I got infected with Omikron BA.5 while on vacation in Zakopane. It was worse than I thought

Instead of resting, cycling and hiking along the Tatra trails, I spent nine days of vacation with the new version of the virus in Zakopane, which is full of tourists from Poland and all over the world. At that time, I did not know that the BA.5 sub-variant can also be infected in crowded places outside.

1. First, I felt a decline in condition, my body was heavy and tired, but in the mountains it is the norm when you walk a lot
2. I was also not surprised when a severe sore throat hit me – after all, I was drinking cold drinks in the heat
3. After that, it only got worse, and the symptoms kept popping up one after the other. It was like that for 10 days. Worse, my husband and my two sons also got infected
4. The doctor was not surprised by the positive test or my symptoms and admitted that in July there were plenty of covid cases, and he gave as many teleports a day as at the peak of the fall wave.
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

I rarely get sick, I am triple vaccinated against COVID-19, so I did not think that a holiday stay in the mountains would end up catching Omicron and infecting my entire family. The illness resembling a severe cold and stomach flu was neither light nor short in my case. The variant I contracted in the middle of summer was also completely different in terms of symptoms than my first COVID-19 contracted almost a year and a half earlier.

COVID-19 in the open air? That’s how I got infected

Instead of resting, cycling and hiking along the Tatra trails, I spent nine days of vacation with the new version of the virus in Zakopane, which is full of tourists from Poland and all over the world. I did not know then that due to the exceptionally high transmissivity of the BA.5 sub-variant, experts warned that the risk of infection could also be present in crowded places in the open air. I quickly found out that they were right.

After a few exceptionally hot days spent in the swimming pool outside, in the thermal baths and aquapark full of people from all over Europe and the world, I felt worse. First, I felt a decline in condition, my body felt heavy and tired, but in the mountains it is the norm when you walk a lot.

I was also not surprised when a severe sore throat hit me – after all, I was drinking cold drinks in the heat. Then it got worse – I got a severe headache, I was literally bursting with pain. Muscle and joint pain developed to fatigue and drowsiness. Even worse was the severe nausea, I felt as if I had poisoned myself with something.

The next day, more symptoms appeared – dry mouth and a feeling of swelling in the mouth, a stiff tongue and tinnitus. In the evening I was still shivering, my temperature was high and I was constantly pressing on my bladder. The nightmare headache worsened, and the painkillers were not helping. I was tired but couldn’t sleep.

The infection is on the rise. I have lost my voice, smell and taste. I also have no appetite

The third day seemed better, but only seemingly. The severe sore throat that could not be reduced with any medications – neither in the form of tablets, aerosol or mouthwash – was accompanied by a sore jaw, all of my teeth ached at the same time.

I quickly got runny nose, sneezing, coughing and stuffy nose. The headache started to ease a little and the fatigue eased a bit. But my head was still heavy from the pillow. I could not sleep, I had no appetite – only fruit “came” to me. Out of common sense, I forced the still-liked water into myself, which started to smell and cause nausea. On the same day my voice changed, it became hoarse. I also lost my sense of smell and taste.

Then I knew what I was dealing with. A quick pharmacy antigen test like a pregnancy test showed two lines that indicated I was infected with SARS-CoV-2. That morning, I called a medical clinic where I have a subscription and asked for an internist’s advice. Upon hearing about what was wrong with me, I was refused a personal visit to a medical facility in Zakopane, and even for a teleportation I had to wait many hours.

The doctor was not surprised by the positive test or my symptoms and admitted that in July there were plenty of covid cases, and he gave as many telepaths a day as during the peak of the fall wave. He proposed to do a test at the clinic, which would give me the official status of a cure when the infection was confirmed. Unfortunately, there are no branches of this network in Zakopane, the closest one was in Krakow and I did not feel up to going that far.

The internist reminded that more than half a year has passed since my third COVID-19 vaccination, it gives me little protection. Especially that the Omikron BA.5 sub-variant is so mutated that it can bypass the protection offered by vaccines against earlier variants of the virus. The medic also said that there is no longer any obligation to quarantine, but self-isolation for a week from the first symptoms is advisable.

Is this the end of the nightmare? Symptoms come back like a boomerang for days

On the fourth day, as usual, I woke up too early with a heavy head like after a big party, and again with a very sharp sore throat. I had a nightmare – when I was ill, I had bad dreams and woke up early. Sleep problems are also one of the symptoms of the disease. I had a hard time falling asleep and woke up tired in the early morning but couldn’t sleep. I usually fall asleep quickly and sleep like a dead person.

I had a stuffy nose all day, then my ears, a very heavy runny nose and I was sneezing. Handkerchiefs were not enough, I was literally using up my rolls of toilet paper. The skin has come off my nose by wiping my nose frequently. The headache and nausea subsided – instead I had new symptoms – stomach trouble. The sense of smell and taste still didn’t come back, I couldn’t eat because I had no appetite at all. In the evening I was unable to fall asleep due to the pouring runny nose, and the mucosa of the nose was one huge scab.

Fifth day. I wake up early in the morning as usual, hoping to finally feel better. Outside the window, beautiful summer weather, you can hear the sounds of holiday stays of families with children in the neighboring buildings. Meanwhile, I am ill like in the flu season. My head is pregnant when I wake up and I feel pain, tickle, and a scratchy throat. The runny nose has decreased significantly. The dry cough has turned to peel, but the throat feels unpleasantly when tearing off.

For the next four days, the virus did not give up. I felt it was a little better, and then I felt sick again, tired and weak. “Heavy” head with severe pain immediately after waking up and nausea that came back like a boomerang and often lasted all day.

But it is not everything. Apart from insomnia, “brain fog” appeared: confusion, distraction, memory problems, dizziness. Lack of appetite, diarrhea, gas, stomach pains and the aforementioned nausea are in turn ailments from the digestive system that also took its toll on me.

The new variety is by no means light. I went through it harder than the first COVID-19 variant

It wasn’t until the tenth day after the first symptoms that I felt better. The current version of Omikron can be compared to a combination of food poisoning with a severe cold, angina and sinusitis at the same time.

How was I treated? Only symptomatic treatment – I took various painkillers, drugs for my throat and stuffy nose, and was even prescribed a nausea remedy. However, the medications did not help me much, especially for the sore head and throat. Vitamins C and D are recommended and plenty of water to help flush the virus out of the body, but I forced it into myself because I did not feel thirsty during my illness and even after drinking a few sips I felt sick.

Unfortunately, it was not only me who had COVID-19 during the holidays. We went on vacation with our family and as we could not separate ourselves completely, my whole family soon became infected – my husband and two teenage sons. Their COVID-19 course was similar to mine, although the children, especially the 12-year-old, had a faster course of infection and significantly fewer symptoms than us adults.

After my first mild COVID-19 illness of just three days in early 2021 and three doses of the vaccine, I didn’t think I’d catch the virus again. I also did not suspect that the next infection would occur in the middle of summer and would have such a long and unpleasant course.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time Joanna Kozłowska, author of the book High Sensitivity. A Guide for Those Who Feel Too Much »says that high sensitivity is not a disease or dysfunction – it’s just a set of characteristics that affect the way you perceive and perceive the world. What are the genetics of WWO? What are the perks of being highly sensitive? How to act with your high sensitivity? You will find out by listening to the latest episode of our podcast.