An onset fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, and dry cough may trigger you to take a COVID test. And odds are you’re probably right to do so, as these are telltale signs of the virus. But as we’ve learned with Omicron and, most recently, the FLiRT variants, COVID symptoms aren’t exclusive. With summer COVID cases surging in many U.S. states, doctors are highlighting other small signs that often get overlooked, including gastrointestinal symptoms.
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Since COVID first struck in Dec. 2019, many of us have known the disease to target the respiratory system, including the lungs, throat, nose, and mouth. This is factually accurate and explains why it isn’t unusual for someone to temporarily lose their sense of taste and smell. But COVID-related symptoms can extend far beyond this, according to health experts.
It turns out that stomach pain and nausea, which are often associated with other contagious respiratory illnesses like the flu, can also be indicators of the virus. In fact, Peter Chin-Hong, MD, an infectious disease specialist, told The Seattle Times that COVID could present itself as food poisoning in some patients.
To put it succinctly, COVID is “like throwing a bomb in your body,” Ken Cadwell, PhD, a medicine professor who studies how COVID affects the gut, said in an interview with The Seattle Times.
“You’re going to feel that in multiple different organs, not just the lungs,” he added.
Gastrointestinal symptoms can show up within the first few days of exposure, before respiratory symptoms like a fever or cough. However, the illness may never progress to the lungs or throat for some people. That’s why many patients who only experience abdominal pain “never think of it as COVID,” explained Chin-Hong.
In addition to stomach pain and nausea, gastro symptoms can include loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting.
“Diarrhea caused by COVID-19 tends to be more watery, yellow, or green in color. It may be accompanied by cramping and bloating,” explains the University of Nebraska Health Center.
Gastrointestinal issues are becoming more widespread with new COVID variants than previously reported symptoms like loss of taste and smell. “These digestive symptoms are more common than with earlier waves of the virus,” according to Mayo Clinic.
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One reason for this could be because more and more patients are being prescribed Paxlovid to help fight off COVID. While the antiviral medication can help numb COVID symptoms, one of its main side effects is diarrhea.
Although diarrhea is one of the more unfavorable symptoms of COVID and Paxlovid, the good news is that it can be managed at home.
“Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and watch for symptoms of dehydration [like thirst, dizziness, dark-colored urine, and dry mouth]. You may also find a bland diet [such as plain toast, rice, and bananas] sits better with you. If your diarrhea doesn’t clear up after finishing Paxlovid, reach out to your healthcare provider,” instructs GoodRx.
It’s also important to note that your symptoms can fluctuate with each new wave of COVID. For instance, you may have experienced a terrible cough with Omicron but have stomach pain with the FLiRT variants, Davey Smith, MD, an infectious disease specialist, told The Seattle Times.
