It may not be Covid, but it is linked to what’s happened in the past 18 months.

A doctor has explained why you might be suffering from the worst cold you’ve ever had, as well as why you’ve noticed so many more people coughing and sneezing.

Thousands of people across the country are experiencing symptoms that could be mistaken for Covid, but coronavirus tests come back negative.

Dr Philippa Kaye from London told BBC Newsbeat: “We’ve actually been seeing a rise in the number of coughs and colds and viral infections.

“We are mixing in a way that we haven’t been mixing over the past 18 months.”

With fewer people wearing masks in stores and on public transportation, as well as social isolation and working from home, the number of coughs and colds is rapidly increasing.

There is also an increase in ‘Fresher’s Flu,’ which is characterized by an increase in colds spread among new arrivals at universities as they congregate in large numbers after travelling from across the country, bringing viruses with them.

Rebecca London, 24, of Bournemouth, told the BBC that the cold she caught at a music festival was “the worst ever.”

She said: “I barely slept, I’d wake up in the night just coughing, a constantly runny nose and feeling so tired.”

She has been sick for over a week.

Student Noor Hashmi, 18, told the BBC: “Normally I’m still able to go about my day, but this one left me with muscle fatigue, a lost voice and headache that meant I’ve just stayed indoors.”

Dr. Philippa recommends getting a PCR test if you have symptoms that could be Covid, such as a new cough, fever, or loss of taste or smell.

Colds, she says, can be treated at home with rest, fluids, and over-the-counter pain relievers.

Because everyone has been wearing masks and keeping their distance for nearly two years, we have avoided catching a number of cough, cold, and flu viruses.

If you don’t catch them, you don’t develop immunity, which means that when the viruses do get to you, your symptoms may be more severe.

Dr Ron Eccles, Emeritus Professor at Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences told Patient.info: “If you’ve been exposed to a particular virus before, you may not develop any symptoms at all, because your immune system has been primed to fight off the infection. It’s the same process that means you usually only catch chickenpox once.

“With common colds we generally don’t have such a strong immune response and therefore we probably don’t get lifelong immunity to a particular virus,” he adds. “However, we may get a milder response if we are exposed to that virus again.”

Don’t mistake a cold for Covid

Remember, if you have a new and persistent cough, a fever (temperature above 37.8 degrees Celsius), or a change in your sense of taste or smell, you should get a Covid PCR test right away.