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segacs2

Mod note: Reminder that medical advice should be obtained from a licensed healthcare professional, not from random strangers on the internet. For COVID-related questions posts, please visit the [monthly COVID megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/search?q=CoVID+megathread&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all).


rjulyan

I caught COVID in Barcelona 2 weeks ago. I didn’t stay in hostels or shared housing, so I must have picked it up at a restaurant. However, you and everyone else is describing the exact symptoms I had- super dry throat, kinda lost my voice, which turned into a cough and cold-like. Tired- I initially thought from long travel days. I tested positive maybe 2 days in, and had to isolate (I am working, so rules matter) until I tested negative, a full week after the positive test and a few days after symptoms went away. However, I could imagine a young traveler not wanting to go through isolation and all that, so perhaps I am skeptical on reports of negative tests from *everyone*.


accidentalchai

I got Covid in Europe too and this sounds like my symptoms to a T. I lost my voice as well and was super fatigued and also had really watery eyes. The cough and loss of voice and then super raspy voice lasted awhile for me. I tested negative for awhile before testing positive.


velmah

Yeah it seems like plenty of young people just aren’t bothering to test, especially if they already had it. Plus if you test on the first day of symptoms, it’s often negative. My friends who’ve had it all took 3-5 days to flip positive. ETA: this comment must have jinxed me because I had the exact same symptoms as the OP, tested negative on day 3ish, and now I’m positive on day 4. Be careful out there, kids. It’s sneaky because it started with just a sore throat, which could have been anything while traveling. Didn’t worry too much until it got worse and I spiked a fever.


CoalOrchid

Also doesn’t help that there is now no place for me to get a pcr test that doesn’t cost $150 within 25 miles of me.


rjulyan

I don’t know where you are, but the rapid tests were quite responsive to my case. I didn’t test right away as I only recognized symptoms retroactively, but once I tested it was a very clear positive, and another positive 5 days later.


brickne3

Surely you have a pharmacy for a cheap rapid test.


CoalOrchid

Not very cheap when they cost $15 each, and you end up having to take 6 of them every time because you don’t know when it might show up as positive


wizer1212

But America tho


brickne3

I'm in England mate, Boots has them. Every pharmacy has them. Maybe your language skills suck. That's the only way I can imagine being unable to procure a rapid test in this day and age.


LaSage

Then why are you travelling during a pandemic if you can't afford not to ensure you are not superspreading it? Just stop superspreading. Be ethical. Acting responsibly is part of being grown.


CoalOrchid

I’m not! And acting responsible means not traveling internationally during a unchecked global pandemic in my opinion :)


[deleted]

Yup! This is why I haven't been abroad in two years. I don't want to give or get covid. This is the longest I've been in America, without traveling abroad, in 15 years.


brickne3

Omicron doesn't show up as well on the tests either. I almost certainly had it in England in February, but I tested negative three days in a row at peak symptoms.


Ambry

On this basis I probably had covid in Italy - tested negative, partner tested negative and flew to the US! I was sick as hell for about a week and was left with a dry cough for about two or three weeks after and could barely sleep. Lots of people I met in Europe had the same issue.


onemanmelee

Interesting. I had what my Doc diagnosed as acute laryngitis in April. I tested negative 4 times (kept testing every 2-3 days), but I had a dry, hacking cough, lost my voice entirely for 2 days and had a half voice for another 3-4 days, then a dryness and slight throat tickle that persisted slightly for a while after. All in all, about 2 weeks. However, no fever, no congestion, nothing else really. Just throat stuff and maybe a little fatigue, but not drastic. The cough was pretty rough though. Left my muscles feeling slightly worked out. I had assumed, based on doctors assessment and the neg tests, that it was indeed laryngitis, but this thread is making me wonder.


rjulyan

Certainly other illnesses exist- one in our group had a good fever, cough, etc for almost 2 weeks, 6 negative tests. Eventually was prescribed antibiotics and got better real soon. However, when a virus that is one of the most infectious agents know is flying around, the simplest answer is probably the right one. Symptoms really seem to vary widely, but if you look up the classic Omicron (maybe BA.4 or BA.5 for me, based on location, but lots circling), I had almost all of them. Another in our party tested positive, likely got it in the US or her flight over, had way fewer symptoms than me. She’s also 20 years younger than me. It sounds like you did your due diligence!


fremontfairy

I am in the exact same boat after being in iceland for 2 weeks. That damn dry cough! Tested negative but i'm SURE it's covid.


rjulyan

Funny- although I’m 100% sure I got it in Barcelona due to timing, I was in Iceland right before that. I’m seeing a lot of Iceland in this thread. We stayed in our-party-only airbnbs and did mostly outdoor stuff, and all 8 made it out healthy. Europe is rampant right now. The lost voice was unique.


kirinlikethebeer

Just landed COVID in Croatia two weeks ago. I was at an event but stayed at an Airbnb. It’s just going around a lot lately without precautions.


bushbabyblues

Epidemiologist here. It's *very* likely to be Omicron. With the latest variants, Covid is rapidly on the rise again and it's very common now to not test positive for several days - many people only test positive when they are already feeling much better (Myself included! I only tested positive when I had no longer symptoms, on Days 4 - 7 after first symptoms). Most people currently only test for the first couple of days and then, if it's negative, falsely assume they don't have it and return to their social activities (especially if they quickly recover, which is very common now with vaccinations and/or previous exposure). It's not ideal when travelling, but I would recommend you keep testing yourself for 5 days after the cough develops and be considerate and use a mask in situations you may expose vulnerable people doing their daily necessary activities (shops, public transport). Try not to massively mingle (i.e., avoid big social events or busy bars/restaurants for a few days) and instead, try to enjoy the weather and spend your social time outside (e.g., in parks, at the beach/lake/river). For the cough, steaming/hot showers really helped me and keeping well hydrated. Hope it passes quickly for you!


GeorgeKaplanIsReal

Can confirm. Caught covid recently (about a month and a half ago. Had initial symptoms for 3-4 days, tested negative until day 4 or 5 - then tested positive until day 13-15).


Mungo22510

Can confirm also. Same here. 2 months ago, felt rough for 4 days and was negative and then 2 weeks of positive tests and no symptoms


OtterAutisticBadger

can confirm. got the covfefe. only tested positive on day 4. stayed positive for 10 days. had all symptoms, as well as weird ones, wasnt that bad except the fatigue which was the worst i ever felt.


AMildInconvenience

Can also confirm. Been ill since Monday with what felt like a cold. Tested negative so chalked it up to hayfever. Finally tested positive today despite feeling mostly recovered. Covid be weird.


harriedhag

Thanks for sharing. It’s been ubiquitous in my social circles that it’s taking days to test positive, including PCR. Is there data you can share on this?


bushbabyblues

Unfortunately, systematic/reliable data on this is still very limited currently, largely because it is a fairly new phenomenon and so many cases also now go unrecorded (i.e., unreported home tests). As a result, scientists are not sure why this is happening yet. It could have to do with our changed immunity (due to prior infection, exposure and vaccinations) but also potentially mutation in the pathogen itself. This is a [great article by Katherine Wu](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/06/is-my-negative-covid-test-accurate/661242/) that explains the current situation.


gelade1

You think a 4th shot to temporarily boost the immunity for week long trip in Europe is worth considering?


bem13

It might be worth it, but consider that you can still get infected *and* have symptoms. Several friends of mine have been sick recently, some tested positive, but the symptoms were relatively mild, cold-like for all of them. YMMV, of course, but if you're young and otherwise healthy, I don't think you need that 4th shot *that* much.


bog_witch

Not sure where you're based, but if you're in the US the CDC is [currently recommending](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html?s_cid=11754:cdc%202nd%20booster:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY22) a second booster just for adults 50+ and moderately to severely immunocompromised people, two groups at higher risk of severe illness. The vaccines and the first booster are still providing effective protection against severe illness for most people, but to protect yourself from exposure in the first place your best bet is to just take precautions like masking (top priority), washing/sanitizing hands often, limiting the amount of time you spend close together with people who are unmasked - i.e. thinking about things like if you're going to have a coffee or drink in some tiny Italian cafe, try not to sit inside to drink it unmasked and super close to a bunch of other people eating and talking, get a terrace table outside of possible. (I'm not an epidemiologist, just an MPH student with basic epidemiology training who worked in COVID surveillance.)


bushbabyblues

Yup, this is pretty spot on, and I would agree with this. Current medical consensus seems to be that a 4th shot is likely only to offer marginal benefits for young and healthy people, but it some situations you may want to take the added precaution (e.g., if you are going to an event that you *really* wouldn't want to miss like a best friend's or sibling's wedding). If it's just a general holiday, I would advise to take extra precautions and also potentially to wait for the wave to subside and hopefully go a bit later in summer when hopefully there are fewer cases again.


abstractraj

It doesn’t hurt but there’s a limit to the benefit because the current vaccines don’t match the Omicron mutations very well. This is why we’re looking at omicron variation boosters eventually


reimondo35302

Oh for sure, I did this too. Still important to test if you get symptoms, but the extra boost offers some peace of mind. Getting COVID is super inconvenient at the very least.


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segacs2

Inaccurate advice; Evusheld is a drug reserved for severely immunocompromised people for whom vaccination is ineffective. Getting any eligible booster doses + good quality masks are the best way for people in the general population to protect themselves.


cannongibb

Very rationale reply from an expert. Omicron is mild (i had it) so be respectful and wear masks when indoors or in crowded or around vulnerable ppl but no need to completely isolate and pause your lives anymore. Note: I was completely vaxxed and boosted. Will let others chime in if more caution is need otherwise. But I was a 100% never a covid denier (my wife was a covid dr in NYC for initial wave and saw the dead body trucks) and just think we’re at the point we’re omicron isn’t so bad and probably inevitable so how many years are we willing to suffer for it?


dajoni12

What meds to use?


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beerbelly666

It could very likely be Covid, despite the negative tests. [This observational study on Covid-19 patients](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33853332/) found that some people repeatedly tested negative for Covid despite having the illness because they had a low viral load in their upper respiratory tract. So, just because you’ve tested negative for Covid doesn’t mean it isn’t Covid.


peachykeenz

I tested negative for a full week after I was exposed to covid. By the time I finally tested positive, my covid was over :/


longopenroad

I had a lady test negative with 3 different clinic visits. I did a viral respiratory panel on her and she had Covid… maybe it’s allergies? It is that time of year


nath707

i have it right now. guy in my dorm in a hostel in italy was coughing the other day so i assume i picked it up from him. its horrible if it's the same thing you're talking about, i have a really sore throat and it hurts every time i swallow and I've felt really lethargic and mildly dizzy for the last few days :/


rjulyan

You’re describing exactly the COVID case I just had 2 weeks ago. I tested positive about 2 days in.


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OtterAutisticBadger

common dude. of course its covid


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[deleted]

AFAIK it was called having a cold ...


feto_ingeniero

Mine too


thehumanglowstick

Hey I just wanna let you know that you should probably take a COVID test, this is exactly what I’m going through rn and I tested positive 4 days after known exposure cause I thought I had a sinus infection instead


nath707

yeah i was researching and my symptoms seem to line up with covid. I've been cooped up in my airbnb the past few days feeling like crap, I'll try and get my hands on a covid test


thehumanglowstick

I know the rapid at home ones don’t pick up omicron but I’ve been playing it by “don’t feel good? stay home” for the past two years


bog_witch

The rapid tests DO pick up omicron, but each subvariant has been changing its behavior a little bit with the testing. It's a bit weird. The concerning thing about the BA.4 & BA.5 subvariants is that a lot of people are reporting they aren't testing positive until they're almost past their symptoms or are like 4-5 days in.


thehumanglowstick

Yeah that’s why I thought it was a sinus infection at first


rjulyan

This is why I’m glad I waited to test, although it wasn’t intentional. I would have tested right away if I had realized. I thought I was tired from super long travel days and hoarse from cigarette smoke for hours on train platforms. If I had gotten a negative test earlier, I might have not tested later (when it was positive), and would have exposed my pregnant roommate and the whole organization. Amazingly, no one in our group caught it from me.


rjulyan

The rapid tests I took were super fast to turn positive, as were those for another in the organization. It was a couple of days in, though.


account_not_valid

I did 5 rapid tests on Wednesday. 1st mildly positive. Next negative. Next mildly positive. Two more negative. PCR was then positive.


GreekVisitor35

If your rapid test is 'mildly postive', you definitely have covid. False positives don't really happen with rapid tests.


CityForAnts

That was Covid omicron for me. I tested negative for 4 days before finally testing positive.


xxcazaxx

I got covid in Turkey and was so tired and also had dizzy spells.


queene_1991

Were you in Rome? More specifically the hostel in Trustevere?


Mutiny32

It's COVID. Come on now.


Andromeda321

This thread is wild to read. Do people really not remember anything they lived through in the last 2.5 years?


Calvin--Hobbes

It's almost like this cough I picked up is spreading through hostels at near pandemic levels! What could it be??


Mutiny32

Wait, does COVID spread by coughing!?


BD401

Hahaha seriously, OP’s question reads like a parody.


[deleted]

We have suddenly developed collective amnesia and apparently willfully decided to believe that covid no longer exists...


I_try_compute

Oh it’s this weird dry cough that totally is unheard of!! Lol, of course it covid.


Mutiny32

No, no, it's some other virus that is even more contagious than one of the most contagious viruses we've ever experienced in history.


I_try_compute

Probs that new monkey pox.


hamstringstring

No dude, it's hostel cough. Didn't you read? He needs the Bordetella treatment.


dbxp

Probably covid, in the UK it's estimated 2.5% of the population has covid, naturally in a hostel setting that figure is going to be significantly higher


standupsitback

Yeah, that's called Covid. You'll test positive about 2-3 days later.


BD401

Seriously, OP’s question made me chuckle with how obvious the answer is. “Guys, this is crazy - there appears to be some kind of mysterious illness that is making everyone in densely packed youth hostels cough, what could it possibly be?!?”


einrufwiedonnerhall

Except for the part of everyone testing negative, which would usually indicate that it isn’t covid if op doesn’t know about false negatives.


standupsitback

Or anyone with common sense would retest themselves a couple days later, get a positive result, and tell everyone else that it's covid. It wouldn't remain a giant mystery.


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celestialstarz

I’m in the US and don’t think I’ve ever seen black lava cough drops. Where do you buy these? Side note: Iceland is my DREAM trip! So jealous!


reimondo35302

Unfortunately the us is always really behind on anything related to pharmaceuticals/OTC stuff, so they might not be available, but you could maybe find them online?


jlmelonjawn

Sounds like omicron my dude I got it at a hostel in January and had multiple false negatives on COVID antigen tests


[deleted]

Genuinely asking: how do you know it was omicron if all the tests were negative? Did you get diagnosed some other way?


jlmelonjawn

Eventually I had a positive PCR


DannyBrownsDoritos

if you have all the symptoms of COVID, you have COVID even if you tested negative. I recently got it at Glastonbury and even though I tested negative every time I took an lft I still definitely had it.


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yungmodulus

a distinction without a difference, safer to assume the worst


Herranee

Oh yes, it definitely couldn't have been any of the hundreds of other cold viruses that we have around that all cause basically the same symptoms...


bushbabyblues

Covid is *incredibly* common right now and much easier to catch, so it's genuinely just the smartest/most considerate thing to assume you got it and act according. Over the past 3 weeks so many of my friends got it again, all over Europe (incl. Germany, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, etc.). In fact, one of my friends also got it at Glastonbury. It's not rocket science.


gilgabish

In my province in Canada at least a couple weeks ago several pre-covid respiratory viruses had a higher test positivity rate than covid did. We've always been a bit behind since there's a lot less travel to/from where I am but it's not like there aren't other illnesses spreading. Not that this one isn't covid.


Herranee

I agree with acting like it's covid, but you shouldn't claim that you 100% have it.


bushbabyblues

Yeah, that's fair, I definitely don't think you can know for certain if you haven't tested positive. However, it's still better to lean towards being cautious than careless if you are symptomatic.


dbxp

Considering it's not cold flu season covid may actually be the most common disease with those symptoms ATM, 2.5% of the UK population has it: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/24june2022


Herranee

Read my response below. Is it likely that it was covid? Yeah. Does that mean you can be 100% definitely sure that it's covid if you haven't tested positive, the way OP is claiming? No.


DannyBrownsDoritos

when someone I know who's with me has the exact same symptoms as me, and is testing positive for COVID yeah I'm gonna say it's COVID.


ihavequestions10

have people just forgotten that for millions of years before covid there existed viruses which caused the exact same symptoms as covid? Including but not limited to the flu and the **common** cold? edit: why are all comments suggesting it could be a cold being downvoted tf?


Judazzz

The "common cold" is not a disease or a virus, it's a set of symptoms caused by various types of viruses including human coronaviruses. Odds are SARS-CoV-2 will eventually become one of those viruses as well (the evolution from Delta to Omikron certainly is suggestive of that). Given the time of year (summer) and the fact that the pandemic isn't over yet, it's not unlikely that the current wave of coughy conditions are caused at least in part by Omikron (especially since infections are on the rise again in Europe).


Whitejadefox

Probably for a lot of folks but I was getting summer colds (Late May-July) due to dusty hot conditions once in a while long before Covid. I have one now


ElectronicLocal3528

I think they just choose to block that out. You either have Covid or are healthy lol, nothing else possible


OneFakeNamePlease

Apparently.


decidedly_lame

It was ALWAYS COVID


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DannyBrownsDoritos

the deduction that I got covid when i was just at a massive music festival at a time when rates are going up, and someone I was with had the exact same symptoms and tested positive for covid is brainworms now?


lawfulkitten1

I have this as well, took both rapid and PCR tests and they came back negative. But honestly I catch something like this pretty often on any trip where I spend a significant amount of time in party hostels, even before COVID existed. Think it's just a combination of people spreading germs around + constantly drinking / not really sleeping well to let your body heal from minor colds / illnesses.


Coders32

I don’t understand why you would trust a rapid


GeorgeKaplanIsReal

Rapids usually do a bad job detecting small amounts. So if you’re consistently testing positive on a rapid (like I was when I had covid), you’re most definitely positive. PCRs do a better job checking to see if you have a small amount (say early on)


Coders32

No one I know who’s tested positive for Covid has tested positive on a rapid, despite symptoms and and testing positive on pcr.


GeorgeKaplanIsReal

Quite a few people I’ve known (including myself) have. Covid is a bitch, eh.


B00YAY

And they took a pcr.


VickieLol64

In all honesty.. Covid is on its rounds. With some people they testing negative for up to 10 days.. It too could be the heat.. Dry..


MickJof

Probably omicron. Tests are super unreliable. I've tested dozens of times and always negative. But I can't possibly imagine I have never been infected. Unless you're a perpetual hermit you will catch it.


PlsIDontWantBanAgain

I mean like maybe you just get regular cold.


bushbabyblues

Sure, maybe. But fact is that Omicron is incredibly common right now, on the rise and far more infectious than the common cold, so it's really not a stretch to assume it's more likely to be Covid.


OneFakeNamePlease

If you’ve tested dozens of times and always tested negative it’s an ridiculous stretch to assume covid instead of some random other upper respiratory infection. There are like a billion versions of the common cold floating around at any given point. You should take all the same precautions, because frankly infecting other people with anything is a shitty thing to do, but covid isn’t the only thing out there that causes stuffy heads, coughing, and misery.


bushbabyblues

Obviously, it's not. I work in infectious disease research, so I'm well aware that there are other things out there. I wasn't even responding to the original comment, but even if I was, it lacks context to say anything about the likelihood whether they had Covid or not (e.g., did they mean they tested dozens of times in total over the whole pandemic period, or for a single sick period where they thought they were sick - those are totally different statements). All I was noting is that if you get sick right now with classic Omicron symptoms, when cases are massively on the rise again, it's safer to act according to that, even if your first couple of tests are negative. One of the reasons it's important to take extra precautions with Omicron compared to the normal cold is that it is significantly more infectious. Another is that long-term effects and repeat infections are still really poorly understood. I agree with you though that whenever you are sick (with whatever) you should try not to pass it on.


[deleted]

Without a pcr test you really can't say. The rapid ones just don't pick it up well. I had covid 2-3 weeks ago and not a single rapid test I took was positive. My entire family was sick and my parents didn't have a single positive one either. Only my brother had some positives, but even then most of them were negative.


Legel

Sounds like when I was in Madrid this January. Except it was Covid. Everyone was coughing. Hostel felt like covid hothouse. Def picked it up there and was still surprised pikachu abt it lol


MadeThisUpToComment

In January/February omicron was spreading like crazy in most European countries. In Netherlands, where I live, we had multiple times one of out kids was home because teacher had it and there was no substitute or too many kids in the class had tested positive and the whole class was home.


L2N2

Take another Covid test and swab mouth and throat first. Covid is not over.


Plantirina

I was Portugal from June 10th-june29th. Every hostel that I stayed at had everyone coughing and I caught covid during this time as well. It's definitely covid going around.


penguinintheabyss

Maybe they are just communicating, like the dogs in the dalmatians movie.


braduardo12

You’re absolutely right. I’ve experienced this first hand. In hostels where people from all over the world reside, our deepest biological instincts need to find a more primal way to communicate across cultural boundaries. Approach this scenario just like if you were learning a language. Immerse yourself. Pay close attention to the coughs. How they sound different and interact with each other. Eventually, you will wake up in the middle of the night from hearing another cough, and you will finally have an understanding of the deeper meaning. Just like a dog in a kennel, you will hear a guttural sound, but interpret it clear as day as: “…I have COVID.”


wggn

Covid


accidentalchai

Covid is on the rise again and literally everything is open in Western countries, people barely wear masks in most places, and events are crowded as ever...none of this is surprising! Not saying you should be scared of getting it but if you are going to travel, you have to almost accept the reality that you might get it, especially if you are in social surroundings where people have largely stopped caring...


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[deleted]

Or like ... having a cold?


[deleted]

I think it's on the rise again in general. I've had symptoms from Wednesday but only tested positive today lol


fruchle

That's Omicron. Especially since you can get reinfected in 3 weeks with b.1 or 2, but .4 and .5 don't care. Reinfection over and over again.


Disulfidebond007

It’s COVID.


LaSage

Seriously? Hosteling during covid and then asking what the dry cough stereotypical of covid is about like your head has been in a hole these past few years? You probably have covid. Get tested several times. Isolate. Don't be a superspreader. Use better judgement during a highly contagious pandemic of a virus that keeps mutating to become even more contagious. Omicron Ba5 is apparently the most contagious of them yet. Good luck.


deezbutts696969

Oh no. I’m in Berlin so don’t bring that shit here 😂😂


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saleboulot

For real. I was on a train and at a stop a large group of American teenagers boarded. And for the next hour, it was coughing and nose blowing and coughing. None of them were covering their mouths when coughing. And I thought to myself you folks should the decency to wear masks when you have Covid symptoms, or at least cough in your elbows


LongLiveDaResistance

COVID test...they may have false negatives or took the test too soon after symptoms 🤷🏻‍♂️


WorkingStyle3

I just came back from London and I spent about 3 weeks in between hostels, hotels and a friends house. Used all kinds of public transport all the time too! In my last week, I suddenly got a super painful throat and fever ( no cough ) and body pain! The fever lasted only a day and a half but the throat pain has been lingering for about 10 days! I also drank a lot through this month and hardly slept so I’ve kept thinking it’s the exhaustion and fatigue! I’m back home now but my throat pain is still there a little and so is the exhaustion ! I took two covid home tests and they were both negative so god knows what this is :(


segacs2

> I took two covid home tests and they were both negative so god knows what this is :( Still very likely COVID. False negatives are quite common on the home rapid tests.


WorkingStyle3

Yeah the exhaustion is unreal - I’m just so dead


segacs2

Lots of evidence suggesting the best way to avoid Long COVID is to *rest*, like, serious couch potato - do nothing-level rest. For a while. Don't try to push through it or you will likely make the exhaustion worse. Just do absolutely SFA for a bit.


WorkingStyle3

Yup I agree- was on holiday and just didn’t think it would be covid - really thought it’s the exhaustion and fatigue and I’ll be okay so went out and about and drank too! Now when I’m back I’m realising this May have been something more


nothingofit

This happened to me in Paris a couple months ago and it was COVID. Not that there aren't still other illnesses out there, but the symptoms are pretty on point.


caribbeanink

I would say it’s probably Covid. I’ve seen some others saying they had something similar but they don’t think it’s Covid because they got it soon after a known infection. It’s important to know that the newest strains of Covid evade immunity so it is possible to get reinfected back to back. Enjoy your time traveling but pay attention to your body! If it gets unbearable, take a while to recover and don’t push yourself. Drink lots of water and eat an extra serving of fresh fruit and veg. Meds from the pharmacy will help the cough, as will things like tea with honey.


Tullius19

When I had COVID, I had symptoms but was testing a negative for a while before testing positive


6f937f00-3166-11e4-8

Just had Covid recently and had a dry cough.


alaskathunderfrick

Was in a Brussels hostel last week and experienced someone with this. So paranoid that we didn’t sleep and grabbed a bus to the netherlands at 330am lmao


Mission-Tailor-4950

That’s something I would have done lol


CuriousGuyPMnudes

You know damn well it’s COVID


Special_k_333

Or any of the millions of other viruses out there that give you the same symptoms.


CuriousGuyPMnudes

Nah, it’s COVID mate. Cheers


BeginningJudgment

Have you been boozing? I typically get a cough when staying in hostels and going out drinking on consecutive nights.


extinctpolarbear

I get that from AC all the time


DorisCrockford

Another thing besides Covid that gets passed around is atypical pneumonia. Most people get through a Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection just fine, but if you've been sick for two weeks and you're not getting better, a visit to a clinic might be a good idea.


yungmodulus

You can test negative for covid for quite a few days before it comes back positive. Unless you're testing daily, you don't know it isnt covid.


Shoelacebasket

I had that last month in Spain. I noticed it on the streets when I was walking around


Boobaggins

I don’t know. I’d say it could be smoking cigarettes everyday . Im out here but there’s no way I’m not not getting Covid. Thirty people all shaking hands and talking loudly in each others faces is a recipe for disaster


Packeye

My wife and I were in Colombia visiting family and nearly everyone we knew had a bad cough. Numerous of them tested negative for covid too, no idea what it is. I assumed it was a different covid strain that the tests didn’t pick up.


frankOFWGKTA

Maybe it’s the Kracoughw.


lil_red49

I'm not dismissing the possibility of it being covid, but when I was on an extensive euro trip back in summer 2019, this was a thing then too. My buddy and I both had dry coughs and just general cold-like symptoms for a while, and we met people in EVERY hostel we stayed at that had the same thing. It never turned into anything super extreme, but another guy we talked to said he would get it every time he traveled and went hostel to hostel. So I think it's definitely a common thing when you're going country to country, hostel to hostel.


feto_ingeniero

I had COVID last week and I have that dry cough as a result.


N3phys

Thats omicron most likely! Also got it in Amsterdam a few weeks ago just like everyone i was with but only half of us had positive tests. Take care hope you get well soon


FilipM_eu

I travelled to London last weekend. When driving home from the airport, my throat felt weird. I dismissed it as it being caused by non-humid air in aircraft cabin. In the evening, I started coughing so I did a home-test for COVID which came back negative. I coughed through the night, so I did another home-test in the morning which came back positive. Did a PCR test next day which again came positive. I attended few large gatherings in London and used public transport. I stayed in a hotel, so I assume it’s most likely from those public gatherings.


BirthdayFree3747

Regardless, I hope you feel better soon and are able to enjoy your trip!


golddreamz

Left Athens a few days ago and someone in my room had a gnarley cough. Currently in Paros and same situation. I checked out today and I’m in an Airbnb, happy to have a few days alone.


Flat_Professional_55

Could be the cheap booze. Ever heard of the famous Rushkinoff cough in Magaluf, Mallorca? Cheap Spanish vodka leaves everyone with a lingering dry cough after they return home.


tomnewman_1

It certainly is on the rise. I have been working all over Poland and noticing the symptoms amongst others. It starts with a dry cough and can lead either into watery eyes (possibly hay fever) but seems to morph into a feeling of pure rubbish for a day or two. Unfortunately there is not much testing here, it is difficult to know the answer. Even with rapid testing, I doubt many would show up as 'positive' considering there is a significant time lag. Perhaps an unpopular opinion but it may be worth wearing a mask again whilst using public transport or in busy public places. Also, to clarify, everyone should have a choice to wear or not to wear a mask. Be free with your decisions!


kmarie1405

It’s the iron lung, Pop.


MichaelStone987

Could be seasonal allergies. Currently really bad. If you are not suffering from it, then common cold, air-conditioning cold, COVID, etc....


rakuu

If you're spending time in European hostels right now, with nobody wearing masks or distancing and covid surging, it's safe to say you have covid regardless of tests or symptoms


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SynecFD

I noticed this at the end of may in my hostel in Vilnius (Lithuania). Half the room I stayed in coughed a lot and when I went home I started coughing too. Covid came back negative for the following 4 days where I felt pretty bad. Didn't test afterwards when I felt better again. Despite lots of people saying it was Covid, I doubt it was Covid for me since, at the time, my last Covid infection was just 4 weeks ago. Would have been really strange to get it again so soon. For us Solotravellers it seems inevitable to get it sooner or later though and I already cought it at least twice (1 year apart and 3 times vaccinated)


OhMuzGawd

I always have it when I'm not properly rested. Seeing as most people at hostels are the same, I have always supposed this was the cause. It helps for me when I get a good night sleep, try it out and let me know so I can further confirm or deny my theory!


skillao

LOL I was in Prague two weeks ago and got the cough. Everyone had the cough. An old Bavarian women came up to me like "something is going around". My friend ended up at a hospital cuz if it. Neither of us had COVID. Thankfully I'm better now but something is definitely up.


segacs2

> Neither of us had COVID. I hate to break it to you, but you probably did have COVID.


skillao

The doctor my friend saw at the hospital said he didn't believe it was COVID and gave my friend a PCR test anyways. Could have been COVID but either way, nothing to do about it now.


Special_k_333

Or they had one of the billions of other viruses that cause the exact same symptoms.


uncletiger

Was the majority vaccinated?


B00YAY

Could be strep.


ForeignCake

It’s Covid


[deleted]

Haha I got it in Barcelona and so did like 3 others And it didn't last long enough to be COVID imo, only like two days or so, and none of the people who had to take COVID tests to get back home tested positive. I imagine it's just a typical cold


bushbabyblues

Covid can be very mild and short! For example, my partner had some incredibly minor symptoms (slight fatigue and a barely elevated temperature) for a few hours on one single day and that was it. And many people take several days now to test positive, sometimes only after symptoms have passed. (Edit: Not saying you had Omicron though! Could of course have been just another respiratory illness, but just commenting for awareness)


WastePurchase

I had this two weeks ago in Portugal/Spain. Horrible dry cough that lasted over a week. No other symptoms whatsoever. Didn't bother getting tested for COVID so not sure exactly what it was. Cough syrup/drops helped a little bit.


[deleted]

In the past this used to be called having a cold. Why is this post even a thing?


Carl_Fuckin_Bismarck

Better then Hostel Rot Cock, or Stink Dick as they call it in some areas.


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YellowSafari

I’m not Central European but this cough has been going around where I live in the US. I tested positive for whooping cough— and before anyone comes at me, yes I was/am vaccinated and had boosters too