The 20 main symptoms of Omicron – and how long they’re likely to affect you

People checking for signs of covid may well be looking to see if they have a fever and cough.

But while they were likely to feature in the early variants of the virus, it’s a totally different story for those with omicron.

Experts have identified 20 main symptoms of the strain along with how they are likely to be with you, reports The Mirror.

The ZOE Covid Study looks at data from more than 4.7 million public users to track information about the virus from symptoms to where it is most prevalent.

And because it’s the largest coronavirus reporting community around the world, that means the details it collects are likely to be very accurate.

According to the app, the five main symptoms are still very similar to the common cold: runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and sore throat.

But there are a whole host of others, from a hoarse voice to loss of appetite and feeling miserable.

There are many others as well, but these were the most reported in the study.

On top of that, the symptoms seem to have come on faster than Delta, with a shorter incubation period as well, developing within two to five days of exposure to the virus.

Professor Tim Spector, who worked on the study, said: “Over 50% of people with a cold-like symptom have PCR proven covid.

“It will be interesting to see if that changes when schools reopen.

“It shows that restrictions, social distancing, possibly mask-wearing had a bigger effect on colds and flu than omicron, which is even better at infecting us.

“This suggests that these symptoms are of shorter duration than Delta’s.

“People have symptoms for a shorter period, especially in the first week.

“If people test negative with lateral flow tests at the end of those five days, because the whole period of this infection and it seems to heal faster.”

The 20 main symptoms of omicron:

Headache

Runny nose

Tired

To sneeze

Sore throat

Persistent cough

Hoarsely

Other

Chills or shivers

Fever

Dizzy

brain fog

Altered odor

eye pain

Unusual muscle pain

Skipped meals

Loss of smell

Chest pain

Swollen glands

Feel bad

It comes as early data appears to point to a peak in the omicron wave, as cases continue to drop day by day.

The lag between catching covid and going to hospital and then back to intensive care means that hospitalizations continue to rise, but there is hope that the country has come through the worst.

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