Razer Kraken Pro V2 review: No-fuss gaming headphones
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 is a great example of a by-the-numbers gaming headset. With a built-in mic, decently boosted bass, and a small price tag, it’ll cover your gaming needs pretty cheaply. However, the gaming headset space is an increasingly crowded one, with competitive and affordable options from companies like HyperX, SteelSeries, and of course Razer. We spent a week with the Kraken Pro V2 to see if it passes muster. While it was good at the time, you may want to upgrade to the Kraken V3 instead.
Editor’s note: this Razer Kraken Pro V2 review was updated on September 7, 2022, to update formatting, add the Razer Kraken V3 as an alternative, and add FAQs.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 is aimed at gamers who want a relatively cheap and simple solution for their audio needs. The headphones aren’t really meant for more than casual listening, nor is the mic meant for more than the average voice call, but anyone with 3. 5mm gaming needs may want to give this a look.
What’s it like to use the Razer Kraken Pro V2?
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 comes with a splitter, and that’s it.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 is a pretty standard-looking Razer headset, with the rounded headphones, retractable mic, and foam-covered aluminum band typical of the Kraken line. However, unlike a lot of Razer products, there are no obnoxious LEDs or bright green highlights here. It’s actually one of the subtler headsets the company sells, but it raises a question: is it truly a gaming headset without an overabundance of RGB lighting?
The adjustable band is flexible and feels sturdy. It’s not a suspension band, but the headset is light enough—and the band exerts so little pressure, that it’s plenty comfortable.
The cushioned aluminum band is comfortable and lightweight.
At the ends of the headband, there’s not much in the way of hinges. The metal ring that connects the headphones to the headband offers a very slight range motion, maybe 15 degrees.
Instead, the headband extends to accommodate wider heads. If you’ve ever struggled to get headphone pads to rest flat on the sides of your head, this will take a little doing. It’s hardly a deal-breaking issue, but you might need to wear the headphones in a position that doesn’t quite feel natural—I had to wear them tilted further back on my head than normal.
The headphone cups are large, slightly ovalesque, and deep, with thick leatherette pads. They’re very comfortable, and made wearing the headset for long stretches very easy. However, bespectacled gamers may want to look for velour pads, as leatherette and glasses don’t make for all that great of a seal.
In-line controls sit on the headset’s braided cord, offering a mic mute switch and headset volume control.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 features an extendable mic, which hides in the left headphone. It’s flexible and easy to position. It’s not the best mic in the world (more on that in a bit), but I never had any issues with clarity or consistency.
Gaming with the Razer Kraken Pro V2
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 is comfortable enough for long gaming sessions.
Gaming with the Razer Kraken Pro V2 is an extremely straightforward affair. There are no bells, whistles, or otherwise gaming-oriented doodads. This is a stereo headset, and connects via 3.5mm, so apps like Razer’s Synapse won’t recognize it. That means there’s no surround sound function, which might not be a big deal for you, depending on the kinds of games you like. If you’re really into Fortnite or Overwatch, having less accurate positional audio can leave you at a pretty noticeable disadvantage in heated firefights.
Does the Razer Pro V2 block out sound?
The Kraken Pro V2 won’t isolate you from much outside typical household noises.
The headset also offers pretty much bog-standard isolation for a gaming headset, though it struggles a little more with highs than many comparable options. These headphones will do just fine in a home setting, adequately blocking out enough sound that slight whirrs of appliances, or occasional traffic noises out a window.
This will work on anything with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but I wouldn’t recommend using it out of the house. The typical sounds of walking around a city, or working in a cafe, will come through loud and clear.
Hold up! Something’s different:
This article’s frequency response and isolation charts were measured with our old testing system. We have since purchased a Bruel & Kjaer 5128 test fixture (and the appropriate support equipment) to update our testing and data collection. It will take a while to update our backlog of old test results, but we will update this review (and many others!) once we’re able with improved sound quality measurements, isolation performance plots, and standardized microphone demos. These will be made obvious with our new chart aesthetic (black background instead of white). Each new mic sample begins with the phrase, “This is a SoundGuys standardized microphone demonstration …”
Thank you for bearing with us, and we hope to see you again once we’ve sorted everything out.
How does the Razer Kraken Pro V2 sound?
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 has a pretty significant dip in output around 2-4kHz.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 has pretty typical audio output for a gaming headset. As shown in this frequency response chart, the headphones slightly overemphasize some bass and mid range sounds, while under-emphasizing tones moving from mids to highs.
In music, this means things like prominent bass lines will sound louder than they should. It also means strings, and some vocal and cymbal sounds risk getting little drowned out. Listening to Remember Me by Tame Impala, the super distorted bass riff comes through loud and clear, but the guitar part is a little difficult to pick out.
You may notice that harmonic detail is difficult to pick out if you choose to listen to music through the Kraken V2 Pro.
In game, this sound profile makes a little more sense. Gaming headsets often boost bass output, usually advertised as a way to make explosions and other big game sounds that much more immersive.
Whether or not that’s actually the case is up for debate—explosions are always going to be the loudest part of a game in a given moment, and de-emphasizing midrange sounds will just make noises like footsteps and character speech harder to hear.
If you play single-player games, or games with more detached perspectives like League of Legends, you won’t have much issue.
With Assassin’s Creed, I have no issue fully immersing myself in the experience of running around ancient Greece, and likely most character action games will work great. Overwatch has a menu option to simulate Dolby 7.1 surround sound on stereo headsets, much like Razer Synapse, and it works very well with the Razer Kraken Pro V2. Doom is a little less ideal. While it’s a single-player game, hearing where every enemy and projectile is coming from is no less important, and that proved a little more difficult with these headphones.
This is a 3.5mm headset, so it will work with consoles like the Switch or Playstation 4 without much issue.
In most cases, lacking surround sound won’t make too much of a difference. If you’re bad at Fortnite, it’s not the kind of thing that will make you better. Part of me doesn’t mind that the Kraken Pro V2 avoids the clunky software implementations that often accompany surround sound gaming headsets. However, if it’s something you’ve grown accustomed to, and you rely on it in games where situational awareness is paramount, the headset’s lack of surround sound is something to bear in mind.
However, this isn’t the headset for the pro Fortnite player who needs to hear the direction of enemy footsteps and gulp sounds. A profile like this could be completely fine in all sorts of gaming situations where pinpoint accuracy isn’t as important.
Does the Kraken Pro V2 have a good microphone?
The Kraken Pro V2’s mic will get the job done, but deeper voices can sound a little off.
The Razer Kraken Pro V2’s mic isn’t anywhere near podcast quality, but it’ll get the job done.
I never ran into any issues with clarity in recording or on Discord calls. It favors the high end, boosting sounds over 300Hz, which is pretty typical for a mic built for voice calls. Most voices occupy this range, and subtler sibilant sounds (“F,” “S,” and “SH” sounds), which are important to making speech sound natural, sit at the higher end.
The mic also under-emphasizes bass, which isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but means people with particularly deep voices will sound a little distorted or tinny. My voice isn’t that deep, but you can hear a little of that here:
Razer Kraken Pro V2 microphone demo (Non-standardized):
How does the microphone sound to you?
341 votes
Should you buy the Razer Kraken Pro V2?
The Kraken Pro V2’s mic extends easily from the left headphone
The Razer Kraken Pro V2 is a great example of a middle-of-the-road gaming headset. Nothing about it stands out, but every part of it gets the job done without any fuss.
If this was competing with expensive options like the Audeze Mobius or SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, it wouldn’t be worth considering. Regardless, this is a comfortable gaming headset, and if you’re in the market for something basic, you could do much worse.
Razer Kraken V2 Pro
All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over time, and vary by region. Unfortunately, we cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.
Amazon
What should you buy instead of the Razer Kraken Pro V2?
The Razer Kraken V3 is compatible with PC, PlayStation systems, and Nintendo Switch when docked.
The Razer Kraken V3 is an affordable Razer headset at $99 USD, with comfortable ear pads, great sound quality, and a good mix too. The Kraken V3 blocks out more noise than the Pro V2 and has a more consistent audio output—even with the hefty bass bump. You can also check out our list of the best Razer gaming headsets for more options.
This headset isn’t available anymore, but there are some solid alternatives if you want a nice, simple gaming headset. If raw audio quality is really important, it might be worth spending an additional $20 for the HyperX Cloud Alpha. If you are looking for a cheap gaming headset that has slightly more accurate sound, and even supports surround sound, look no further than the Razer Kraken X. It’s cheaper and has better sound than the Kraken Pro V2, so it’s a better option for people with a small budget for gaming essentials.
Frequently asked questions about the Razer Kraken Pro V2
You can’t buy ear pad replacements for this headset from Razer, but there may be third-party options out there. Third-party options likely won’t feel the same or be made of the same materials as the original ear pads, so buy them at your own discretion.
Yes, this headset and any others that can be connected to the PlayStation 5 will support the virtual surround sound built into the PlayStation 5.
Razer Kraken V3 Pro Review: The Best Kraken of The Bunch
Tom’s Hardware Verdict
The Razer Kraken V3 Pro is the best of the bunch, retaining everything that made previous models great and improving on what held other models back. But the price may not be worth the additional features for some.
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Pros
- +
+ Wireless
- +
+ Lightweight materials
- +
+ Comfortable ear cup design
- +
+ Detachable Mic
- +
+ THX Spatial
- +
+ Wide range of compatibility
Cons
- —
Pricey for the addition of wireless and haptic feedback Hypersense feature
- —
Left ear cup is cluttered
- —
Can’t charge and use at the same time
Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware
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Today’s best Razer Kraken V3 Pro deals
$199.
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The Razer Kraken V3 Pro is the fourth and most premium headset within the Kraken V3 family. It contains all the incremental features included individually across the product range and, as a plus, cuts the cord entirely for a wireless approach.
It features the range’s hybrid fabric and leatherette memory foam ear cushions, Razer’s TriForce titanium 50mm drivers, and the same THX Spatial Audio capabilities found in the previous three models. The V3 Pro also includes an improved detachable HyperClear “Supercardioid” Mic and 3.5mm analog.
It’s no surprise from my Razer Kraken V3 review that I feel as if the entire range could have lost a headset or two to slim down the family and consolidate a few more of those incremental features. Why is wireless only available on the most expensive model? I’m sure some people want to cut the cord but don’t care about haptics.
Alongside more connectivity options and quality of life improvements, the Razer Kraken V3 Pro is easily one of the best wireless headsets we’ve ever reviewed. But it’s also very likely to offer more than you’ll need.
- Razer Kraken V3 Pro at Amazon for $199.99
Specifications — Razer Kraken V3 Pro
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Driver Type | 50 mm |
| Impedance | 32 Ohms |
| Frequency Response | 20 Hz |
| Microphone Type | Detachable HyperClear Cardioid Mic |
| Connectivity Options | USB-A, headphone jack |
| Cables | Detachable Mic, 1. 3m/4.27ft Cable detachable |
| Weight | 0.82 lbs |
| Lighting | 2 RGB on Earcups. |
| Software | Razer Synapse |
| Extra | None |
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The look, design and comfort of the Razer Kraken V3 Pro don’t stray too from its vanilla counterpart. It’s an all-black affair with RGB flair on each cup that can be customized through the Synapse app. The lighting pops great on the headset, and its unlimited color options can enhance the ambiance of any RGB-powered setup.
The hybrid fabric and memory foam used on the ear cushion and adjustable headband feel spectacular. The headband feels so plush on my head that I often can’t tell that it’s there.
I wore the headset for a complete workday and my ears never got hot, plus I never felt the need to take a break from wearing them.
I’ve got a big head, so I had to adjust the headband for the headset to fit. Eight small numbered spaces inside the headband show how much it can expand. There’s a tactile click that firmly expands the headband and also keeps it from sliding down your head once set. The wireless aspect also plays a factor in being comfortable to wear all day. The wireless signal was able to stay strong as I got up to check my front door 25 feet away, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep a connection further into my kitchen, which was about 35 feet away.
The difference between the Kraken V3’s design and the Pro’s is in the number of ports and buttons it has on each earcup. The Pro has a mute button at the bottom-left of the left cup. Below it is the volume wheel and below that is a power button that has a play/pause function. A 3.5mm headphone jack (a cable is included in the box) is also there for supplementary connectivity with more traditional audio listening devices.
Below is a USB-C port, which is needed for the headset’s 4.27ft cable to connect to a PC for charging. Unfortunately, the Pro can’t charge and be used simultaneously on PC (plus the cable would be a little too short if it could). What’s worse, it takes the headset three hours to get a full charge. Lastly, below the USB port is an additional jack to plug in the Razer’s detachable HyperClear Cardioid microphone.
All of those ports and buttons clutter the left side of the earcup. I would rather have a button or input port placed on the right side of the headset, which only houses the button to turn off or activate Razer’s Hypersense feature.
Audio Performance
The V3 and V3 Pro both utilize Razer’s TriForce Titanium drivers, are 50mm in size, and produce the same 20 Hz – 20 kHz frequency response. The V3 Pro’s sound is just as phenomenal as its vanilla counterpart. Everything instantly sounded crisp before I meddled with the audio via Razer Synapse. I listened to a fan-made edit of “All for Us” by Zendaya and Labrinth that only focuses on the former, and for the first time, I could audibly notice sections of the track sounding that were mixed down to serve the purpose of the edit.
After that, I tweaked around a bit with the headset’s software to see how I could really get the most out of the already stellar sound. There are three settings in the audio
“Enhancement” section of Razer Synapse, each with its own slider to adjust the effect. One is for bass boost, another is sound normalization, which regulates volume, and the last is for vocal clarity. There’s also a separate equalizer with gaming, music, and movie presets. A separate preset is also available to save custom equalizer settings. I used the music preset first. I used Spotify to listen to “Gone Guru” by Lifeseeker with sound normalization at 50, and it brought the track to life. The vocal-heavy track sounded clearer than I’d ever heard it. Where the track sounded a bit flat in my Sennheiser Momentum TW2 earbuds, the instrumentation and vocals sound like a remaster after some software tweaks on the V3 Pro software.
As usual, I listened to “Deep Down” by Winter Kills to test the equalizer and music preset in the software to find the best music-listening experience.
The track has just the right amount of soft vocals, deep bass, and heavy kicks to determine highs, lows, and mids. I used similar configurations, 25 Bass/50 Sound Normalization, as I did for the base V3, and sound replication was the same, which is to say: godly. I also made sure to go into Spotify’s settings and turn on the “Loud” volume option. Despite this song’s emphasis on euphoric vocals, I found that the vocal clarity mode works best for video conferences or podcasts where someone is speaking, as opposed to vocal-heavy tracks. Vocal clarity didn’t fare as well with music, so I would suggest tweaking the EQ to enhance vocal tracks instead.
There were random moments when using the regular V3 where I’d get feedback, and since I started reviewing the Pro, I haven’t experienced feedback even once. When using FL Studio, I maxed out the master volume well into the red, and I still never got any feedback issues.
The volume wheel on the headset controls the volume inside the headset, as opposed to adjusting the playback volume like the standard V3.
I love it for that, and I love having volume control outside of the master sound channel from the PC. I tested this out on consoles as well, such as the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One X. Here, the volume wheel only adjusted the sound inside the headset instead of the volume from the consoles.
Of course, this is a gaming headset, so I booted up Cyberpunk 2077 to test the audio in-game. THX spatial audio was a treat here, and I could easily make out the origin points for my footsteps and the footsteps of others in a full 360-degree circle around me. I’m not big on multiplayer titles, but I could imagine how beneficial this headset would be in a competitive sense.
Haptic Feedback
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Razer Kraken V3 Pro comes with a haptic feedback feature called Hypersense that turns sound into rumbles in each ear cup for another layer of immersion during gaming. The feature is only available when the headset is wireless and is disabled when connected via the 3.
5mm jack. There are three settings for haptic rumbles: low, medium, and high, each of which you can cycle through with the push of the button. I found the low option to be the least intrusive setting, as anything stronger took me away from focusing on the game. I first tried the Hypersense feature while playing Cyberpunk 2077, which also utilizes THX Spatial audio. The game itself is bombastic, from the roaring engine of your car while traversing Night City to the loud pedestrians you pass, the music, and even footsteps in some instances. The headset picks up every little sound and rumbles incessantly as a result. Even on the low setting, it was too much and took me out of the game rather than immersing me in it.
The feature is more welcome in single-player action adventures like God of War, or in a survival horror title. For God of War, haptic feedback gave weight to each swing from Kratos’ axe and made the game feel more cinematic. The impact from every little sound makes it feel like you haveIMAX loudspeakers on your head, for better or worse.
It also raised the shock value in sections of Resident Evil 7 that made the jumpscares more effective, given those scares focus on sound. But using Hypersense during loud games, especially ones with guns, gave me a headache.
Compatibility
USB connectivity works instantly over PC, and once I plugged the Kraken V3 Pro into my PS4 and navigated to the audio settings, the headset connected instantly without me having to do anything. The connection over the headphone jack was also simple enough. A cable is included for the headphone jack and it connected to my Nintendo Switch without a problem. However, getting the V3 Pro connected to an Xbox was a bit of a hassle.
Just plugging it in allows you to use the microphone without a problem, which means you can speak in any game with built-in chat functions at the ready. But due to the way the Xbox interface is set up, you have to fiddle with menus to hear in-game audio via the headset. I ultimately had to start a Chat party by myself to access the chat mixer settings to adjust how much game audio I heard versus chat audio.
It took me 20 minutes to figure it out, and even then, I had audio coming out of the TV and the headset, with no real instructions on how to do it perfectly.
Razer’s headsets are known for not being as compatible with Xbox consoles, and the Kraken V3’s instructions don’t show how to connect to them. The instructions don’t even show an illustration of an Xbox alongside other compatible devices because Razer knows it’s not plug-and-play. But it’s technically doable, and since the V3 Pro is the only model within the 2021 Kraken family that is compatible with Xbox consoles, there should be a note about how to connect to one specifically.
Microphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Razer Kraken V3 Pro comes with a detachable microphone similar to the rest of the headsets in this line, except this time with an improved supercardioid pick-up pattern. A standard cardioid pattern was used with the V3’s detachable mic, which picks up sound in a wide, frontal heart-shaped direction.
Supercardioid tightens up that heart-shaped pick-up pattern while improving side-rejection. There was an immediate quality difference when I recorded my voice on Audacity with the V3 Pro microphone vs the older one. My voice sounds a lot more present when using the latter, and although both produced a fuzzy feedback noise each time I spoke, it was less noticeable on the Pro’s.
However, the microphone itself still isn’t anything to write home about. It’ll get the job done if you need a microphone for in-game chatting or to talk to your friends over Discord, but don’t expect the sort of clarity you’d find from the best microphones on desktop. Of course, the software’s mic settings allow you to tweak its noise gate, vocal clarity, and volume normalization. And presets like Mic Boost, Conference, and Broadcast are available and do make a difference after some personal tweaking. For instance, I used Mic Boost when live streaming and could be heard loud and clear over the game’s audio when I couldn’t be heard beforehand.
Software
Like the other headsets within the Razer Kraken family, the V3 Pro utilizes Razer Synapse to customize its RGB lighting or make adjustments to the mic/audio quality. The tabs for the V3 include a general Sound section for assigning sound properties, a Mixer to set THX Spatial settings to individual apps, and unlabeled tab for testing the calibrations of the headset’s Game, Music, and Movie Mode presets, Enhancements for audio settings, Mic for microphone settings, and Lighting to tune RGB colors.
Although the software does a lot to elevate the product, it can be buggy at times. After some prolonged use, it messed with my sound drivers, and I had to do a fresh install of all my audio drivers. Despite this, Synapse’s user interface is simple enough to understand and has enough practical features to make it more than useful.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Razer Kraken V3 Pro is undeniably the best headset of the Kraken family, as it should be given its expensive price point.
Although I disagree with the stiff price for the addition of wireless capabilities and Hypersense haptics, not being tied down by a cable plus the wide variety of compatible devices puts the V3 Pro over the top. It has everything I love from the standard V3, addresses the issues I didn’t like about it, and adds all the features from across the product range. But with that comes some issues that are unique to the Pro, like the overly cluttered left earcup and not being able to use the headset while charging it.
Despite some minor grievances, the sound quality remains supreme, and its stylish design is retained. All the while maintaining its focus on delivering immersion without sacrificing comfortability. If haptic feedback and THX Spatial audio isn’t your main concern when shopping for a headset, the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Headset may be a better choice thanks to its superior 10Hz-40KHz frequency response.
Razer Kraken V3 Pro: Price Comparison
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Isaac Rouse is a staff writer at Tom’s Hardware. He reviews laptops and various gaming peripherals.
SunSpider, Mozilla Kraken, Google V8 Bench
Here you can easily and quickly test your browsers for performance.
How to test?
You have JavaScript disabled, you must enable JavaScript to pass the tests.
Browser used: Firefox 33.0
Your computer : c365609a9a5292c62133, OS: Linux 64-bit — edit description
benchmarks are available for browser testing:
- Run SunSpider 0.9.1 (1.27 MB of traffic) — benchmark description SunSpider
- Run V8 Bench (460 KB of traffic) — benchmark description of V8
- run 64 Mb of traffic) — Kraken benchmark description
Link to test the next browser — Test! (paste into the next browser and you can test it).
Link: http://freebrowsers.ru/benchmark/?Code_machine=c365609a9a5292c62133
Your results page : Results! (this link can be sent to anyone you want).
Link: http://freebrowsers.ru/benchmark/?Machine=10510483
Advice for the future or how to test all browsers.
Save the Test link! on your computer, in the future it will be possible to test new browsers that you will have on your computer, for example, you updated the version of your favorite browser — it’s not a sin to test it! To start testing, you just need to paste the saved link into the address bar of your browser and you will automatically be redirected to this page with all your saved results.
Note about public display of results.
If you want the results to be visible in the general list of results — just test at least 2 any browsers in one selected test.
Best results:
TOP SunSpider 0.9.1 | TOP Kraken | TOP V8 Benchmark
Other results:
- Updated 18 hours ago. System #10479668 (browsers: Opera 95.0.0.0 64-bit, Chrome 102.0.0.0, Yandex.Browser 23.1.2.
- System #10059976 (Browsers: Opera 94.0.0.0 64-bit, Chrome 109.0.0.0 64-bit, Firefox 109.
0 64-bit, Platforms: Windows NT 4.0 64-bit) - System #10055587 (Browsers: Firefox 109.0 64 -bit, Chrome 109.0.0.0 64-bit, Platforms: Windows NT 4.0 64-bit)
- System #10033616 (Browsers: Chrome 109.0.0.0 64-bit, Chrome 102.0.0.0, Firefox 109.0 64-bit, Platforms: Windows NT 4.0 64-bit)
- System #10025511 (browsers: Chrome 108.0.0.0, Firefox 109.0, platforms: Linux 64-bit)
- System #346761, tumba.kz, CPU: 1.60 GHz (browsers: Maxthon 4.9.4.1000, Chrome 45.0.2454.85, Opera 12.18, SRWare Iron 6.0.475.1, CometBird 3 CometBird 3 CometBird 3.0.11, CometBird 11.0, Chrome 20.0.12 Firefox 31.0 Chrome 48.0.2564.116 Chrome 50.0.2661.75 Firefox 43.0 Firefox 47.0 Chrome 53.0.2785.143 Chrome 54.0.2840.71 Chrome 5.0.375.125 Comodo Dragon 13.4.0.0 Chrome 51.0.2703.42. , Opera 43.0.2442.991, SeaMonkey 2.46, Firefox 38.0, Chrome 47.5.2526.173, Chrome 57.0.2987.133 Chrome 40.0.2214.91 Chrome 58.0.3029.81 Firefox 52.0 Chrome 59.0.3071.90 Chrome 63.0.3239.108 Comodo Dragon 9.
0.0.3 Chrome 57.0.2987.11 Chrome 64.0.3282.119 , Chrome 109.0.0.0 64-bit, Platforms: Windows XP, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 7, Windows NT 4.0 64-bit) - System #1749197, Vermeer, Processor: R7 5800X ( browsers: Firefox 82.0 64-bit, Chrome 85.0.4183.69 64-bit, Firefox 88.0 64-bit, Chrome 90.0.4430.95 64-bit, Firefox 89.0 64-bit, Opera 75.0.3969.259 64-bit, Chrome 88.0.4324.150 64-bit, Chrome 84.0.4137.1 64-bit, Firefox 90.0 64-bit, Opera 76.0.4017.208 64-bit, Firefox 95.0 64-bit, Firefox 96.0 64-bit, Firefox 97.0 64-bit, Firefox 98.0 64-bit, Opera 83.0.4254.66 64-bit, Firefox 99.0 64-bit, Opera 84.0.4316.36 64-bit, Opera 84.0.4316.50 64 -bit, Yandex.Browser 22.3.0.2434, Firefox 100.0 64-bit, Opera 85.0.4341.68 64-bit, Yandex.Browser 22.3.1.892 64-b, Firefox 101.0 64-bit, Opera 85.0.4341.79 64-bit, Firefox 102.0 64-bit Opera 87.0.4390.58 64-bit Firefox 103.0 64-bit Firefox 104.0 64-bit Opera 89.0.4447.98 64-bit Firefox 59.0 64-bit Firefox 105.0 64-bit Firefox 106.
0 64-bit Firefox 107.0 64-bit Firefox 110.0 64-bit, platforms: Windows 8.1 64-bit, Windows NT 4.0 64-bit)
How to understand that you are ill with the «Kraken»: how the mutant covid is different from the flu, colds and other coronaviruses0007
January 23, 2023 15:21
Understanding how the symptoms differ, what tests can actually show and who needs them : REUTERS
AND THE LAST WILL BE FIRST
The incidence of respiratory infections (these include influenza, colds, and covid) is growing in our country. To verify this, you can not even look at the statistics. Public transport passengers cough and sniff through one. According to official data, the number of coronavirus infections over the past week increased by 21.9%. Influenza B also went up, Rospotrebnadzor warns. In general, influenza A (“porcine” h2N1) and B viruses are still in the lead, accounting for almost 76% of the incidence. They are followed by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinoviruses, metapneumoviruses and covid.
The latter will increasingly advance to the first roles, epidemiologists predict. Since a «particularly advanced» sub-variant of the XBB.1.5 omicron, called the «kraken», came to our country. Today, it has the highest infectiousness of all COVID-19 pathogens known to science..
Many people are interested: how to distinguish influenza A and B, colds, Kraken and other types of coronavirus in practice, by symptoms? Let’s figure it out.
FLU A AND B: NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ANYTHING
Influenza often has the most striking symptoms that cannot be confused with either colds or current covid variations. Here are the signs of the «pork» strain are given in the medical instructions for diagnosis for doctors of district clinics:
— acute onset: within 12-48 hours after contact with a sick person;
— severe fever — rise in temperature to 38.5-39 degrees and above;
— severe headache;
— the skin of the face often turns red;
— severe pain in the joints and muscles;
— cough — severe frequent dry;
— there is practically no congestion and discharge from the nose, and if they appear, then for a short period.
Such symptoms are characteristic of both influenza A and influenza B. The latter, in contrast to «swine», generally less likely to cause severe complications. However, in people with weakened immune systems (chronic patients, the elderly), it can hit both the lungs and the heart.
Another distinguishing feature of influenza type B is that it can cause diarrhea, which is rare for influenza A viruses, Natalya Pshenichnaya, deputy director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, told reporters.
COLDS, «KRAKEN» AND OTHER TYPES OF CORONAVIRUS
The current covid pathogens are so close in their symptoms to the rest of ARVI (cold viruses) that it is by their external manifestations that you often cannot distinguish them at all! Another thing is that coronavirus is still fraught with more dangerous complications and unpleasant “tails” (post-covid). But, most importantly, it is incomparably more contagious than the «common» colds. And the “kraken” that came to us is a record holder for jumping from one person to another.
Neither vaccinations stop him (while they continue to successfully protect against severe complications), nor the immunity of those who have recovered from other sub-variants of the coronavirus. And here the question arises: how to find out what kind of COVID-19did I get sick last time? Suddenly it was already the same «kraken»? According to scientific data, the same type of coronavirus can be re-infected after an average of 4-6 months. At least some respite.
The answer is unlikely to please you, but you will know the truth. And do not harbor illusions and fruitlessly search the Internet for “distinctive symptoms of the“ kraken ”(if you find it, these are unfounded statements, keep in mind). According to scientific studies, there are simply no such differences! Recall: “kraken” is a type of coronavirus of the “omicron” variant, which came to us in January 2022. Since then, many sub-variants have appeared: «stealth», «centaur», «typhon», «cerberus» and others. But! All of them are descendants of «omicron».
They differ from each other in the degree of contagiousness and the ability to escape from immunity. But not symptoms! If the mutations were so significant that they significantly affected the clinical manifestations (symptoms) and the course of the disease, then these would no longer be sub-variants of the «omicron», but new variants of the coronavirus. So — relax. According to the symptoms, the «kraken» can not be distinguished from its fellows.
But maybe tests will determine it? And again no. That express tests for the coronavirus antigen, which can be bought at a pharmacy, that a laboratory PCR test will show whether you basically have the COVID-19 pathogen. But the variety — a variant and even more so a sub-variant of the virus — will not be calculated. Why? As experienced doctors say, before prescribing any examination or manipulation, you need to think: what will this change in terms of further actions? If nothing, then the procedure is not needed. When infected with covid, for the vast majority of patients, the treatment is the same — be it «centaur», «cerberus» or «kraken».
Therefore, for clinical practice, “general” tests are enough to answer the main question: is a person sick with covid or not.
BY THE WAY
Are you wondering how Rospotrebnadzor will know that a particular “kraken” or another sub-variant has come to Russia? For this, “in order to monitor the variability of the COVID-19 pathogen,” an expensive study is being carried out — sequencing, or decoding of the coronavirus genome. Samples of patients taken selectively are sent for such an in-depth analysis. For example, in hospitalized patients, in patients taking tests in medical laboratories, etc. Sequencing is carried out by specialized laboratories, usually within the framework of research institutes.
TO THE TOPIC
What are the symptoms of «omicron»
Yes, we are talking about the symptoms of «omicron», because his descendant «kraken» they are all the same. Here are the official signs from the instructions for health workers:
— the temperature is often low — up to 38 degrees;
— moderate runny nose;
— headache;
— pain in muscles and joints is moderate, rare;
— cough dry or with little sputum;
— pale skin.
STAY INFORMED
Who needs to be tested for covid and influenza
As doctors explain, first of all these are patients with a high risk of severe complications. For medical reasons, they often require the appointment of antiviral drugs — either for the flu or for covid. That is why differential diagnosis is needed. At the same time, antiviral drugs should be started as early as possible, ideally from the 1-2th day of the onset of symptoms. So the earlier the test is done, the better. Accordingly, at the very first signs of a respiratory infection (fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat), you need to see a doctor without wasting time.
Who is at risk:
— pregnant women,
— people over 60 years old,
— patients with chronic diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, etc.),
— patients with reduced immunity. For example, people taking immunosuppressive drugs (steroids, cytostatics), people with HIV infection.
SEE ALSO
How to properly treat SARS and influenza (more)
Read also
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