Similarity of symptoms and worries about seeking attention may delay diagnoses
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When Helen began coughing up phlegm in January she thought she just had a chest infection. She was given antibiotics in February and it was only when the cough returned in March and she fell seriously ill, that the 46-year-old from Rugby, and her husband, became concerned. “We thought then I had either got the chest infection back or Covid,” she said.
She was prescribed more antibiotics, but was recommended to avoid attending hospital for an X-ray because of the pandemic. “It was really horrific. My husband would stay awake and watch me breathe,” she said. Helen’s condition worsened. Her cough continued, accompanied by other problems, including wheezing, breathlessness and fatigue and Helen began to think she might have “long Covid”.
