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Comment by ekianjo | Hacker News Reader

Thanks for sharing. Did you take any medication to ease the symptoms?

No, I don't like taking over the counter meds. The main thing is just get rest and try not to aggravate the coughing, which was a somewhat painful. I quit smoking last year, thank goodness. Chicken Noodle soup was really good for my sore throat and trouble swallowing.

From what I've read sore throat is relatively rare as a symptom of covid-19:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-sympto...

Notably, the COVID-19 infection rarely seems to cause a runny nose, sneezing, or sore throat (these symptoms have been observed in only about 5% of patients).

That doesn't mean you didn't have it, of course, but does suggest it might have just been a cold.

Doesn't dry cough imply sore throat (ie you cough since your throat is sore and irritated)? So people having a cough wont also mention that their throat is sore since it is unnecessary information?

Edit: The way I experience is is that there is a constant tickle in my throat. It sometimes get so strong that I can't hold back a cough but most of the time it just stays a tickle. I call that sore throat, when I got it initially it surprised me and I got a cough attack but after that I've been able to suppress it and not cough for days.

Not in my case. I often get a very annoying dry cough from common colds, but my throat is perfectly fine. The irritation starts deeper, and it’s not pain, just irritation which triggers cough.

I guess some people might confuse them? I mean nobody has properly defined what "sore throat" means to me. If it hurts for me deep down int he windpipe I take it as it is still my throat, and sore includes being irritated and not just pain. Like now for example, I'd say I have a sore throat even though I don't feel any pain and I only feel it deep down my windpipe and not at all in the food part of the throat.

> ie you cough since your throat is sore and irritated

The cough is probably because of lung issues. Apparently sore throat is only a symptom in 1/6th of cases but the dry cough is present in 2/3rd. There's also sputum in 1/3rd of cases, that's lungs / trachea mucus.

No, every cold I have ever had involved nasal congestion and runny nose. There was none for me. At the time, I remember thinking that it was unlike anything I had experienced before, which later led me to conclude it was Covid-19.

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