Omicron symptoms: Pain in three body parts could be signalling the variant – Covid expert
Omicron: GP explains ‘overwhelming’ science behind vaccines
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Early Omicron data raised the alarm after it revealed a key characteristic of the strain was rapid transmission capabilities. But despite surging cases, symptoms have generally appeared milder. Data suggests that signs of the variant even differ slightly from those of its predecessors. One expert explains that pain in three body parts could be indicative of infection from Omicron.
Data to date suggests the variant doesn’t produce the classic symptoms seen with previous strains of the coronavirus.
Doctor Charu Dutt Arora, COVID-19 expert who works at the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, told the Indian Express: “[…] People believe that COVID-19 is mainly a respiratory virus, and causes only infection in the lungs.
“[But] there have been multiple studies in the West which have shown that 63 percent of the patients infected by the Delta variant and 42 percent of the patients infected by the Omicron variant have reported back pain as one of the major symptoms.”
Those experiencing muscle pain have generally found their symptoms to be concentrated in three different body parts; the head, lower back and muscles.
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Doctor Arora added: “The muscle pain is mainly around the knee area.”
The muscular pain frequently reported in connection to COVID-19, is believed to result from inflammation.
The Huffington Post reports that this inflammation can agitate the muscles and joints, leading to the onset of painful symptoms.
The news outlet adds that doctors suspect there may be something unique to Omicron and the way it affects the musculoskeletal system.
Peter Whang, Yale Medicine orthopaedic spine surgeon and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine, told the news outlet: “Covid is what we call a bad player. It can really mimic so many types of symptoms – whether it’s affecting the pulmonary system or the musculoskeletal system or your health.”
One of the key by-products of infection is a significant increase in cytokine secretion, which boosts the immune system to fight off foreign pathogens.
This release of pro-inflammatory cytokines triggers a reaction in the body that irritates the muscles and joints.
This reaction has often been seen with Covid, among other viral and bacterial infections, such as the flu. These symptoms are a reflection of the body’s immune response to the virus.
A number of studies have confirmed that the most common symptoms of Omicron include a runny nose, headache and fatigue.
These may differ slightly among vaccinated individuals, however.
Those who have received a full course of vaccines, often report cough, runny nose, fatigue, sore throat, headache, fever and sneezing after infection from Omicron.
This was recently confirmed by a study in Norway, which found the most common symptoms among vaccinated individuals are cough, runny nose, and fatigue.
It comes as the latest Government figures revealed there have been 18 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK to date.
Fortunately, falling rates of Omicron in recent weeks mean the UK is currently under Plan A restrictions.
The UK Health Security Agency has warned that two doses of a Covid vaccine will not suffice to stop people from catching the Omicron variant.
The booster vaccine, however, is 88 percent effective at preventing people from ending up in hospital with the virus, explained the health body.
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