HD is a fit and healthy woman, with no risk factors, in her early 40’s. This is her COVID of how the infection will play out for many, if not most people.
Notes from my experience of COVID.
Day 1 – Had severe sneezing & profuse runny nose (S&R) started about 3pm & continued all throughout the night, thought it was hay fever.
Day 2 -I felt very tired, continued with sneezing and runny nose but less intense & profuse
Day 3 -Felt more tired, had to cancel planned work, slight aching in limbs
Day 4 – felt a bit better, 1 work appointment, walk in the afternoon & work meeting in the early eve, went to bed very tired, still sneezing.
Day 5 – Feeling more tired but continued working, very tired at bed, S&R, slight cough started before bed
Day 6 – Now exhausted, cancelled all work, S&R, coughing increased, sore throat, struggling to process simple information (fuzzy head)
Day 7 – Still exhausted, S&R, cough, sore throat, dizzy, drowsy & fuzzy head, severity would come & go in waves.
Day 8 – More periods of improved energy but activity followed by exhaustion, less S&R, less coughing, clearer thinking
Day 9 – really improved energy not my full Duracell self. Walking very slowly. Less sneezing and runny nose improving. Nose better. No coughing all day then coughing for about 2 hours at bed time(am aware cough & fatigue will come & go for a bit )
On day 10, I called 111 online COVID check and got a very quick call back from a COVID Thankfully, my husband and daughter have displayed no noticeable symptoms during this period.
I’ve not had a high fever throughout, though in early days I was feeling chilled & very slightly feverish but without temp. I noticed that when I over exerted myself, I had coughing episodes and mild shortness of breath.
I’ve had poor sleep throughout this illness, not helped by worry and fear. Lots of coughing sneezing and runny nose. I had vivid and often high stress dreams during the second week
No one has left the house since for 10 days now.
We have all been taking vit C & increased vit D since lockdown. I’ve drunk tonnes of warm water steeped with sage, lemon, ginger, honey etc. Every day I would recline in the garden. We decided to self-isolate when we did to be cautious, but were really not sure what going on as my symptoms were a bit unusual.
My plan is to take it easy for another week, then go for a short walk, build up my strength, stamina & energy. If this is successful I’ll start working again after next week.
From beginning to end, the illness lasted 22 days.
Indeed. Some of the tests might be picking up bits of viral RNA other than live viruses, but is does hang around for some time.
Very interesting to hear such reports, even if one shouldn't read too much generality into them. The length of time sufferers report being significantly ill is noticeable though – at least two weeks, maybe three. Not like the few days we expect from typical stay-at-home viral illnesses.