Muscle Aches, Pains Now Among Top COVID Symptoms

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Credits: Joshua Fernandez/Unsplash

According to ZOE Health Study (a health science company staking claim to running the “world’s largest COVID science project with over four million participants”), their latest data finds that the top symptoms reported by contributors with positive COVID tests are:

  • A sore throat
  • A runny nose
  • A blocked nose
  • Sneezing
  • A cough without phlegm

ZOE Health Study reportedly listed only the top five symptoms. But over time, the health science company said their COVID research showed these symptoms change frequently. Some reasons include the introduction of vaccines and the emergence of new variants, reports kxan.

The stable symptoms

Now, ZOE Health Study decided to report the top ten symptoms, which they claim remain more stable. Those symptoms include:

  • A sore throat
  • A runny nose
  • A blocked nose
  • Sneezing
  • A cough without phlegm
  • A headache
  • A cough with phlegm
  • A hoarse voice
  • Muscle aches and pains
  • An altered sense of smell

A publication in the National Journal of Medicine reports that muscle aches and pains (also known as myalgia) can be the onset symptom of 36% of patients with COVID-19.

Loss of smell and taste, high fever and breathlessness were regarded as the ‘classic’ symptoms when COVID was first discovered. But with Omicron emerging and vaccination coverage increasing, the symptoms related to the infection changed. The symptoms that were widely reported include sore throat, runny nose, headache and fatigue.