Coronavirus symptoms: Can you have COVID-19 without fever?

COVID-19 has few telltale signs, and fever is one of the prominent ones. It is actually one of the initial symptoms a person experiences after getting infected with the contagious virus. It is common in all variants of the coronavirus. As per the revised guideline of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication after five days of its onset is also an indication to end the isolation. But what if you never had a fever? Can you still be infected with the contagious virus?

Fever is our body's natural response to infection. Whenever a foreign agent, like pathogen, enters the body, our immune system tries to identify and destroy it. This process raises the core temperature of the body, which is termed fever in the field of medical science. When the temperature of the body is high, foreign pathogens find it difficult to replicate. The same happens in the case of COVID-19.

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According to a study published in April 2020, about 55.5 per cent of the people infected with the virus develop fever during the initial days. The body temperature may go from moderately to severely high depending on the severity of the condition. The aforementioned study also provides an insight that a substantial number of people with the disease do not develop a fever when infected with the coronavirus. It can be possible in mild and asymptomatic cases. However, this does not mean that your immune system is not working efficiently to destroy the virus. Everyone's immune system works differently.

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COVID-19 affects the upper respiratory system and leads to a range of symptoms. It may be limited to the respiratory system or may not. According to the CDC, the common signs are:

Fever

Chills

Cough

Difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle aches

Headaches

Loss of taste or smell

Runny or congested nose

Sore throat

These signs may appear in any sequence and it is also possible that not every individual experiences all of them. Coronavirus affects everyone differently depending on their exposure to the virus, types of variants, underlying health conditions, sex and age. So, no presumption can be made in regards to the symptoms.

You should isolate yourself immediately if you witness any of the signs of coronavirus. Fever is not a standard sign of the infectious disease. After isolating yourself, you should get tested for confirmation and consult your doctor for further treatment. Apart from this, if you have come in close contact with a person infected with coronavirus then also you must quarantine for a week for the safety of others around you. To cut down the risk of infection, wear the mask all the time, get the booster dose and maintain proper hand hygiene.