It had been nice not having a cold for two plus years..

[Retired Engineer Bob]

But alas, the streak has ended. I likely picked it up on our road trip to Maine.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12164194

Stuffed nose, cough, no fever, no loss of smell. Normally this would be no big deal, but I am visiting Mom for three days next week. The last thing I want to do is to pass on Covid to her. So I got tested, SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR, a supposedly accurate rapid test accepted for international travel.

It came back negative. My symptoms are rapidly improving, should be good to go next week.

We are staying at the Lake Geneva Grand Resort and Spa, we have a nice two room suite. I think I will surprise her with flowers and champagne in the room on arrival, we are celebrating her birthday. https://www.grandgeneva.com/about

I was thinking about sending the invoice for the test to TFG, he has a lot of responsibility for prolonging this pandemic. I’m sure he will pay

[Hav]

2. My last cold was in 2019 as well

I'm wondering whether something like a flu shot would be beneficial to train the immune system again because I'm a bit worried that the next cold might hit harder.
But from what you described, it seems the immune system handles 2 years without a cold just fine.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

5. Thanks for the reminder, get my flu shot.

I believe they are now available.

[Maru Kitteh]

3. It's a very accurate (specific and sensitive) test.

Have a great time with your Mom, and hold her close.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

6. Thanks, will do n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. A lot depends on how old you are.

There are a large but finite number of different cold viruses out there, and once you've had one specific one, you will almost never get a cold from that one again.

I'm 73, and I've had perhaps two colds in the last 13 years.

If the young kids aren't getting colds, which they probably aren't so much, it's going to be a longer-term problem for them. Their immune system isn't getting the chance to do what it's supposed to do.

[CTyankee]

8. AND we should be seeing fewer colds anyway because of MASKS!

Nobody points out the obvious in this thread!

I'm one of the few people who like the masks. I have no personal animosity to masks. I even like them because I don't need very much make up in them.

But I'm an old lady. I'd like fewer transmissible illnesses, thank you!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. Well, yes. I thought it was quite clear that

no cold for two years was largely because of masks.

I'm 73, sort of an old lady although I don't behave much like one. However, I faithfully wear a mask in stores, and most other indoor places. I'm fortunate enough to live in northern New Mexico. We have a mask mandate and people are extremely good about wearing a mask. I do see more people with the mask below the nose than I should, which makes me a bit crazy.

Haven't worn any makeup in years, myself.

[CTyankee]

19. Well, I don't wear make up either unless I want to get myself just a bit dolled up (as we once said)

Just a little brown pencil because white eyebrows don't look good, IMO.

[liberal_mama]

7. Were you still wearing a mask when around others? Even though a lot of people aren't wearing them,

I'm still hoping my mask will protect me from getting a cold or worse.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

10. I'll have to admit

I did in most but not all indoor locations. We ate indoors several times.

[Demovictory9]

9. news today said we arent building flu immunity this year..so few have had flu

Heard on radio today

[Retired Engineer Bob]

12. Husband and I will go to Walgreens this Sunday for our flu shot n/t

[Demovictory9]

18. Thats smart

[CTyankee]

20. My flu shot is coming up. Already had my Pfizer booster and Shingles shot...

that Shingles shot knocked me for a loop. Extreme fatigue.

The Pfizer covid booster was a breeze, just like the original 2 shots. Didn't feel a thing...

[roamer65]

11. 2 years without norovirus, aka the "winter vomiting bug".

I hope the trend continues.

[Boxerfan]

13. I'm outside the Portland Oregon area-We have a very bad cold circulating

I got tested also as it has gone into my lungs and is very debilitating. Negative.

I also gave it to my 22 YO daughter & she has a similar case. My poor wife is doing the one legged man in a arse kicking contest taking care of us both.

I'm in a week still sick but over the hump I hope.

[Ms. Toad]

14. You are lucky,

Virtually everyone I know who has been vaccinated who has a "cold," "allergy," or "headache" has actually had COVID.

A "cold" seems to be the most common presentation for those vaccinated against COVID, often accompanied later (~4 day delay) by more fatigue than a cold ordinarily creates & loss of taste/smell.

Good idea to get tested!

[Crunchy Frog]

15. My whole family just went through colds.

Son #1 must have managed to pick it up at school and son #2 caught it from him. They got surprisingly sick from it, and I wonder if that's because of the 18 months of isolation.

Their Grandma caught it from them, and we decided to take them to a pediatric urgent care to get them tested. It was nice because, in addition to the Covid-19 test, they do a whole panel of pretty much any virus that can cause upper respiratory symptoms. It turned out to be a simple rhinovirus.

On the minus side, they were badly understaffed and we had to wait for hours. Fortunately we were able to find our own little bubble to wait in, but we were still worried about exposure. I was the only one who wasn’t sick at that point.

One thing that I learned is that rhinovirus is apparently protective against Covid infection.

A few days later I got sick, and isolated myself until I could get tested at Walgreens, since I could have gotten infected at the clinic. Fortunately I just tested negative, and we're all mostly better.

It was quite an ordeal though. We're all vaxxed too. Grandma and I are both triple vaxxed. Still scary though.

Sorry for the novel. I hope you have a wonderful visit with your mom.

[mvd]

16. I always got one most years

But since masks started, none at all.

Weirdly, I get loss of taste and smell with almost all colds.