Covid-19 Symptoms FAQ

It can take up to 14 days for symptoms of Covid-19 to appear. That means you could get sick anytime from a few days to two weeks after you come into contact with the virus.

If you are infected with Covid-19, your symptoms may be similar to that of a cold or flu. You may experience a fever (temperature over 38℃) or chills and one or more of these common symptoms:

• Any kind of cough, not just dry
• Shortness of breath
• Breathing difficulties
• Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.

Less common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this could mean they're completely gone or just different to normal
• nasal congestion (runny or blocked nose)
• conjunctivitis (also known as red eye or pink eye)
• sore throat
• headache
• muscle or joint pain (aches and pains)
• different types of skin rash
• nausea or vomiting
• diarrhoea
• chills or dizziness

Do not attend a vaccination appointment if you have symptoms of COVID-19. To request a new appointment, reply to your appointment text from the HSE with the word 'New' or phone HSE Live on 1800 700 700.

Self Isolation:

Self-isolation means staying indoors and completely avoiding contact with other people. This includes other people in your household, as much as possible.

You will need to self-isolate:

• if you have symptoms of coronavirus
• while you wait for a test appointment and your test results, if you have symptoms of coronavirus. If you are being tested as a close contact of a confirmed case of coronavirus and you don’t have any symptoms, you should restrict your movements instead
• if you have had a positive test result for coronavirus
• if you have any cold or flu-like symptoms, such as sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose, cough or wheezing
• if you arrive in Ireland from any other country - this includes Irish citizens coming home

When you have symptoms, you should not go anywhere - including a pharmacy. You can ring your pharmacy and arrange for your prescribed medication to be picked up by a family member.

At laya healthcare, we offer our members a home prescription service through our Care On Call prescription service where, if deemed medically necessary, our GP will organise for a prescription to be delivered to your pharmacy for processing or to be posted to your home.

If you are a close contact of a person that tests positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus), there's a chance that you may have COVID-19 too. However, the people who live in your home do need to restrict their movements.

When you have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you will get a text from the HSE to let you know that you are a close contact.

You could have been in contact with a positive case:

• in your household (sometimes called a 'household close contact')
• outside your household (sometimes called a 'non-household close contact' or ‘community close contact’)

To learn more about the steps you should take if you are deemed a close contact whether you have been vaccinated or not go to www.hse.ie

After you self-isolate, you should contact your GP straight away to organise a phone or online consultation. They will decide if you meet the current criteria to be tested for Covid-19 or not. If you need a test, only a GP can arrange it for you.

As a laya healthcare member, you also have the option to make a GPlive appointment. You can have a webcam consultation with an Irish-registered doctor, who can refer you for testing if necessary.

No, anyone who rings their GP worried about Covid-19 will receive advice and, if needed, testing and treatment free of charge. This applies to everyone, including private patients and medical card patients.

If you have the symptoms listed above for Covid-19 but you can’t get through to your own GP, there are other convenient options available to you if you’re a laya healthcare member.

You can book a video consultation with an Irish-registered GP through our GPlive service. This service is open every day from 08:00-22:00 Monday- Friday (opening hours differ on weekends and bank holidays). If necessary, our GPlive doctor can refer you for Covid-19 testing or you can book a PCR test online.

For everyday medical advice, you can contact one of our medical professionals, at no additional cost to your premium:

• GPline – phone one of our GPs – open 24/7
• Nurseline – ring one of our nurses – open 24/7
• Laya Healthcare Concierge – if this benefit is available on your scheme, you can talk to our panel of experienced nurses – open 08:00 until 17:00, Monday to Friday. Log onto your Member Area to check out what you’re covered for.

Please note that GPline, Nurseline and the Laya Healthcare Concierge cannot refer you for Covid-19 (coronavirus) testing.

If your symptoms get worse

Check back in with your GP or out-or-hours GP immediately if you:

• start feeling very unwell, particularly if your breathing changes, becomes difficult, or your cough gets worse
• feel that you are getting increasingly short of breath

Older people and people with underlying conditions are most at risk of deterioration. Carers should watch out for signs of rapid onset of confusion in older people as a sign of deterioration.

High fever

Contact your GP if you have a very high fever (over 40 degrees Celsius) and you:

• are still feverish after 3 days of home treatment or seem to be getting sicker
• are shivering or shaking uncontrollably, or have chattering teeth, and it does not stop within an hour or so
• have a severe headache that doesn’t get better after taking painkillers
• are getting confused or are unusually drowsy

Dehydration

Contact your GP if you you have been dehydrated and are now drinking regularly and/or are using oral rehydration sachets and you:

• are feeling unusually tired
• are confused and disorientated
• have any dizziness when you stand and it does not go away
• have not peed all day
• have a weak or rapid pulse
• have fits (seizures)

If you have severe difficulty breathing or chest tightness, and you cannot reach your GP, you should contact the emergency services on 999 or 112.

People suffering from Covid-19 sometimes develop other symptoms, such as:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Aches and pains

It’s also possible, although rare, for patients to present with a runny or stuffy nose and diarrhoea with Covid-19.

What should I do if I have one or more less common symptom?

 If you have any of these symptoms, you should behave as if you have the virus and self-isolate for 14 days. People in your household will need to restrict their movements.

You also need to contact your GP as you may also need to be tested for coronavirus.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus

• Before you get tested for coronavirus
• if you have a positive antigen test
• While you wait for PCR test results
• If you have had a positive test result for coronavirus
• If you have any cold or flu-like symptoms, such as sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose, cough or wheezing

If you or your loved one has Covid-19 symptoms, it can be a big source of anxiety, stress and worry. As well as that, spending time in self-isolation can make this even more pronounced.

We’re here to look after the mental wellbeing of our members in any way we can. Call us any time of the day or night to talk to a qualified counsellor with our 24/7 Mental Wellbeing Support Programme. This service is available at no additional cost to a member’s premium.

The HSE also has a lot of practical advice on how to manage your mental wellbeing during the Covid-19 epidemic.

As your health and wellbeing partner, we do everything we can to give you the most up-to-date information.

All the information we share with you is verified by the HSE. If you want more in-depth information on this topic, you can find it on the HSE Coronavirus Symptoms page.

You also can ring our dedicated Laya Healthcare Concierge Team if you want to talk to a clinical expert about symptoms or treatment options.