felt like I was going to die or anything. I just felt real crappy and fatigued all the time.

The second time just felt like a minor cold. Though I was vaccinated 3 times at this point lol

It was only as bad as a common cold, but I was vaccinated by that time.

I caught the omicron variant 6 months after my vaccination so the symptoms weren't more than a fever and some sniffles.

My last round with the flu caused me to lose weight during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Covid lasted a shorter timespan than the flu but was more intense for me. I have never had body aches of this magnitude and I couldnt sleep.

Haven't had Covid as an American service worker shockingly enough.

There have been 3+ outbreaks at my store too.

I was the one to mask and distance the longest and was on vacation during the most recent outbreak though.

I have it right now for the first time, it's far better than flu as far as symptoms go. I had a day of low grade fever where I pretty much slept it off and was good after that.

It felt like I was wearing a 50 lb vest on every part of my body

117 people on CE caught covid? Damn thats rough.