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28th November 2023
11:20am GMT
A "brutal" cold that has left people saying it makes them feel worse than the traditional winter bug is sweeping the UK.
The nasty virus contains symptoms such as headaches, blocked noses, coughs and feeling fatigued.
One person recently shared their experience of the illness on Reddit, revealing that it left them feeling unwell for "weeks".
They said: "Just coming off the back end of a brutal cold that's lasted about 3 weeks, during which my sinuses have been almost completely closed, relaxing only for brief periods while also producing mucus at an alarming rate.
"Emerging from my bed this morning, I could breathe through my nose again. I could smell things. It still feels like somebody poured Ready Brek into the back of my face, but it's finally over and life is beautiful again."
Another user commented: "I caught it in October, I was bedridden for days and then spent another week housebound, constantly looking at my phone to see if it had been 4 hours since my last dose of paracetamol. I'm assuming it's a Covid variant that isn't picked up by the tests, it was worse than any winter bug I'd had before 2020.
"Currently on day 5 of it. Feel absolutely lousy. So much mucus it's ridiculous. Already feeling anxious about having to call in sick again tomorrow but I refuse to go back to work until I'm well enough," said a third.
The NHS have since issued some advice if you begin to feel like you're coming down with the cold.
The NHS recommends that you get plenty of rest and sleep, stay hydrated with water, or even fruit juice with water, and gargle salt water to soothe that sore throat.
They added: “If you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people until you feel better.”
They also suggest you speak to a pharmacist about cold and flu medicines such as decongestants and painkillers.
Experts have claimed that people are now struggling to come to terms with common colds due to social distancing measures in previous years which helped prevent colds and flus from spreading.
Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, told ABC News: "All of us have forgotten about what common colds used to be like, and we're getting them now again.”
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