Are you still contagious?
People often say, “It’s OK! I’m not contagious anymore!” But is that true?
As cold, flu and COVID season ramps up, it’s important to know if you’re unintentionally spreading illness after you have seemingly recovered.
“Even though you’re feeling better, you still might be contagious,” says Dr. Jennifer Markowski, a family medicine physician at Aurora Health Care. “A good rule of thumb is if you’re symptom-free for 24 hours and haven’t had to use fever-reducing medication, you’re usually less contagious.”
Some illnesses have similar symptoms but can differ in severity and length. For example, you can spread stomach flu for two weeks or more after your symptoms improve.
Here’s how to judge whether you’re still contagious with a respiratory illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- You have a fever and accompanying symptoms: If you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine and your symptoms are getting better, you can return to normal activities without precautions after 5 days.
- You have a fever but no other accompanying symptoms: If you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine, you can return to normal activities without precautions after 5 days.
- You get better but then get a fever: If you get a fever after initially getting better, your contagion timeline restarts. Once you are fully fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine, you can return to normal activities without precautions after 5 days.
- You never had symptoms but tested positive for a respiratory illness: Take added precautions for the next 5 days, such as wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. Re-test if you know you will be around other people.
“It’s very hard to avoid getting sick completely,” says Dr. Markowski. “We always recommend three basic prevention measures: wash your hands, avoid touching public surfaces, and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.”
It’s always better to be safe than sorry to prevent the spread of bacterial and viral illnesses.
