‘Worst cold ever’ spreading across UK as many complain they ‘can’t shift’ sickness bug

THE "worst cold ever" is spreading across the UK - with Brits complaining they "can't shift" the bug.

More and more people are being struck with the nasty illness, and taking days to recover.

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It seems to have started in the south a few weeks ago, with many people saying they feel dreadful and drained.

And now news outlets in more northern spots are reporting it appears to have spread further, as cases increase.

Dr Philippa Kaye, a London GP, confirmed numbers are higher than usual for this time of year all over the country.

She 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.

"During those first lockdowns, we saw numbers of other [non-Covid] infections fall. We think that that was primarily due to the restrictions on meeting up."

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Brits have rushed to Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to talk about how they have been ill for weeks with the “worst cold ever”.

Rebecca London, from Bournemouth, told Radio 1's Newsbeat: "Nothing I have had has been like this.

"I barely slept, I'd wake up in the night just coughing, a constantly runny nose and feeling so tired."

Another victim to the lurgy posted on Facebook: "Two weeks now and it's not funny at all. First cold I've had in years and it's floored me."

And one more complained: "I've had a terrible cold for nearly three weeks, can't seem to get rid of it."

This cold feels so bad in part because we have lost the immunity we had built up each year against the standard winter bugs - after social distancing and not mingling in the pandemic.

COVID OR COLD?

But it's also important to remember that Covid is now presenting as a bad cold for people who are double jabbed, or who have contacted the Delta variant.

So get a PCR test, stay at home and don't go into the office if you suspect you might have Covid that is showing symptoms this way.

And even if you don't have Covid and are "just" suffering from the bad cold, stay at home until you've moved through the worst of the infectious stage - about two or three days after symptoms start - to avoid spreading it further.

The NHS says a common cold can cause:

• A blocked or runny nose
• A sore throat
• Headaches
• Muscle aches
• Coughs
• Sneezing
• A raised temperature
• Pressure in your ears and face
• Loss of taste and smell