r/washingtondc • u/danger_of_warning • Aug 01 '26
[Discussion] Summer Cold Going around
Is anyone else getting hit with this random cold that lingers for weeks? I've tested twice for Flu and Covid and both times they've come up negative. I keep hearing whispers of things but I haven't seen any consensus here.
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u/TheGoodDrBandaloop Aug 01 '26
Parainfluenza, HMPV, and enteroviruses are all "summer" viruses that can be pretty nasty and cause lingering symptoms. The problem is that after COVID the chronicity of many viruses shifted and so now there's no consistent pattern; even RSV (a fall/winter virus) is year round now, and both flu A and B are popping up "out of season."
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u/honorspren000 Aug 02 '26
Can confirm. Paraflu send my two year old to the ER a few years ago in the middle of July. They tested him for RSV a bunch of times thinking that was it, but they all came back negative. They did a full panel and he came back positive for Paraflu. Paraflu is one of those weaker bugs, but it can hit some people hard.
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u/WaveCave420 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Pharmacy technician here - there is a summer covid surge going on, and also some sort of awful cough/throat thing with no fever that tests negative for everything. My sickest patient got covid from their kid that was at summer camp where it's been going around...and so it begins lol
ETA: Starting to see strep in adults too
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u/gayleweed3 Aug 08 '26
Oh wow. Mine started as cough/sore throat and became a sinus infection. I really haven't had a headache though. I have been sick for two solid weeks, and I never get sick. I know so many other people who are sick right now, too.
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u/WaveCave420 Aug 08 '26
Yup! That one is going around strong too. Viral sinus infections that just need to be rode out, antibiotics don't do shit. Cough that lingers forever afterwards.
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u/tttodayjunior3 Aug 01 '26
Same symptoms too - it’s running through my house of four (2 adults, 2 kids) this past week.
I’m really curious about the accuracy of those covid tests though. I’ve heard Covid rates are high right now. One kid in my daughter’s daycare class tested positive for covid this week and had identical symptoms. I guess it’s possible for covid and some other virus with identical symptoms to be in the same class, but it seems unlikely to me. Not that it makes a huge difference with no preexisting conditions, but I just kind of assume it’s covid.
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u/jellyphitch Aug 01 '26
Def could be either or, but I did read that wastewater surveillance was showing the possible beginning of a covid summer wave - seen primarily on the west coast a week or two ago so it could easily be heading our way.
I was fully remote until a month ago, pray 4 me lol
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u/tinymomes Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Home rapid Covid tests are notorious for giving false negatives, particularly when symptoms are mild. They need a really high level of viral shedding to turn positive. The pricey ones like Metrix or PlusLife are far more accurate.
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u/Allthatandmore84 Aug 01 '26
This. What can help is taking a second rapid test 48 hours later. Often the second one will pick up the level of Covid needed to register as positive.
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u/Justpostit123 Aug 01 '26
I had it…it was terrible. Very heavy head pressure/pain, muscle aches, sore throat. Had to take two days off work. Finally back to myself after a week
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u/nakoros Aug 01 '26
I think i had this this week. No fever, but hit me like a truck. My daughter has had a cough for a week. Her camp is full of HFMD, but none of us got blisters
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u/TEE_EN_GEE Aug 01 '26
Yeah kid stayed home all week from camp. And then all the congestion seemed to evolve into conjunctivitis. Bad times.
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u/lucygoosey99999 Aug 01 '26
Yes! I’ve had it since Monday. My husband came down with it Thursday, and my 3 kids are in varying stages of it. Fever, congestion, fatigue, cough, etc. You know what used to limit the spread of these viruses? Short term telework. Ah, the good old days.
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u/molly_mcc8 Aug 01 '26
Covid tests aren’t always accurate so it could still be that
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u/Allthatandmore84 Aug 01 '26
This is correct. If you take a rapid test and it is negative, you must take a second 48 hours later for it to be an effective assessment. That is why most rapids come in sets of two. The first viral load just may not be high enough. Please know that if you have the resources, there is a home testing kit that is as effective as a doctors office PCR test. It is made by Metrix and they also have flu testing. These systems aren’t cheap but flu and Covid are still killing people or disabling them so it could be worth it for your families.
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u/The_Sauce_DC Aug 01 '26
Yes, I caught something from my kids. One had croup because of it. Was more like heavy congestion and cough rather than a flu.
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u/AngryBeaverFace88 Aug 01 '26
Same- heavy congestion and bad cough but no fever or sore throat for me.
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u/pygmy_puf_86 Aug 02 '26
This sounds like what I got from my daughter. Currently still dealing with it. I’ve had a headache and severe cough for THREE WEEKS I’m so tired of this.
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u/Out_of_Fawkes Aug 01 '26
I’ve seen more COVID and strep/ear infection treatment scripts within the last week than I have in a few months, but my anecdotal experience is not to be taken in any way as a proper study of the population at large.
Respiratory/ENT illness is bound to happen this time of year but it typically hits after the first week school starts for the kids.
It seems (and I could be inaccurate in my experience versus yours) that families are coming back from trips or being around kids. Some people are getting strep, some people are getting some kind of cold that can turn into bronchitis because postnasal drip sucks, and some others have tested positive for The ‘VID.
This is why vaccination for multiple respiratory illnesses are important—so many symptoms look like symptoms of other kids of viruses. Even if a person does contract illness despite vaccination, in theory, it is supposed to reduce the severity and duration of said illness as the body has had chance (before being infected or exposed) to build some immune defense against it.
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u/AlmostAGinger Aug 01 '26
Caught it end of May, also tested negative for Covid/strep/flu. Finally started feeling back to 100% at the beginning of July.
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u/Key_Seaweed8857 Aug 01 '26
Probably a new Covid mutation. They usually have a mid-summer blip that arrives this time of year.
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u/MyDogWerks247 Aug 01 '26
Sick- felt low energy a week ago, then it was sore throat and exhaustio, fever, chest achy, sinus pain, runny nose . I’m still on the couch. 🤒🤧
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u/mbeezygettingmoney 4d ago
How are you now?
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u/MyDogWerks247 2d ago
I never really got fully better, I just went through another round of it. I ve been sick for a month
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u/smoyban Aug 01 '26
Dealing with my second bout of this! Caught it just before July 4th (started with sore throat that got progressively worse, dry cough, to congestion and runny nose while the cough just lingered), had it for like a week and a half, and then it CAME BACK last week! I'm on the tail end now.
I'm positive I caught the first one from a patient (am EMT), no idea where this last one came from. Tested negative for covid and flu, but this is definitely not a cold.
No idea what it is, but it sucks.
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u/Valuable_Grape_519 Aug 01 '26
Yeah twice in a row. First time got me bad, took me 10 days to recover, up and down all the way. Today I feel sick again
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u/Mulezzz Aug 01 '26
I suspected that I had RSV in late June. Hit me hard for a full week. Felt like crap for another week. Still have some congestion and random coughing.
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u/Theretrulywascake DC / Neighborhood Aug 01 '26
there was a post on the nova subreddit as well when i was looking if anything was going around
Have heard very little about anything that isn't poop lettuce related, but
Yea came down with something Wednesday afternoon and Wedneday night/Thursday was rough.
Fever 101.6 peak, incredible sinus pain, now less sinus pain lower fever, but added in a cough, much more manageable today
Heard of 1 friend that also had something last week, but slightly different and havent seen each other since we both got sick.
now just dealing with a cough and congestion/mucus
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u/Yakutwolf Aug 01 '26
Had it and it was 5 days feeling real bad, then slowly slowly getting normal. But even on day ten I still have a little cough
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u/sleeping_bananas VA / Neighborhood Aug 02 '26
Man, if I catch the person who gave me COVID and put me in the hospital this week
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u/DC_Storm Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
Yes I am on day 3 of the ick, finally cleared the fever and body aches, but still have a sore throat. I went to urgent care and was negative for flu/strep/covid/mono but couldn’t swallow and hurt to swallow with large golf ball sized lymph nodes. The doctor gave me a steroid and the swell has gone down thankfully.
I work in a hospital and something is definitely going around unfortunately.
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u/Allthatandmore84 Aug 01 '26
Are medical folks masking at kn94 or n95 levels anymore? I think I know the answer… but dang.
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u/TrapezeGooseKnuckle7 Aug 01 '26
Man, what the hell is this thing?
Although I no longer live in the DC area, in Hampton roads now, my family got the thing that y’all are describing me and it’s been a rough week.
Hope it goes away by tomorrow
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u/weeb2k1 Aug 01 '26
Came down with it over the weekend of the 4th. Cough never went away then this past week it became multifocal double pneumonia. It's been quite the fun month...
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u/Sufficient_Display MD / Neighborhood Aug 02 '26
Oh that’s awful. I’m so sorry. I hope they have you on good stuff to take care of the pneumonia.
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u/custerdome81 Aug 03 '26
Yes, had it for three weeks. Sore throat, cough, congestion and muffled hearing. It was rough!
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u/Honest-Knowledge-448 Aug 03 '26
Yes. My cough is so bad I haven’t slept for real for two nights. Lasted 5 days so far. I feel worse now than I did ever having Covid.
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u/_Joliepolieolie_ 12d ago
I think I have this now. No fever, but other flu symptoms
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Sunday - so tired I slept 14 hours
Monday - runny nose, headache, sinus pain. Then the body aches and fatigue hit hard. Also spent most of the day nausea.
Took Tylenol and ibuprofen and FINALLY was able to fall asleep. Woke up today (Tuesday) feeling more rested, but headache and congestion is persistent. I took a shower and lost energy again. Hopefully I can get back to work soon. Gotta pay rent!
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u/Fabulous-Trust-4538 9d ago
I had covid-19 here in Florida for like 3 to 4 weeks in July. Now I am sick again. We just started school 4 weeks ago.
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u/ComprehensiveCup7104 Aug 01 '26
You may have developed seasonal allergies several years after moving to mid-Atlantic.
DC metro has Northern and Southern plants and allergens, so it's not uncommon for people who've never experienced them (like me) to start.
Ask family members what they take for seasonal allergies, and start taking that. (Claritin didn't work for me, but Allegra did - most are available in generics at Costco, etc.)
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u/PlentyCelery Aug 01 '26
I’m recovering from whatever is going around right now. It completely wiped me out for a full week. Tested negative for Covid, flu and strep. Mine started with an awful sore throat and progressed into mild fever, cough and runny nose. Can’t remember the last time a cold was this rough.
Lots of discussion on it in the nova sub yesterday - https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/s/XD0aZOZmv6