Jules Heartly | March 18^th, 2020  Day Three of my day-to-day during Covid19-Mandated life changes. 

One thing happening during this time of #Covid19Pandemic is the abundance of not physical personal contact, and what I mean to say is that suddenly I have found myself spending more time online (either via my phone or via my laptop) talking to people around the world. Hearing from people, I haven’t spoken to for a while who surprised me with a message, all wanting to check in on my well being.  That is touching and an enjoyable thing for the most part.  And I say mostly, because of course with that comes along a flush of fake news, like all kinds of fake ones, unbelievable misinformation on the subject, etc. 

I found myself spending a LOT of time, explaining to people how important is to stop that flow of crazy fake news and unreal methods to either test whether you got the virus(without going through an actual medical test) or prevent it from spreading,  like putting CLOROX in your hands! My goodness! Imagine doing so and then touching your eyes?  I don’t want to imagine.

Well, as part of all that phone socializing, I got a call from one close friend.  Her voice sounded frantic from the start of the conversation:

-“ I am having all the symptoms… the early ones.. and I think the ones after too” she said.

I quickly went online to check #Covid19 symptoms while I listened to her talking about what she was experiencing.

The reputed online source I checked read:

“The symptoms of most #Coronaviruses are similar to any other upper respiratory infection, including runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and sometimes a fever. In most cases, you won’t know whether you have a #coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus”

“Are you having a cough?” I asked her.

“Well my throat feels dry, so it makes me want to cough,” she said.  “And I checked the symptoms online, and it says a person may experience pressure in the chest… and I started to feel that now…I am panicking I don’t want to die yet!” she said almost sobbing.

“I feel fatigued and tired.  And my nose is a bit itchy. OMG and the doctor’s office is not picking up my call!” she continued.

“When did you start feeling this way,” I asked.

“Well, actually today.  I got up early, to get head started with my work. Once done, I spent all afternoon working on the yard, cutting the grass and preparing the soil for the planting of flower seeds”

As my friend finished the sentence, I realized what was happening.

“Cutting grass?” I asked, surprised.  “But you are allergic to it!. Remember?”

My friend  is allergic to grass, and she was just going through the offspring of allergy symptoms, and on top of that, she had gone over board working way to many hours on the yard, something she rarely did.

The #coronavirus frenzy had gotten to her, and she couldn’t think of anything else as a reason of her temporary discomfort.  And as she did her own research online, her panic mind created additional symptoms she wouldn’t have otherwise  like cough and chest pain. That is a good description of a #PanicDisorder, something we must avoid at all cost.

So after calming her down, and discovering that just by doing so, her symptoms started to go away -specially the chest pain and cough- I decided to do a bit more of research about the virus symptoms, to share with you all.

One interesting thing was to learn that:

“Cold- or flu-like symptoms usually set in from 2–4 days after a coronavirus infection and are typically mild.”   So, we should NOT think that having the #coronavirus means immediate death.
Actually,  80% of the people so far had mild symptoms which it is such a relief to hear.

“However, symptoms vary from person-to-person, and some forms of the virus can be fatal for a small percentage of people.

Symptoms may include:

• sneezing
• runny nose
• fatigue
• cough
• fever
• sore throat
• exacerbated asthma “

But if a #Coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, most likely in older people, people with heart disease, or people with weakened immune systems.”

Testing is a suitable tool to AVOID spreading it, but “the test results wouldn’t change how you treat your symptoms, which typically go away in a few days.

You treat a coronavirus infection the same way you treat a cold:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Drink fluids.
• Take over-the-counter medicine for a sore throat and fever. But don’t give aspirin to children or teens younger than 19; use  acetaminophen instead.

A humidifier or steamy shower can also help ease a sore and scratchy throat.

If you get sick, treat your symptoms and contact a doctor if they get worse or don’t go away.”

Later on talking with my neighbor, who is a physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, I learned the #Coronavirus have muted and there are different strains, which explains why some people get different symptoms.

So let’s all keep an eye on any symptoms, not all are #Covid19 related. Overall #DoYourPartNYC to stop the spread.  #StayCalm #WashYourHandsFor20Seconds #StayHome.

#AvoidFakeNews  #ListenToMusic #Exercise  all these are excellent to keep a good immune system.

Highlight of my day:

A friend of mine from France sent me a picture of what she humorously called #anticoronavirus dessert.  It made me laugh and encouraged me to try a new recipe.

How did you cope today?

I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading my blog #Covid19-Staycation Day THREE, subscribe to my page so you don’t miss any stories from my Staycation blog.  😉

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