I had a cold last week. It was mild, and I wasn’t coughing or sneezing much. But, after getting negative results from two rapid Covid tests and subsequently spending time with friends and family for Thanksgiving, I totally lost my sense of smell and taste. It was very upsetting, because that’s such a classic Covid symptom. I wouldn’t have left the house at all if I’d thought I had Covid.
I still don’t know if I had Covid. The belief is that the rapid tests will show if you’re super contagious, and it’s possible that I had Covid but wasn’t likely to spread it. In that case, the risk would have been minimal. Or maybe I had Covid and was contagious and breathed it all over everyone in the world. Geez, I hope not. Or maybe I didn’t have Covid, and it was just permanent or semi-permanent damage from my previous case of Covid that made it possible for an ordinary cold to wipe out my sense of smell (that’s my husband’s theory, anyway).
I went for a PCR test today, though, because I would like to be certain at least of whether or not I had Covid, and presumably I’d still test positive on a PCR test at this point if I did have Covid. The thing is, all four of us ultimately got the cold, and we did a total of four rapid tests among us. If the rapid tests can’t detect Covid in 4 out of 4 tries, then I need to know that. I’m a “Got Covid, Stay Home!” kind of girl.