Man Details What It Really Feels Like To Have A ‘Mild’ Case Of Covid-19
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Even with the number of COVID-19 cases rising dramatically, there are many young people out there thinking they are “immune” to the virus. While it’s true that many people experience very slight symptoms or no symptoms at all, not everyone is so lucky. Those who do experience symptoms of the disease say it’s not worth gambling with your health and ignoring the risk posed by the virus. Recently, a man took to Imgur to share what it really feels like to have COVID-19 in hopes to encourage people to take better care of themselves and others.
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Christopher, who wrote the account under the username of Ispentwaytoolongthinkingaboutthis, is a 43-year-old living in the Toronto, Ontario area. The man told Bored Panda that he started having symptoms at the end of March and knew he had COVID-19 after reading what symptoms people who tested positive had. While he initially described his case as “minor,” Christopher later realized that his case was much more severe than he thought. “I called it a ‘minor’ case because that’s what I thought it was, but after reading many comments on my post, I know now it was a moderate to extreme case. I didn’t go to the emergency room earlier because I was scared and that was foolish. My experience was just short of extreme, I feel stupid not getting emergency help sooner, and the ER doctors I did see said a ventilator would most likely have been used if I had come in at my worst, as at that time my oxygen was only at 88% and should be 95% or better. I purchased an O2 monitor on Amazon in mid-March,” he said.
Christopher is self-employed at a company called Living Wall Concepts that builds and maintains indoor vertical gardens (living walls). “It’s been hard keeping staff employed during this time, which adds to the stress of the illness. With being sick, we are focused on just staying in business and being a serviced-based industry, it’s hard in these times.”
Christopher told us that the worst symptom for him was a burning sensation in his chest and difficulty breathing.
“The burning would come in waves over 7-10 days and the fatigue was nothing I’ve experienced before. I would say the burning feeling was an 8/10 on the pain scale. The fatigue was worst for me in the evening between 7-10 pm. The brain fog was bad as well. It was like my IQ was dwindling by the day. A horrible experience to live with for weeks on end.”
The man recommends immediately seeking medical attention no matter how “minor” one thinks their symptoms are. He urges people not to take recovery lightly, too.
“This is a virus that is two steps forward, one step back for recovery. Just when you think you’re on the mend, it comes back and flattens you for a few more days with a vengeance.”
After 6 long weeks of battling the disease, Christopher says he’s doing much better; however, he’s still not fully recovered. “I would say I am at 75% currently and at my worst I’d say I was at 20%. After 6 weeks, I still have breathing issues and still have the slight ‘burning’ and heaviness in the top of my chest. It comes and goes, but at night, it’s far worse. I can feel I’m on the mend but also can feel it will be a long road to full recovery. My only main concern now is any long-term damage I may suffer, but time will tell.”
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This is not a "Minor Case Of Covid-19". Calling it like this creates unneccesary panic. This is a case of healthcare failure with a medium case of Covid-19. A large majority of people has no symptoms at all, or really only minor symptoms. What the person here described would be a bad case of influenca, and it could have killed someone with a weak immune system! In any case, ancectodal stories like this help not at all...some take it as "every one is likely to die" and panic, other take it of accounts of those who seek attention and find confidence in not keeping distance. What we truly need is scientific progress, better data, and support for healthcare professionals.
I would agree this wasn't mild because it required hospitalization. Still, my friend is going on 3 weeks with a fever and her case is mild.
Well said
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CHINESE FLU IS NOT RACIST YOU SNOWFLAKE FUCKWIT.
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Is this your first time spouting lies or are you just getting started. Everything you said is flat out bullshit. Do the world a favor, go play in the trafffic, kid, because you're just embarrassing yourself now.
Wtf are you talking about?? Instead of calling names and being another idiot that thinks that going outside is going to kill you, why don’t you explain the reason you felt to reply in the manner you did...
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Are you a doctor? Were you personally responsible for the care of this man? Were you by his side monitoring him? No? Then what qualifies you to say what level of Chinese Flu he had?
This isn't a flu; the flu is always caused by the influenza virus
'Chinese Flu' is a) racist and b) wrong as it's not flu. People calling it that merely show how bloody thick they are.
Consistent with my experience. But, I was too ill to call an ambulance (extremely high fever and unable to move for about 2 days). And, if I'm honest, I was scared of going to hospital. I imagined it being like a warzone. I was sent back to work after two weeks (I work in the Courts), but after 3 days up and about I had a relapse and had to call out paramedics who confirmed I was still recovering from Covid 19 - cue another 2 week's quarantine. Still have slight breathing issues 6 weeks after first symptoms, but much, much recovered. *** For those in the UK: Do not believe the NHS instructions that say you can go back to work even if you have a cough, provided you don't have a fever *** That's what I was told by 111 and my GP, so I walked around outside for 3 days, still infectious (the paramedics confirmed that if you are coughing, you could still be infectious and you should stay home).
I'm so sorry you've been so ill but thank you for sharing that last bit of information - makes more sense to me. Hope you are fully recovered soon.
Thank you, I'm slowly getting better :)
What scares me about COVID-19 is that there's not only lung damage, but kidney and liver damage (including hepatitis), heart damage and heart attacks, and blood clots and strokes occurring after people are supposedly well, even in the younger folks. Also, just because you've had it, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're immune from reinfection. There's so much that we don't know about this virus, and I'm grateful to the brave doctors, nurses, and hospital staffs battling this on the front lines, and to the researchers who I know are doing their best to assess what is going on and to develop a vaccine ASAP.
This is not a "Minor Case Of Covid-19". Calling it like this creates unneccesary panic. This is a case of healthcare failure with a medium case of Covid-19. A large majority of people has no symptoms at all, or really only minor symptoms. What the person here described would be a bad case of influenca, and it could have killed someone with a weak immune system! In any case, ancectodal stories like this help not at all...some take it as "every one is likely to die" and panic, other take it of accounts of those who seek attention and find confidence in not keeping distance. What we truly need is scientific progress, better data, and support for healthcare professionals.
I would agree this wasn't mild because it required hospitalization. Still, my friend is going on 3 weeks with a fever and her case is mild.
Well said
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
CHINESE FLU IS NOT RACIST YOU SNOWFLAKE FUCKWIT.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Is this your first time spouting lies or are you just getting started. Everything you said is flat out bullshit. Do the world a favor, go play in the trafffic, kid, because you're just embarrassing yourself now.
Wtf are you talking about?? Instead of calling names and being another idiot that thinks that going outside is going to kill you, why don’t you explain the reason you felt to reply in the manner you did...
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Are you a doctor? Were you personally responsible for the care of this man? Were you by his side monitoring him? No? Then what qualifies you to say what level of Chinese Flu he had?
This isn't a flu; the flu is always caused by the influenza virus
'Chinese Flu' is a) racist and b) wrong as it's not flu. People calling it that merely show how bloody thick they are.
Consistent with my experience. But, I was too ill to call an ambulance (extremely high fever and unable to move for about 2 days). And, if I'm honest, I was scared of going to hospital. I imagined it being like a warzone. I was sent back to work after two weeks (I work in the Courts), but after 3 days up and about I had a relapse and had to call out paramedics who confirmed I was still recovering from Covid 19 - cue another 2 week's quarantine. Still have slight breathing issues 6 weeks after first symptoms, but much, much recovered. *** For those in the UK: Do not believe the NHS instructions that say you can go back to work even if you have a cough, provided you don't have a fever *** That's what I was told by 111 and my GP, so I walked around outside for 3 days, still infectious (the paramedics confirmed that if you are coughing, you could still be infectious and you should stay home).
I'm so sorry you've been so ill but thank you for sharing that last bit of information - makes more sense to me. Hope you are fully recovered soon.
Thank you, I'm slowly getting better :)
What scares me about COVID-19 is that there's not only lung damage, but kidney and liver damage (including hepatitis), heart damage and heart attacks, and blood clots and strokes occurring after people are supposedly well, even in the younger folks. Also, just because you've had it, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're immune from reinfection. There's so much that we don't know about this virus, and I'm grateful to the brave doctors, nurses, and hospital staffs battling this on the front lines, and to the researchers who I know are doing their best to assess what is going on and to develop a vaccine ASAP.