It’s that time of year! People spread holiday cheer and germs, leading to ailments such as COVID, flu, RSV, norovirus, and more. But how long are you contagious?
Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, Children’s Medical Center Plano director of infection prevention and control, is already seeing upticks in RSV, COVID and flu in her area, she told CBS News.
And a wave of COVID infections at the end of winter also seems likely. COVID-19 surveillance data indicates the winter wave is starting later than in previous seasons, where average peaks were in December or January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fortunately, there are tactics to avoid illness, such as social distancing, hand washing, and vaccination.
But if you do end up having something, here’s what you want to know to keep being the rest this holiday season.
People with COVID-19 can be contagious a day or two before and up to 8 to 10 days after symptoms begin, according to the CDC.
“Most transmission appears to occur in the early periods of infection, that is, one to two days before the onset of symptoms and in the first few days after the onset of symptoms,” their website notes.
COVID symptoms in 2024 would likely vary depending on vaccination status, but would possibly include:
Still, it’s vital to get tested, not self-diagnosed, experts say.
“If you have symptoms of a cough or a sore throat or a runny nose, whatever it is, I can’t tell you if it’s a cold, if it’s walking pneumonia, if it’s COVID or the flu. You want to get tested. ” Dr. Celine Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and KFF Health News public fitness editor, said recently on “CBS Mornings. “
Other asymptomatic people can also spread the virus.
So how do you know when you should be with other people? You no longer want to wait for a negative test. Instead, the CDC shared simplified rules for when to end isolation after contracting the virus: no fever for 24 hours and symptoms improved.
“Once the user has been fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications like ibuprofen, they deserve to be out of danger. . . but their respiratory symptoms also deserve to improve,” García Carreño said. Training
After this time, you can start going out, but it’s a good idea to take precautions to keep others safe.
“For example, stay socially away from others and, if possible, wear a mask. This is recommended for five more days,” he said.
In addition to COVID, these guidelines also apply to other respiratory infections, including flu and RSV, Garcia Carreno said.
In highly inflamed people, flu viruses can be detected one day before symptoms appear and up to five to seven days after getting sick, according to the CDC.
“People with the flu are most contagious during the first three days of their illness. Some other people, especially young people and others with weakened immune systems, could be contagious for longer periods of time,” the flu online page states. ‘agency.
Updated CDC rules apply here, meaning you can return to normal after 24 hours without fever without medication and your symptoms have improved.
García Carreño said that the use of medications such as Tamiflu also does not replace deadlines.
“The use of antivirals will not contribute to the spread of the disease,” he said.
While antiviral medications can relieve symptoms, other people still manage fever and symptoms based on updated CDC guidelines.
People with stomach flu, also known as viral gastroenteritis or norovirus, often get worse in 1 to 3 days; however, they can still spread the virus to others for days afterward, and the virus can remain on surfaces and continue to spread. infecting other people for weeks.
“You can still spread norovirus for 2 weeks or more after you feel better,” the CDC says.
Norovirus is a gastrointestinal virus, a respiratory virus like the other diseases we find at this time of year, García Carreño explained.
“It’s also very contagious, but it’s more contagious via vomiting and diarrhea, so it’s through fecal (and) oral (transmission),” she said. “So hand-washing is really important, and it’s important to say that usually we need bleach products for norovirus to be inactivated.”
Norovirus cases are expanding in parts of the United States this winter, according to CDC data.
If there is norovirus at home, García Carreño advises sterilizing or decontaminating the toilet used by that person.
In addition to washing your hands in case of illness, it’s also a smart idea to share cups and utensils with other people to avoid gastrointestinal and respiratory viruses, he said.
People with RSV are regularly contagious for 3 to 8 days, according to the CDC. They would possibly also contagious a day or two before they get started appearing symptoms.
“Some infants and people with weakened immune systems can continue to spread the virus for 4 weeks or longer, even after they stop showing symptoms,” the agency notes.
The same CDC guidelines for COVID and flu also apply to RSV — people can end isolation after being fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicines and have improved symptoms.
Generally, the rule that applies to other respiratory viruses is also used for bacterial pneumonia, García Carreño said, meaning that once a user is fever-free for 24 hours and sees an improvement in symptoms, they won’t be as contagious.
“Also, in most of these pneumonias, you are not contagious after 24 hours of antibiotics. So once 24 hours of effective or adequate antibiotics have been administered. . . contagiousness will decrease,” he said.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, contagion is maximum when symptoms are worse, which are the first 3 days.
But the disease can still persist beyond this period.
“It can be contagious for up to two weeks, or even contagious without blood one or two days before presenting symptoms,” the clinic reads.
The classic bloodless virus is rhinovirus, and the same rules will apply to rhinovirus (as to other respiratory viruses),” said García Carreño, although he warned that rhinovirus is “one of the most contagious viruses,” although its symptoms are milder.