QuoraED: What Does Having The Coronavirus Feel Like?

QuoraED! This is when we pick up a trending or interesting thread from Quora and spin a story around it.

It is certainly safe to say that things are looking pretty bleak nowadays.

It has been nearly a month since the world collectively went into lockdown and our only knowledge of the current events is through associated frontline workers or journalists.

This pandemic has caused mayhem as millions have caught the virus and been admitted for COVID-19. We are constantly warned about the symptoms, fatality and are constantly encouraged to practice social distancing without skipping a beat.

At this point, we may think we are well-literate about the novel virus, but how do we really know?

If you’re like me, who is alright (till now, touch wood) and don’t know anyone close to you who has tested positive, we still may be in the dark about the whole scenario.

We may still be unaware of its severity as we still don’t have first-hand or second-hand experience.

Therefore, Let’s Head On To Quora:

A Quora user put forth a question: 

“What does having the coronavirus feel like?”

And it received more than 100 answers! That makes getting your question answered more depressing, to be honest.

The top-voted answer is from a user named Patricia Dang, 17, from the UK.

Summing up her answer: She explained how she may have caught the virus in a concert she had attended a week before showing symptoms. This is a pretty credible source to pin-point since COVID-19 symptoms take nearly one to two weeks to kick in.

Her mother noticed a few days after the concert how she had been really tired, and then slowly the other visible symptoms came into play. Everything started with a horrible stomach ache, followed by a loss of balance, high-temperature fever, dry cough, chest pain, and back pain day after day.

Here, it becomes very important to note one thing:

“I’m 17, so it may not be the same as others have experienced as I understand it is something that affects everyone differently depending on their immune system, age, etc.”

As a 17-year old with no other medical issues, let’s assume that she was a perfectly healthy girl with a good immune system. She recovered 10 days after she started to show symptoms. Thus, it gives hope for people in their youth with no severe underlying conditions that with proper medical intervention, coronavirus can be easily battled.

But Not Everyone Is Blessed With Young Age And/Or Health Conditions That Can Keep Up Good Resistance

The second-highest voted answer explains the above, posted by 33-year old Natalie Walker.

Here, she states that she was already suffering from Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis – which is a disease that affects the central nervous system, interfering with the brain’s ability to operate the body’s movements. This made her quickly pneumonic when infected by COVID-19. 

Her age also doesn’t help, since her immune system may have less fighting power than teens (not necessarily though, just going by a general fact). This is generally due to our biological clock, increased stress factors, accumulated result of a long period of bad eating habits and less physical activities, etc. 

Not only she had the same symptoms as Patricia’s, but she had them worse.

“Simply because my O2 sat this morning was 64% and I was severely hypoxic. Feels like shards or crystals or solidified material entered my lungs, although it’s probably just the secreted fluid by the virus which caused me to have pneumonia. The breathing feels like I’m gasping for air every second, and the chest cough broke one of my ribs it was so forceful.”

“I also experienced way more severe orthostatic hypotension than ever before. When I get up or try to get up (which the nurses won’t let me even attempt anymore) I black out right away.”

Both Patricia and Natalie started showing symptoms around the same time in March. Natalie’s symptoms were not only worse (as previously mentioned) – but her treatment period was almost double to Patricia’s (nearly 20+ days)!

Also Read: 93 YO Diabetes Patient Returns Home After Recovering Well From Coronavirus And Heart Attack

In Conclusion:

I hope this stark contrast between the different lives led by the two Quora users during their period in treatment gives you an idea on the ordeal of being infected by the coronavirus and the recovery. 

It also becomes important to keep in mind our social responsibility of social distancing, because the attitude “I’m healthy! Corona can’t kill me!” will still make you the carrier of the virus that’ll prove fatal, or at minimum hard to fight, to someone weaker. 

For the end – stay safe and keep yourself healthy with good food, and be extra aware of your bodily functions. Keeping yourself healthy is not only beneficial for you, but also for the others around that may physically and mentally need your services.

Image Sources: Google Images

Sources: Quora, Medline Plus, Cleveland Clinic

Find The Blogger: @PoppyDotWot

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