Table 3 Representative participant descriptions of RSV symptoms

Cough (includes descriptions of mucous production)

I had a lot of coughing, especially when I’d lay on my back. And I was coughing up quite a bit of phlegm

It started with chest congestion, coughing, lots of movement within the lungs, rattling in the lungs

Fatigue/tiredness/exhaustion

Yes, I was exhausted. Very exhausted, very tired, and very…yeah, very sleepy, very tired, have to sleep all the time. I couldn’t watch a program without dozing off at that period of time

I felt quite tired and sleepy and weak

Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing/shallow breathing

Like the shortness of breath coming with it, like…I’ll just go out, you know, just doing basic stuff that I could usually do; I just get really short of breath. And it feels like I’ve run a mile, you know, just taking the trash out

The shortness of breath came when I would do the stairs or something like that. Or if I would bend over, you know. That never happened. It would get short, something like that

Stuffy nose/nasal congestion

I still get the stuffed nose

It was [nasal] congestion as well

Runny nose

I was constantly blowing my nose. I would blow, and then the next 5 min I have to do it again. It was really coming

Then I started having sinus problems and sniffles…The whole time in the hospital and for days when I came home, for 3 or 4 days [I had a runny nose]

Body aches and pains

A lot of body aches all over, but more so in my legs than anywhere else

Body aches and pains were definitely present

Interrupted sleep

Well when I first got it, I was not sleeping very good because of all the coughing, and so I would sleep maybe half an hour or so and then I’d start coughing again and be awake for another half an hour

I wake up in the middle of the night. That was one of the things, too. I haven’t been able to go to sleep too well. I just wake up and start coughing

Sore throat

A really raw, sore throat. It wasn’t like a typical sore throat. It was just the entire throat area was just very irritated

And so I started off with head congestion and a super, super sore throat. So I thought that I might have strep

Wheezing

And not only was I wheezing, but you could hear squeaking, a squeaking noise. I really was having a lot of trouble just breathing

Yes. Oh, the wheezing, yes, it’s awful. I feel like I’m, you know, I’m 85

Fever/feeling feverish

One night I woke up about 3 am and had an almost 102 [degree] fever

About 3:00 in the afternoon, I felt a fever spike. And then I had really bad chills and shakes

Headache

I woke up with a migraine headache for a couple days…very constant. It went from a 10 in the beginning, out of 10, to about a 2 or 3; but it never clearly went away

Mild headache. But I just always thought the headache was due to the cough

Other symptoms

Then it was just really the congestion and the ears. I just remember the ears being so stuffed up. I was concerned about being on a plane [due to ear pain and congestion]

And I just felt really weak…And I felt hot and I felt dehydrated or something. My appetite had gone