A friend of dRTB’s shared the following post with us. She is experiencing the crisis first-hand; her husband and three children all tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. While her children are getting better, it’s continuing to be a tough road to recovery for her husband, who has been quarantined in a small room in their home.
“My advice is based on our experience,” she says, “and even though my training is in Trauma Emergency Medicine as a Physician Assistant my advice is based solely on my personal encounter with this virus and nothing more. We are not watching TV or social media and I will not be influenced by politics or fear. My main purpose in this post is to educate people so they can be prepared, know what to expect and so they do not feel alone.”
Here’s her post:
- Please do not go out if you can avoid it
- Assume everyone is contagious
- Wash your hands
- Listen to the advice of your primary physician
- I’m willing to talk to you if you are lonely or concerned. We will get through this
- Hug your kids (touch and love are as powerful as medicine)
Items we use/used daily
- Cleaning supplies with bleach, Lysol wipes, and spray
- Gloves and mask (for entering the sick area. [Her husband] wears a mask when walking to the bathroom)
- Hand sanitizer and antibacterial soaps
- Thermometer (for each person if using the old fashion one)
- Fingertip Pulse Ox (if this number falls below 92% it is an indication that the blood is not oxygenating well. This number changes based on previous medical conditions)
- Extra Strength Tylenol (Some studies said not to use Motrin)
- Refilled prescriptions
- Vitamin C and Zinc (Zinc can be found in Cold Eeze)
- Tea (Hot items helped)
- Local honey to sweeten the tea
- Heating pack (for aches and back pain)
- Dishwasher and laundry detergent
- Paper places, utensils, and hot cups
- Gatorade, Pedialyte, ginger ale, bottles of water (stay hydrated)
- Bland food like bagels, crackers (for nausea)
- Vaseline or hand cream (helps with cracked hands from washing so often)
- Pepto Bismol and Gas X (for diarrhea and upset stomach)
- Vicks (I put this on the kids’ chest and feet with socks at night)
- Icy Hot (to relieve muscle aches and body pain)
- Toothbrushes (so we can change them out when everyone is symptom free)
- Listerine (heard it was good to kill bacteria etc in your mouth)
- Lavender oils helped with headaches
- Video baby monitor (so I could see into [my husband’s] quarantined room, esp. at night)
Symptoms (based on our experience alone)
- Fever and cough were not the first symptoms and everyone presented differently with varying incubation periods. The kids had mild symptoms which improved in a few short days
- Throat tickle or scratchy
- Dry cough (throat clearing)
- Increased use of asthma inhaler
- Headache (top of head and over eyes; started mild and became severe)
- Back pain (neck and lower back, in area of lungs)
- Pleuritic pain (pain when taking a deep breath)
- Stomach cramps, gas pain, diarrhea
- Loss of smell and taste (everything tasted bad)
- General body aches
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Shaking; night sweats
- Fever (started low grade and rose)
- Lethargic; general malaise
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
How can you help?
- Pray. If you are quarantined and feel helpless please pray for everyone on the front line, patients and caregivers. Your prayers are powerful. God has a plan. Have faith
- Stay home if you can
- Be kind. This is stressful and people are going through things you know nothing about. Show Grace
- Call or check on an elderly neighbor
- Send a handwritten card to a friend, healthcare worker, or child
- Support a local business by ordering a meal or buying a gift card
- Support a foster family by joining Feeding the Fosters
- Deliver groceries to the local food pantries
