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SARS fell ill during quarantine: a real story
What can you face if you catch a cold in the midst of a pandemic.
If before a person who sneezed in society, they wanted “Bless you!” All this is due to the coronavirus, which in a matter of weeks blocked the life of not only one city or country, but the whole world, causing instability and fear of the future.
But in the spring, there is also a period of exacerbation of all the diseases we are used to, such as influenza, ARVI and ARI. And I, like many, managed to catch a cold during the time of COVID-19. So what is it like to get sick during an epidemic of a terrible virus?
Never google your symptoms on the internet!
If it were not for the pandemic, I would not have thought that I am the carrier of a terrible virus in the corona! Sore throat, fever, general lethargy and headache would only tell me that I had a cold. Even without calling a doctor, I would already know what to buy at the pharmacy and how long I will be ill. But quarantine raged in the courtyard: people with madness stuffed refrigerators with food, bought antiseptics and medical masks, were wary of each other and kept their distance. Therefore, a slight wave of panic overtook me: what if I have this virus, but I don’t even suspect?
After all, as all the media said, not only those who returned from countries with a negative epidemiological situation, such as China and Italy, could become carriers of the virus … COVID-19 is transmitted by airborne droplets, and everyone can get sick!
I started googling the symptoms of a new virus and realized that everything is described vaguely, but in general the symptoms are very similar to mine. To be honest, I was a little scared. I knew that in connection with the pandemic, patients with suspicion of even a common cold should not go to the clinic on their own, but call the doctor at home so as not to infect other people in the medical facility. And so I did.
The ambulance arrived very quickly, which surprised me. Indeed, in a normal situation, you can wait for half a day. I was worried that I had an invalid insurance policy and would not be accepted, but at first they did not even ask him. Apparently, the doctors were instructed to check everyone, regardless of the presence of documents.
The first questions from the doctors were: “Have you traveled abroad in recent months?” and “Have you contacted people who have returned from abroad?” Having received two negative answers from me, they began to find out about the symptoms, complaints, asked how long the temperature had been, if I noticed something unusual in the way the cold was proceeding. The coronavirus test was not taken, no new or additional methods for diagnosing the disease were used. We listened to the lungs, measured the temperature, looked at the throat.
Self-hypnosis can play a cruel joke with people. When someone asks you: “Do you notice aches in your joints and muscles?”, You involuntarily begin to feel it. It is important not to panic here, but to get together and provide the most accurate data.
As a result of the first examination, I was given a sick leave, in which they indicated the diagnosis: preliminary acute pharyngitis. Antiviral and throat gargle was prescribed. And, of course, bed rest and plenty of drink. The recipe didn’t surprise me. But the following surprised me: the doctor ordered an examination in two days. To the question “Why so soon? After all, it takes a week to treat a cold or ARVI, ”he replied that all those suffering from influenza and illnesses very similar to it, the city’s polyclinics are kept under control in order to exclude the likelihood of contracting a coronavirus infection. After these words, it became much easier, because in case of an erroneous diagnosis, I knew that now I would be under the close attention of doctors and not a single infection would go unnoticed.
Separate entrance and sidelong glances: how was my repeated visit to the doctor
The day of the second examination came, to which I went myself, because I felt better, and the building of the clinic is located next to my house. I didn’t have a pharmacy mask, so I had to use a scarf. Entering the medical facility, I saw an entertaining picture: there were almost no people, and at the entrance everyone was met by a nurse and measured the temperature. The paramedic came up to me, pointed the device and loudly announced: “You have a temperature. For what reason are you at the clinic? ” Hearing this, they began to look askance at me, and I felt like a leper. Getting sick with a cold during the time of the coronavirus turned out to be difficult not physically, but psychologically.
I was taken out of the building and shown to an additional, isolated entrance to the clinic, which is valid for all sick people. I felt special, and in a bad sense of the word. Common sense dictated that this was correct, because those around me did not know that I had a virus or a common cold.
The reception of patients by infectious disease doctors and therapists was very fast. I felt sorry for the doctors: out of the corner of my ear, I heard a conversation between two specialists who said that they had not even had time to dine. On examination, they listened to my lungs, asked if it had improved, looked at my throat and said sad: “You have trouble breathing!” I was scared. Is the coronavirus really? But where did it come from? The circle of people with whom I contact is too narrow, and among them there are no newcomers or sick … I was told to pass tests, blood and urine and come back with the results in another 2 days.
The next day I got tested. There was almost no queue, which could not but rejoice. After all, I wanted to observe bed rest and be less among people.
Third visit to the doctor: discharge
A day later, I came to the third appointment with the therapist. He already had my tests on his hands. They turned out to be perfect, the temperature and redness of the throat subsided, and breathing was free. I exhaled with relief my healthy lungs! They closed my sick leave and sent me out into the world.
Summing up, I would like to say that this week of illness exhausted me more mentally than physically. The sidelong glances of people bouncing away from you with the next sneeze, pharmacists smearing their hands with antiseptic right in front of me after they returned a piece of paper with a prescription – all this makes me feel like an outcast. I hope the pandemic will end soon and no sick person will feel the pressure that I experienced.