The arrival of Omicron BA4 and BA5 signals that Covid has not disappeared. The strain's latest spin-offs have proved to be more transmissible than their predecessors, and they have led to an explosion of symptomatic cases - and an increase in diarrhoea, The Express reports
That's the insight from data gathered from scores of users to the Zoe Health Study app, which has been monitoring the pandemic. According to the Zoe team, there was a "distinct cluster" of gastrointestinal Covid-19 symptoms reported early on in the pandemic, one of which was diarrhoea.
There was a rise in people reporting gastrointestinal symptoms in the UK through January 2022, the Zoe data shows. Some of this was related to the Omicron wave, "but there also seemed to be a wave of other non-Covid tummy bugs going around too", the Zoe team said.
They noted that diarrhoea is an early sign of Covid, starting on the first day of infection and building in intensity during the first week. They added: "It usually lasts for an average of two to three days, but can last up to seven days in adults."
The data shows the symptom has become less prevalent with each successive variant but it's still common. In the Alpha wave, nearly a third of adults aged over 35 reported experiencing diarrhoea with Covid.
That’s fallen with subsequent variants and vaccination, with up to one in five people experiencing diarrhoea with either Delta or Omicron if they have had either two or three doses of the vaccine. Other symptoms of Covid include headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, sore throat and chest pain.
The symptoms accompanying diarrhoea may therefore provide a greater indicator of Covid than experiencing it in isolation. If you have diarrhoea, it’s important to keep drinking and eating if you can, says the NHS.
According to the NHS, you should also avoid having fruit juice or fizzy drinks – they can make diarrhoea worse. In addition, do not make baby formula weaker – use it at its usual strength; do not give children under 12 medicine to stop diarrhoea, and do not give aspirin to children under 16.
According to the health body, the advice is the same if you have diarrhoea and vomiting together or separately. According to the Zoe team, diarrhoea increases the risk of spreading infection to others in your household, so it’s essential to wash your hands thoroughly and keep bathrooms clean and tidy.
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