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Health
Sophie Law & Hannah Graham

This is what a coronavirus cough sounds like - and how it's different from an ordinary cough

Not sure if you've got coronavirus symptoms or not?

With Government guidelines advising all those who come down with potential signs of Covid-19 - however mild - to self-isolate, it's important that we all do the right thing if we do fall ill.

But what if you've just got an ordinary cold?

The telltale signs of the new disease are a high temperature and a continuous, dry cough.

To help people identify whether they have become infected, BBC Radio 2 shared an audio clip of what a "coronavirus cough" sounds like, The Daily Record reports.

You can listen above to the BBC's Laura Foster describing the two main symptoms, and how to spot them.

She said: "So how high a fever is a coronavirus one? And what exactly is a continuous dry cough?

"Well, it's when you cough and there's no mucous or phlegm. There's basically no gooey substance in your tissue.

"And this is not the odd cough here or there. It has to be coughing regularly for no other reason, such as clearing your throat or smoking."

The NHS says a continuous cough means coughing for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.

You don't need a thermometer to check temperature - if you feel hot to the touch on your chest or back, you have a high temperature.

GP Dr Sarah Jarvis then clarified some of the points made in Laura's recording.

She said: "[If] you develop symptoms and you live with someone else, you need to self-isolate for seven days, and if after seven days you feel fine again, as long as your temperature is settled and you feel well in yourself, you can actually leave the house after seven days but everyone else you live with needs to stay in for 14 [days].

"And that's because we're looking at what we call incubation versus infectious period.

"So anyone else who comes into contact with you as soon as you start getting the cough, we need to talk about them probably incubating from then.

"And that means they have to add in a median - an average - of five days, up to possibly 11 days onto the time after they develop symptoms, so that would be 14 days in order to be sure that they don't develop symptoms.

"If they then develop symptoms then they would need themselves to self-isolate for another seven days, and the cycle starts again."

It's important to remember that you must self-isolate if you have either a continuous cough or a high temperature - it doesn't have to be both. Do not visit a GP surgery or pharmacy if you develop these symptoms.

From seven days after your symptoms start you can leave the house, the NHS says - so long as you no longer have a high temperature.

It doesn’t matter if you’re still coughing, because a cough can persist for several weeks after the infection is gone. But you must wait until your temperature returns to normal.

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