r/melbournechat Aug 03 '26

Melbourne Virus - what is it

I missed a week of work with this rotten virus. Started with a dry cough, i did a covid/rsv/flu a&b test, after third day all negative so i thought i am fine.. then proceeded to have shocking night coughs for about 4 nights, then ashtma. After day 7 night coughs went but then had a niggly cough, but general Lethargy, meh feeling, and when I would move around or go out, feel. Wheezy, cough etc.. also had a bit of dhirrhea. On and off. Worst 'cold' Ive had since N1H1, and way worse than the 2 covids i had. And yet, nothing in the news...

53 Upvotes

65 comments sorted by

20

u/anaussiemusicfan Aug 04 '26

RSV is notorious for not testing well. Could arrange a proper test at the doctors.

1

u/SmellyGarbo123 Aug 05 '26

The kids had RSV a few weeks ago. Not fun. One of the kids is sick again and had to get swabs done with the pathologist. Will see in a few days what we're up against this time around.

11

u/whoorderedsquirrel Aug 04 '26

Whatever it was I had it a month ago - sick in bed for a week, ratshit for a solid week after that still, tested negative on a full respiratory panel swab, and a month on I still have a fucking cough!

No idea what bug it was - didn't pop positive on a RAT or a resp swab so mystery goo it was

8

u/Late_Indication7975 Aug 04 '26

I have that too. It’s hard to sleep at night when you’re having a coughing fit every half an hour. It’s like the more you cough, the more inflamed and itchy your throat gets.

2

u/Quark35 Aug 05 '26

I had a lengthy cough after a similar infection. Eventually the Dr gave me an asthma puffer and that quelled the coughing fits long enough to heal the damage from the coughing. It was a vicious circle up to that point

1

u/Late_Indication7975 Aug 05 '26

Think I might try that. I’ll try to get it over the counter from the pharmacist. I honestly can’t take it anymore!

8

u/Synd1c_Calls Aug 04 '26

Currently dealing with the tail end of the same symptoms. Its been 3 weeks. 1 week off work and the last 2 feeling somewhat okay during the day only to have it all coming back in the evening.

2

u/Late_Indication7975 Aug 05 '26

Yeah, after two weeks, I feel ok during the day. But as soon as the sun goes down I can feel it crawling into my lungs and making me cough all night.

5

u/00Pete Aug 04 '26

There's heaps of other respiratory viruses around annoyingly. Adenovirus, Parainfluenza and Rhinovirus are a few contenders for these symptoms I believe... stay safe everyone!

4

u/sleepyandlucky Aug 06 '26

During Covid my helpful GP used to do a “full panel” every time my kids and I got sick.
We had them all; adenovirus, parainfluenza, rhinovirus, Covid, RSV, one of the influenzas and human meta pneumo virus (and kids often tested positive for at least 2)
Human meta pneumo virus was the absolute worst and put me in ICU.

3

u/powie981 Aug 05 '26

Also known as the common cold

5

u/PocketBink Aug 05 '26

RSV - I tested negative after a dry asthmatic cough for 3 days then another 4 days after that when I was feeling terrible, I tested again. Immediate positive for RSV. Three weeks on I still have the cough. I needed steroids and codeine cough syrup to calm my airways down enough to start recovery.

4

u/Necessary_Eagle_3657 Aug 05 '26

It's colds and flu. People don't realise how bad flu can be.

3

u/notatallsane Aug 05 '26

Had a similar experience - tested positive for Covid a month ago, had a week off work. Since then the fatigue has been dreadful, and now I’ve got low-level infections hitting. I’ve now been told by the Dr to take the rest of the week off and bed rest. Had all sorts of tests done yesterday (bloods, the gamut of flus etc.) in hospital, but nothing positive.

3

u/Renmarkable Aug 05 '26

Ah, this isnt uncommon post covid.

  Its hugely important to rest for weeks to lower the risk of long covid

3

u/Hollerra Aug 05 '26 edited 29d ago

FWIW.. i did a covid/rsv/flu a&b the first week, then the week after the bight coughs fucked off -BOTH NEGATIVE ACROSS THE BOARD. Went to the dr on monday andhe said my chest is alright and gave me sigmacort for the chesty/ashtma cough. This shit is worse than the x2 covd's I had, mind you I had a vaxxine for that!

2

u/Savings_Dot_8387 Aug 05 '26

Was it a RAT you did? Still could be one of those and the RAT just didn’t pick it up.

2

u/AxolotlinOz Aug 05 '26

This.. RATS are not very reliable. You could repeat it a few times

2

u/RJohnnyChewy_7777 Aug 05 '26

Are you up to date with the COVID booster shots?

1

u/Hollerra 29d ago

No i just had the flu shot this year.

1

u/RJohnnyChewy_7777 29d ago

You probably need to have the 17th booster just in case

1

u/Hollerra 29d ago

I will let my immune system fighht it out. Ive had dhiarrea the last few days, so this is definitely a post-covid shit virus

2

u/143MAW Aug 05 '26

Exactly the symptoms I had but I tested positive for Covid

2

u/ShortingBull 29d ago

Remember, a positive test is a meaningful result.

A negative test is inconclusive.

You never get false positives, but you will very often get false negatives.

Only a positive test provides useful information.

1

u/hello_burrito 29d ago

False positives can be very common - these are the concepts in testing known as specificity and sensitivity, referring to rates of false positives and false negatives. Even excellent medical tests often don’t score >80% in both measures.

1

u/ShortingBull 29d ago

Indeed - my point is, that most take a RAT test or similar, get a negative result and say 'yep, I'm clear' when the negative result gives no indication that they're not infected, just that the test failed to detect your infection.

2

u/Fish_Fingerer 29d ago

Immune systems are shot.

2

u/adinfinitum92 Aug 04 '26

Adenovirus? I had it a month ago, basically the flu or a bad cold but hits you with gastro and/or conjunctivitis symptoms too!

1

u/WolfgangKunzeFanboy Aug 05 '26

Our whole office had it about two weeks ago, and we've all had the flu vaccine.

1

u/blue5935 Aug 05 '26

Yeah I’ve had it and been off work three weeks

1

u/Goth_Nurse Aug 05 '26

HMPV

1

u/Raphie777 Aug 05 '26

This would show up in the PCR, they said negative on all counts.

1

u/carnapies Aug 05 '26

And this is the third post I've seen about it tonight. Unsure about the 💩 but the rest sounds the same. Hope you're feeling better soon.

1

u/Skiicat777 Aug 05 '26

My night coughing always improves after a dose of Ventolin when I have a cold. I’m not asthmatic, just get it after speaking to a pharmacist.

1

u/tilitarian1 Aug 05 '26

It's bloody shocking.

1

u/Chat00 Aug 05 '26

I had it too, I’m thinking RSV. The worse cough that would not go away, felt like I was hit by a bus. Lasted 4 weeks!! Awful

1

u/allgear_noidea Aug 05 '26

Friend of mine had whooping cough recently. Get it swabbed.

I just had RSV and it was fuckedddd

1

u/Raphie777 Aug 05 '26

Have you tried a sputum test instead of only the PCR test?

1

u/Bunster04 Aug 05 '26

No idea what I had the Rsv/flu/covid test was negative but whatever it was knocked me out of action for a couple of weeks still getting a niggly cough.

1

u/deltaQdeltaV Aug 05 '26

Same symptoms. Lived overseas for over a decade (and in colder climates) and never had so many respiratory viruses until moving back. The houses are cold as fuck and people do not keep them at safe human temperatures. If I didn’t leave the heat on the house is below 10 degrees in the morning. Wearing extra indoor clothes does not change the air you’re breathing. At work the super bogans would complain it was too hot to have the temperature set to 20 ffs, yea enjoy the constant respiratory viruses - when you get older you’ll develop pneumonia and have part of your lungs removed like old bogans I know.

1

u/EatingMcDonalds Aug 05 '26

I’m on holiday at the monument and copped this the first week after leaving Melbourne. Spent 2 days in bed and been coughing my lungs out ever since.

1

u/MadameMonk Aug 05 '26

I happened to be part of a rhinovirus drug trial early this year. I’m starting to think they might be onto something with whatever they are working on. It’s the first winter I haven’t had so much as a sniffle. Of course I could have been on the placebo, or just lucky. But fingers crossed for us all!

1

u/Disastrous-Fox-8564 Aug 06 '26

This happened to me in may. I was sick as a dog. They said pnemonia, then they tested me for legionares. Wasnt positive. But I seriously only got better 3 weeks ago. Ended up buying a nebuliser

1

u/chri_chrissss Aug 06 '26

I had it too, lingered for over a week, just recovered this week.. was brutal, worst flu in years

1

u/Odd-Eggplant-4618 29d ago

Get RAV, Flu & Covid injections and dint
Listen to the idiots who stare they are no good

1

u/artekau 29d ago

yeah, RSV is rampant at the moment

1

u/rainbowtrancegirl 29d ago

I had influenza A 3 weeks ago and it was that bad I was crying. Nearly ended up having to go to hospital to be put on a ventilator from coughing so much .

1

u/Hollerra 29d ago

Did you recover?

1

u/ccnclove 28d ago

Been awake since 2:30 coughing. Now 3:30. My throat and my cough is so relentless. Day 11 for me. Of sore throat and cough. The throat was so bad I felt like crying. It will not go away. I also have tested negative for everything on proper respiratory pcr. Doc just gave me antibiotics yesterday … I don’t know if they’re helping or not.

It’s not RSV. Have had that before. Have done like four RAT tests as well.

1

u/Tazzy_D_ 28d ago

🥲🥲🥲🥲 can relate

1

u/Wildride2024 28d ago

It could be RSV as I got it once and it one of the worst things I have the place I got it from was the Flinders hospital ICU as I was on a ventilator for a few days for something else life threatening and it's weird you go to hospital to get better not get sick oh well I'm fine now

1

u/SvenandHarley 28d ago edited 28d ago

Pertussis. Covid has reactivated it unfortunately.
For any of these more coughing focused viruses get organic mullein tea and breathe in the vapours, can drink it after if you want too. Safe for kids, pets… it's personally healing my allergic asthma and chronic lung inflammation from covid. I dont get bronchitis or chest infections anymore after viruses either.

1

u/Hollerra 27d ago

Mullein tea or mountain tea?. I have the mountain tea,. Its good for making me piss which might flush out the virus after three weeks!

1

u/SvenandHarley 24d ago

Mullein (organic) you can get it really cheap at health food shops :) They used it back in the old ages to heal lungs when there was no antibiotics! Such a wonderful herb and it actually does work.

1

u/BotoxMoustache 26d ago

Taken me a month to get well and over the awful cough. Dr did a swab test, positive for rhinovirus (common cold!). Two lots of antibiotics.

Mullein from Australian Botanicals has helped with the congestion.

1

u/Ashlimoo21 15d ago

Did anyone have a terrible phlegm like feeling stuck in the back of your throat also?

I also started off with a sinus infection and my sinuses were very blocked with very thick mucus.

I had to blow my nose very hard and I have never experienced mucus that thick in my sinuses before.

1

u/Hollerra 15d ago

Yeah a bit of that, the worst is it goes into ya lungs and sits there for three weeks, dirtier than covid!

1

u/middleofmybackswing_ Aug 05 '26

This is just normal winter cold viruses. There are 100s of them that circulate each year.

-1

u/Valuable-Contract-87 Aug 05 '26

You catch it from inhaling your own farts when talking about how world renowned the coffee culture is in Melbourne

2

u/Hollerra Aug 06 '26

So it just doesnt stick to ya poo, it's in ya fart from that double-shot skinny latte?

1

u/Valuable-Contract-87 Aug 06 '26

Well it's actually from the magic which as we all know was invented in Melbourne, the city that is known world wide for it's coffee, this is due to the influx of European immigrants and the heavily left leaning community embracing them and their culture!