I’m finally recovering from what has been described as “the worst cold ever” and I have to agree that it is a particularly bad one this year. 

There have been reports of a nasty cold starting in the south with people saying it is taking days, and in some cases weeks, to recover.

Dr Philippa Kaye, a London GP, told the BBC: “We've actually been seeing a rise in the number of coughs and colds and viral infections.

"We are mixing in a way that we haven't been mixing over the past 18 months.”

Having the first inklings that I was feeling ill last Saturday with a killer headache, I went to sleep early and didn’t get out of bed on Sunday.

Since then, I’ve had chills, been sneezing constantly with a very sore throat, and of course the typical fluey aches and pains. 

Luckily, it doesn’t seem to be Covid, but I've used it as an excuse to self-isolate in bed anyway (one of the perks of working from home). 

Lemsip with a bit of honey has been my remedy of choice, as well as an early night with a book – I’m currently finishing of Salisbury writer Steven J Dines short horror stories.

I do feel like I’ve gotten off lightly as I am now starting to recover whilst my little sister, who we think brought it home from college, and my mum, still sound like Jabba the Hutt.  

This seems to be a common theme, as one of our readers said: “Day 10 of this bug and slowly getting my voice back after it causing laryngitis. 

“Just a quick trip to the pharmacy was all I needed. The GPs already have enough going on.”

In terms of medication some people seem to be worse impacted than others as another reader commented: “I have a friend who was completely floored for several days with nasty symptoms and a huge dose of anti-biotics to follow.”

Like me, another reader is recovering but mentioned: “My whole family have had this virus for a few weeks now and I am only just starting to feel normal again, my youngest is still poorly it’s knocked us all for 6 proper nasty, we still continue to do lateral flows just incase

As the weather turns colder it is perhaps unsurprising that more people are getting ill, but this does seem to be a particularly bad bug. 

The NHS have issued advice on when to see a GP, and reminded people that flu and covid present similar symptoms so it is important to keep testing.

Their advice for treating a cold is, in brief, to get rest, keep warm, and stay hydrated.  

It is important to see your GP when you have a cold if: 

  • Your symptoms do not improve after 3 weeks
  • Your symptoms get suddenly worse
  • Your temperature is very high or you feel hot and shivery
  • You're concerned about your child's symptoms
  • You're feeling short of breath or develop chest pain
  • You have a long-term medical condition
  • You have a weakened immune system

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Community answers

Have you had "the worst cold ever"? What was your experience

"If you're happy for us to publish your experience of getting what some have described as "the worst cold ever" feel free to submit your experience here."

We asked for your responses - this is what you sent.

From Community contributor

When did you catch this cold and have you recovered?Last month & Fully Recovered

What was your experience of the illness?I caught this illness at the beginning of last month, it knocked all the energy out of me making it extremely difficult to do my job as was costantly feeling drained. i took a pcr test as was worried it was covid but fortunately it wasn't. I lost my voice for 2/3 of the weeks i was knocked down by this cold whilst also experiencing shivers, fevers and aches and pains everywhere. it was horrible i didnt want to move for weeks.

How did the illness compare to other colds you've had?much much worse, never fully lost my voice due to a cold before and normally i'd still feel able to go to work but this was different i could hardly leave my bed.