I’m 70 years old and on the 12th of December 2020, I contacted COVID-19. I’m writing this to explain some of the symptoms that I experienced as well as a number of other people I have spoken with that had had the virus.
For the First Five Days…
For the first five days of the illness, I felt fine, and it seemed that this whole COVID thing was going to be just fine and quickly gone.
The 6th Day on…
On the sixth day I started to experience strong headaches and a weird cough from an itchy throat. That lasted for several hours and promptly disappeared, and I started experiencing body aches and loss of equilibrium.
From the 6th day on the symptoms kept on disappearing then coming back. Just when I felt good, I felt exhausted. I was so tired that it was hard for me to even eat, but I forced myself. I experienced nausea but was able to hold back from throwing up. I had to go to sleep every couple hours, but when I got up, I forced myself to eat and drink hot tea.
Then at night for five straight days in a row I had cold sweats and the bedding, and my pajamas were soaked, and I had to get up in the middle of the night and change my clothes and the bedding. For those days it was a ritual of getting up, ripping off all bedding and my clothes and wash them.
The exhaustion lingered on and no matter what I did I was almost paralyzed by the tiredness and had to force myself to eat and hydrate. I got plenty of sleep, plenty of food and plenty of liquids in efforts to get rid of the virus but it was an endurance battle and the COVID-19 stayed with its symptoms for the full 14 days. Symptoms stayed for a few hours then they would go away and replaced by new symptoms.
I made sure that I would shower every morning with real hot water to steam the shower and have the steam get into my lungs. I was very sensitive to the heat of the water and had to lower the temperature of the shower way below normal, but still hot.
I made sure to take enough vitamins, extra C, D, E and plenty of natural juices. I felt a weird indigestion after I ate, but I kept on eating to get enough nutrients to fight the virus. Some people experienced a slight fever, a rash, loss of taste, etc. however I did not. I did experience loss of smell for about four days and it came back on the fifth day.
Additionally, COVID-19 seems to affect the mind by making you think weird things, get depressed and panicked. Every day seemed like a weeklong and the constant change in symptoms compiled with the exhaustion just wears down a person affected.
Some people experience diarrhea, however I did not. Talking with some people that were going through the COVID-19 issue at the same time, I was told that they felt like ending it all, they were extremely depressed and had thoughts of suicide. For this reason is very important to keep a close eye on the elderly as well as those that aren’t healthy, when they get affected with COVID-19, because the results can be catastrophic.
Coincidentally my mother, who lives in the Midwest and is 90 years old contacted COVID-19. My brother, my sister and I made sure to call her every hour when she was home and when she was in the hospital, we called so many times with updates on her condition and demanded to know what they were doing to keep her from getting worse, that they finally sent her home. Hospitals can be a dangerous place if the patient is not treated right or ignored.
My Suggestions to Fight COVID-19 When it Strikes:
- Get plenty of rest
- Stay hydrated
- Shower every morning with real hot water and inhale the steam
- Drink 7 to 9 cups of hot tea daily
- Increase your vitamins C,D, and E
- Make sure you walk around a couple times a day the house just to get the blood flowing through your body.
- Stay positive and know that the exhaustion will last at least 14 days
- Eat every 2 to 3 hours… COVID-19 doesn’t like good nutrition
- Take deep breaths through your nose several times a day
- Symptoms may persist for 30-60 days after the 14-day quarantine period even though you’re not contagious
- If you have breathing issues, make sure that you sleep with your back propped up and not laying completely flat, for your breathing may be restricted.
- Don’t give up, don’t give in…you can beat this…
Please understand that this is by no means an answer or a cure for COVID-19. This are just my experiences with the virus as well as the experiences of several others that have had COVID-19. Symptoms seem to vary according to the health condition of the individual and COVID-19 seems to attack any weakness that a person has. It is important that you seek medical attention when affected by COVID-19 and follow the guidance of medical professionals.
