This is how people feel now with COVID-19. Five symptoms to get you started

The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and today it is powered by Omikron, especially the BA.5 sub-variant. This is the most infectious and fastest spreading mutation in the coronavirus. What’s more, it does not bypass people with immunity after vaccination or infection. How do you get infected with the coronavirus? How does it all start? The patients themselves talk about the symptoms. – Our ordeal began when a cough and a fever appeared – one of the patients recalls.

1. Occasionally, gastrointestinal symptoms may be the first symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection
2. People with COVID-19 also complain of sleep problems. They feel extremely tired at night, and the temperature fluctuates
3. Severe fatigue may signal infection with the coronavirus. If it is accompanied by breathlessness, it is a signal that you need to see your doctor as soon as possible
4. Many COVID-19 patients experience cough and fever simultaneously
5. Dr. Fauci admits that the extent of symptoms in coronavirus infection is remarkable. From mild to life threatening 
6. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

The COVID-19 pandemic continues. The beginnings of the disease in the eyes of patients

The Omikron family is driving the COVID-19 pandemic today. Sub-variant BA.5 is particularly active – it is responsible for over 90 percent. cases of coronavirus infections. It is known to be the most infectious and fastest spreading of all SARS-CoV-2 «hits» to date.

Moreover, BA.5 is able to ‘escape’ some of the immunity caused by vaccination and / or previous COVID-19 disease. According to Dr. Dean Blumberg, who specializes in infectious diseases in children, “the main reason that this variant has become dominant is that it is able to avoid previously developed immunity”. This means that people after vaccinations and previous COVID-19 disease can also get sick (doctors remind that the full course of vaccination – together with booster doses – provides good protection against severe course, hospitalization and death).

Overall, the BA.5 sub-variant produces similar symptoms to other coronavirus mutations. What does this mean in practice? Eatthis.com recalled the stories of five COVID-19 patients who reported the initial signs of infection. For some they came as a surprise.

Upset stomach with COVID-19 symptom. «I thought it was the nerves»

Occasionally, gastrointestinal symptoms may be the first symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This was the case with 31-year-old Brittany from the USA (New York State). As she says, she took her puppies for a long walk, when she had an upset stomach. “ I thought it was because of anxiety and nervousness, because I just found out about the coronavirus in New York, so I didn’t pay attention to it.

Soon after, Brittany began to feel pain in her neck and spine muscles, but she still hoped it would pass. «I didn’t think it was the coronavirus. I am 31 years old and healthy, a non-smoker with no prior medical problems ». The woman became concerned when heart problems appeared: – At that moment I knew that something was wrong. Then there was a rapidly increasing fever and shortness of breath. The test confirmed that Brittany has the coronavirus.

Sleep problems in COVID-19. “The nights were hard”

“I remember exactly how it started,” pulmonologist Dr. Jignesh A. Patel begins his memories of COVID-19. – It was Friday. We came back from shopping and looked forward to a good weekend. While watching the evening news, I had several bouts of dry cough, and I also felt a fever. My first instinct was to isolate myself from my wife and two-year-old daughter. The wife rejected the idea. She thought my reaction was over the top. The next day, Dr. Patel was tested for COVID-19.

– The nights were especially hard, with a feeling of extreme fatigue and frequent temperature jumps above 38 degrees C – recalls the doctor. On the fifth day, he experienced wheezing and difficulty speaking, followed by shortness of breath.

After these experiences, she advises everyone: – The most practical lesson is this: Listening to your own body and recognizing even minor symptoms is extremely important. This can give us time to self-isolate, which in turn can protect others.

High fever in COVID-19. “I was convinced that I could fight the disease at home”

Ronald Hill, 71, from California, contracted the coronavirus during a family funeral. A few days later he developed a high fever. – I called my doctor, who sent me for x-rays and laboratory tests. It turned out I had pneumonia – although I had no breathing problems yet, I tested positive for the coronavirus.

– I was convinced that I could fight the disease at home with medications and fluids. But two days after my diagnosis, when I wasn’t eating or drinking, my wife called an ambulance. I don’t remember much about that trip – says the man. Due to the spread of pneumonia, he was placed in the ICU and connected to a ventilator. — Until then, I was very active and healthy. I rarely even caught a cold, but the virus took hold of my lungs like a tornado.

Fatigue and shortness of breath in COVID-19. «The oncologist asked me a strange question»

Severe fatigue may signal infection with the coronavirus. If it is accompanied by breathlessness, it is a signal that you need to see your doctor as soon as possible. This symptom suggests lung involvement and is a marker of the more severe form of COVID-19. This was the case with Paul Levine from New York.

– When I first started experiencing extreme fatigue and shortness of breath, my first fear was not that I got COVID-19, but that I had relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia – a blood cancer for which I was treated in 2006 – says 86 -year-old Paul Levine.

“But when I called my oncologist, he asked me a weird question: what did my food taste like?” When I told him everything tasted terrible, he told me to go to the hospital. There I obtained a positive test for COVID-19.

“Our ordeal began with a cough and a fever”

Many COVID-19 patients experience cough and fever simultaneously. It was like that for Georgene Stephens and her husband. – Our ordeal began when we both had a cough and a fever. A week later I was feeling better, but Gerry’s husband was struggling to breathe (he has asthma), the woman recalls. – We went to the local hospital, where they tested both of us for COVID-19.

The woman’s husband was in such a bad condition that they decided to intubate him and take him by ambulance to another hospital. – They didn’t even let me say goodbye in person. I had to wave at him through the hospital window, Georgene recalls and admits: — The hardest thing for me about COVID-19 wasn’t just fighting the virus – although it really was a nightmare. The point was, I couldn’t hold my husband’s hand while he was in the ICU.

The above symptoms do not exhaust the picture of COVID-19. It is worth quoting at this point the recent words of the leading American epidemiologist, Dr. Fauci: – The extent of the coronavirus infection is remarkable – from people who have a blocked nose and a weak sore throat to those who have severe lung involvement requiring intubation and intensive care.