Coronavirus symptom explained: How to identify a COVID-19 sore throat

From a common cold to a flu, a sore throat could indicate different illnesses. It is also one of the many potential symptoms of COVID-19 - a disease caused by the SARs-CoV-2 virus. The UK's ZOE symptoms study app has declared sore throat as one of the leading symptoms of COVID's Omicron variant along with a headache, runny nose, sneezing and fatigue. But as easy as it may seem, spotting and identifying a COVID-induced sore throat may be quite challenging...

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Does a COVID sore throat feel different from a sore throat caused by other illnesses? Well, there's no evidence to answer that. However, a sore throat usually feels dry, painful and scratchy and one may sense thickness in the throat, especially when they try to swallow something. It may also be accompanied by redness and inflammation in the back of the throat, which could cause distress and discomfort.

COVID-19 and the flu are respiratory viruses that have a somewhat similar effect on the body, leading to symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and more. They may differ in their degree of risks and severity but are transmitted through aerosol droplets or smaller virus particles, causing infections in the respiratory route either directly by contact or through contaminated surfaces.

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One way to differentiate between the two infections is to note how efficiently they spread from one person to another. Experts believe the SARs-CoV-2 virus spreads more easily and more quickly than the flu and causes more serious illnesses in some people.

Apart from that, while some flu and COVID symptoms may overlap, there are some symptoms like shortness of breath, loss of sense of smell or taste that act as primary differentiators. They can occur with a COVID-19 infection, but not in the case of a flu infection. Similarly, headaches, nausea are less prevalent in COVID-19, but are classic symptoms of the flu.

According to a 2021 survey study, compared with other symptoms, a sore throat had an earlier onset, meaning it occurs before most of the prominent symptoms of the virus. Since respiratory viruses are inhaled, which means they enter through the nose and the throat, it only makes sense that the virus affects the upper respiratory tract first.

The ZOE symptoms app also says that sore throat represents an "early" sign of COVID-19. Infected patients “usually” experience this symptom in the first week of illness and can improve “quite quickly”.

“It feels worse on the first day of infection but gets better on each following day,” officials state.

App users have said that their COVID sore throat also feels like a sore throat they experienced from a cold of a laryngitis. They say that the symptoms are not very severe, but "relatively mild".

According to the symptoms study app, a sore throat from COVID usually lasts for no more than five days. However, some complained of experiencing the symptom for up to a week.

The experts believe if the symptoms persist longer than a week's period, it could be a sign of something more serious like a bacterial infection. In such a scenario, experts advise contacting the doctor for treatment.

Apart from a sore throat, common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

Fever or chills

Cough

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

At the end of the day, if you're unsure about your condition, the best way to find out is by getting yourself tested through a rapid antigen test or an RT PCR COVID test.