Difficulty in breathing, chest tightness and shortness of breath are not necessarily coronavirus infection.
Clinical manifestations of coronavirus infection are mainly lower respiratory symptoms, with acute onset, fever, malaise, dry cough as the main manifestations, accompanied by chills, muscle aches and pains, joint aches and pains, headache, malaise, chest tightness, and in severe cases, accelerated respiration, shortness of breath and even dyspnea. Some patients will have diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. Few have upper respiratory symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose.
The clinical manifestations of influenza are mainly respiratory symptoms, but also lower respiratory symptoms, which can be easily confused with the early manifestations of coronavirus infection.
Some patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia have mild onset of symptoms and are more likely to be confused with influenza symptoms.
The common cold has upper respiratory tract symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose, and the clinical manifestations are quite different from those of coronavirus infection and influenza.
Some people may confuse symptoms of coronavirus infection with those of influenza or common cold. If the symptoms of dyspnea, chest tightness and shortness of breath are severe, or if the symptoms persist and do not improve, the patient should go to the hospital for treatment.
Note: The terms “new coronavirus pneumonia” and “new coronavirus pneumonia” mentioned in this article were renamed to “new coronavirus infection” on December 26, 2022, as announced by the National Health Commission.