• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
How to tell if you are still contagious after being sick as brutal winter illness sweeps UK

Home> News> Health

Published 15:08 11 Dec 2024 GMT

How to tell if you are still contagious after being sick as brutal winter illness sweeps UK

If you've recovered a bit, you might start wondering how long until you won't infect others

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

With only two weeks to go until Christmas we're entering the 'I cannot get sick right now' territory where any sort of illness you contract might hang around until the festive celebrations.

You don't want to be unwell for a day of feasting and watching the new Wallace and Gromit movie, much less spread whatever you've got to the nearest and dearest you're spending your time with.

NHS officials have warned that the UK is facing a 'quad-demic' of flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Covid and norovirus, and this is the time of year when pretty much everyone you know starts getting a cold as well.

Advert

Assuming you don't want to make others unwell, it's worth knowing how to tell if you're still contagious with whatever ails you this winter.

Flu

If you haven't had a fever from the flu for 24 hours and you've not being taking medication, then you should no longer be contagious (Getty Stock Photo)
If you haven't had a fever from the flu for 24 hours and you've not being taking medication, then you should no longer be contagious (Getty Stock Photo)

The NHS says that you're most likely to spread flu, which is highly contagious, to other people within your first five days of getting it.

Your coughs and sneezes will spread diseases as the germs which might infect others can last on a surface for up to 24 hours, and people with the flu tend to be contagious for up to seven days after first showing symptoms.

Advert

If you've made it 24 hours after having symptoms for the flu then you are likely to be no longer contagious, in particular if you haven't had a fever for 24 hours and haven't been taking medication to treat this symptom then you should be clear of it.

Make sure to wash and clean everything you've been touching so you don't spread it to other people via surfaces and contact right as you're coming off the nasty disease.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

RSV ought to stop being contagious up to eight days after first symptoms, for young children and those with compromised immune systems it will be longer (Getty Stock Photo)
RSV ought to stop being contagious up to eight days after first symptoms, for young children and those with compromised immune systems it will be longer (Getty Stock Photo)

RSV is highly contagious, and while it can often bear a resemblance to the common cold in more serious cases it will result in wheezing and a more severe lung infection.

Advert

Like the flu, RSV is spread from coughs and sneezes and the virus can survive on surfaces for several hours after landing there.

A person with RSV is going to be contagious for the first couple of days before they develop symptoms, and the NHS says most people with the disease will stay contagious for the next three to eight days and it's probably best to err on the side of caution.

Young children or people with weakened immune systems can stay contagious for up to four weeks, so you'd best wait for symptoms to end.

Coronavirus

People with Covid can be contagious for up to 10 days, so keep taking the tests to see if you're clear of it yet (Getty Stock Photo)
People with Covid can be contagious for up to 10 days, so keep taking the tests to see if you're clear of it yet (Getty Stock Photo)

Advert

One of the newer and more unpleasant diseases you can suffer from, plenty of people will be familiar with the fact that a person with Covid still poses a risk of being contagious after their symptoms have subsided.

If you come down with the coronavirus you can still be contagious for up to 10 days after symptoms start showing, according to the NHS, and you might want to keep doing tests to see whether or not you still have the disease before doing anything which would require you to leave the house or go to a gathering of people.

Unfortunately with Covid there are people who have it who are asymptomatic, meaning you could be contagious without even knowing it.

Norovirus

There's been a surge of norovirus cases this winter (Getty Stock Photo)
There's been a surge of norovirus cases this winter (Getty Stock Photo)

Advert

The surge in norovirus cases is what led health officials to warn that a 'tripledemic' might have warped into a 'quad-demic'.

Also known as the 'winter vomiting bug', norovirus is most contagious from the point that symptoms begin until two days after symptoms have stopped.

NHS advice says you should avoid making contact with people until it has been two days since you last had symptoms, so it's best to play it safe.

Common cold

You need to wait for your symptoms to clear before your cold is no longer contagious (Getty Stock Photo)
You need to wait for your symptoms to clear before your cold is no longer contagious (Getty Stock Photo)

Even if it's not quite as terrible as the other entries on this list the common cold can still be a menace during the winter.

A cold could be mistaken for a mild case of flu or RSV, but if you don't have those and it's a cold then you'll stop being contagious once your symptoms have come to an end.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: Health, NHS, UK News

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Government advice on what to do if you catch brutal illness sweeping the UK
  • Everything to know about brutal winter illness that is sweeping UK as cases have risen
  • Common symptoms of ‘brutal illness’ sweeping UK as NHS issues guidance of what to do if you have it
  • NHS advice on how to deal with brutal illness that is sweeping UK with cases rising by 100%

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    World's 'first flying car' is going on sale much sooner than you think

    Flying cars are still something for the future, but apparently the rapidly approaching future

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Experts issued warning over certain tattoo colour that could increase risk of deadly disease

    There can be some long-term health risks to going under the tattoo needle

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Man who didn't sleep for a record 264 hours suffered from horrendous and potentially deadly side effects

    He smashed the record but suffered dangerous side effects in the process

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    The targets Iran could strike as it issues chilling threat to UK amid ongoing conflict

    The world isn't feeling particularly safe right now

    News