The three most common Omicron symptoms in Brits revealed
OMICRON has been circulating in the UK for more than a month now and it's the dominant coronavirus strain in the country.
Most Brits have said the illness feels like a common cold and data suggests that there are three main symptoms people are suffering with.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that the most commonly reported symptoms have been a cough, fatigue and headache.
These vary from the three main symptoms of coronavirus set out by the NHS which have not changed since Covid reached our shores in March 2020.
The NHS still lists a new persistent cough, a loss of taste and smell and a high temperature as the key signs of Covid.
It's important that if you think you have Covid you get a test and follow isolation guidelines, which state you need to isolate for five days.
While Covid won't be a mild illness for everyone, most people who have had the variant say it's 'just like a cold'.
A string of hugely positive studies show Omicron is milder than other strains in the vaccinated, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.
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Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
The Sun's Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits' arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
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The ONS states that the least commonly reported symptoms have consistently been abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and nausea or vomiting.
Experts have however said that while nausea or vomiting might not be key signs of the virus, they could sit along side other symptoms.
Studies have shown that people who have Covid-19 can sometimes experience gastrointestinal symptoms.
Published in the , experts found that that nausea and vomiting were two of the most common symptoms that sat beside other key Covid symptoms such as a sore throat or loss of taste and smell.
The study suggests that issues like diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting could be triggered by the Covid infection.
The reason people are sick, they suggest, is due to the body's inflammatory response to the virus infection.
Data from the ONS also found that the most reported symptoms decreased in December 2021 compared with November 2021, and the percentage of people reporting a sore throat increased in the same month.
Doctors have said that one of the first signs of Omicron can be detected in your throat.
Dr Jorge Moreno who works at an outpatient clinic in Connecticut, US and is an assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, said that most patients coming in are reporting the same ailment.
He told that most people testing positive have a dry, sore throat that causes sharp pain when they swallow.
"It's a very prominent symptom. It's not like a little tickle in the throat. If they're reporting it, they're saying that their throat feels raw", he said.
Further analysis has shown that most people who get Omicron will suffer throat issues.
Data from an Omicron outbreak in Norway showed that 72 per cent of people who tested positive had a sore throat.
The patients said that the symptom last about three days.
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Dr Moreno said for people who have been vaccinated the symptoms aren't as bad and that for most, the illness is like a mild cold.
He added: "A couple days later, they're ready to go back to exercising or doing their regular activity."
