COPING WITH CARONA

[Bradsmum]

Re blood donorimg, Perhaps it's because I'm in Wales so different guidelines to England?

 

[Abi90]

Well I had to go and feed some people in an Isolation block 6 days ago. They all had symptoms and some were pretty poorly.

I’ve woken up today feeling tired and a bit rough with a sore, thick feeling throat and my glands feel sore but no raised. I’m imaging that’s me got it!

 

[Tiddlypom]

No one doubts how serious this situation is but I hate to think of the long term damage to people's mental health being done by the media only reporting the extreme cases rather than the probably hundreds of thousands of cases that are mild or moderate.

Tbf I think that the media have on the whole done a balanced job of the reporting. It has been reported endlessly that the majority of CV19 sufferers will experience only mild symptoms, and now public figures like Prince Charles have been seen to go through it and come out the other side.

 

[Winters100]

A very interesting, and thankfully lacking in hysteria, thread - thanks for starting it thefarsideofthefield and hope you are fully recovered soon. It inspired me also, to stop lurking and register.

No one doubts how serious this situation is but I hate to think of the long term damage to people's mental health being done by the media only reporting the extreme cases rather than the probably hundreds of thousands of cases that are mild or moderate. There are many on this thread and I'll bet almost everyone in the UK knows someone with suspected CV19. Two of my partner's grown up kids have almost certainly had it, one mild, one moderate. The moderate one's partner also had it but mildly. My partner spoke to a friend this morning who also suspects she's had it moderately badly. If every household in the UK (around 30 million) knows someone who's suspected of having had it but not been tested, then the true case figures will be in the millions. Statistically you are far more likely to get dementia (1 in 79) or cancer (450 deaths every single day in the UK) than a serious bout of CV19 - and it seems European countries are starting to get on top of CV now, so it's important to get the positive news not just the fear inducing headlines but of course sticking to the government lockdown rules.

I ventured out to the supermarket yesterday, first time out in the world since the lockdown began. Not because I'm worried about catching the virus but more of the hysteria I might encounter out there. Fortunately all was much as normal and very relaxed and well organised by the supermarket. Plus loo rolls back on the shelves!

Businesses are struggling but endeavouring to keep going, as they should and need to do. My partner is busy with work phone calls and will keep working as long as there is work to be done, mostly from at home at the moment but he does have to venture out on site visits. Keeping industry and business going is as crucial as slowing the spread of the virus - something that also seems to get forgotten.

Be sensible, follow the government's rules and only catch up with the news headlines once or twice a day rather than having it on 24/7 - that's what has helped keep my anxiety levels in check.

I have not seen any reports that did not state that the majority of cases are mild, but I do think it is important that people understand that this can be fatal to all ages. I'm interested to know about the reports of mainland European countries getting on top of it as that was not really my impression. Do you have any links that you can share? Would be great to see some good news! Everything that I have read seems to show only some slight slowing in the growth in Spain and Italy, but being as they have already overwhelmed their health services it is of course too little too late. I use this site for hard data https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ although of course the number of deaths is lower than reported as most countries only count those where there has been a positive test, not when someone in quarantine with symptoms dies at home. Other European countries are, so far as I know, at a similar point to the UK, albeit that they have less cases due to locking down earlier.

I totally agree that hysteria does not help us, just facts that enable us to evaluate the situation, but also we should remember that in large parts of Italy almost every family knows someone who has died of this - and we do not want to follow that route.

Our best hope now in my opinion is to all look at the reason for the regulations, and not try to keep 'just within' the rules, but to limit our unnecessary interactions to 0. This not only avoids unnecessary deaths but also helps businesses, because the longer that this goes on the worse it is for everyone.

 

[canteron]

Great to hear that you are feeling a bit better farsideofthefield - I was wondering how you were getting on. Just met my neighbour, a fit man in his 40s, who was out for a walk, he has had a really rough time with the virus, been in hospital and lost 9kg (and was pretty skinny before) so clearly it really does hit different people differently. Fingers crossed you have got over the worst.

 

[Duckanasteroidiscoming]

I suppose you can look at statistics and interpret them in different ways. I also use the Worldometer website - the numbers of cases per day in Spain, Italy, Germany and France are leveling off, also the media, quietly though!, is reporting as such. The rhetoric from the UK chief scientists is also more positive (evidence that the infection rate is down below 1 now) even though the full effects of the lockdown are yet to be seen. Interesting also to see the figures from Sweden who have followed a different, less extreme, approach to everyone else.

Businesses in Germany are pretty much working as usual (excepting the leisure/hospitality industry of course) though new business coming in has slowed, unsurprisingly. What has to be emphasised is the importance of getting the economy back up and running - that will be the long term challenge for all governments.

There is lots to be positive about without becoming complacent. The media in the UK just love to use headlines like death rate soaring, and other such emotive phrases, which is why I try and avoid the news beyond my once or twice a day catch ups - from non tabloid sources . But when I speak to people who are too afraid to sit out in their garden I get very sad and worried for their mental health.

 

[Winters100]

I suppose you can look at statistics and interpret them in different ways. I also use the Worldometer website - the numbers of cases per day in Spain, Italy, Germany and France are leveling off, also the media, quietly though!, is reporting as such. The rhetoric from the UK chief scientists is also more positive (evidence that the infection rate is down below 1 now) even though the full effects of the lockdown are yet to be seen. Interesting also to see the figures from Sweden who have followed a different, less extreme, approach to everyone else.

Businesses in Germany are pretty much working as usual (excepting the leisure/hospitality industry of course) though new business coming in has slowed, unsurprisingly. What has to be emphasised is the importance of getting the economy back up and running - that will be the long term challenge for all governments.

There is lots to be positive about without becoming complacent. The media in the UK just love to use headlines like death rate soaring, and other such emotive phrases, which is why I try and avoid the news beyond my once or twice a day catch ups - from non tabloid sources . But when I speak to people who are too afraid to sit out in their garden I get very sad and worried for their mental health.

Yes, you are right that there is a balance to be had. Germany seems to be doing super well with their approach. I do a lot of business there, and certainly in the sectors that I am close to it is not business as usual, but perhaps it is in others. Of course their extensive testing has allowed them to apply lockdowns in a more targeted way, and having c. 30 ICU beds / 100,000 compared to about 6.5 in the UK will go a long way to helping them. Sweden is interesting, 2 of our best friends are Swedish doctors and they are terrified by the stance taken, but I do think that their demographic (50% households being single adult if I understand correctly) compared to big family groups in, for example, Italy will give them some protection. But overall I agree that it is really difficult to interpret the statistics, and actually a lot of the numbers do not really make sense. Have you found any reliable site for number of tests taken by country? I have been looking for this but did not find a good source. Where I live there is massive controversy about how numbers of cases / deaths are counted, although in actual fact when you look more closely it is not very different to other European countries. The US terrifies me, I have a sister and niece there, and the lack of welfare state seems a real danger.

Sadly I do believe that there are very hard times coming for the UK and most of Western and Central Europe, but you are correct that there are some signs of hope for Southern Europe. The problem is that the health services in almost every country desperately need more time to prepare, so we really need people to do their bit. I don't really see the UK tabloids, so I don't see these sensational reports - but on the other hand I do think that a little bit of fear is necessary in some ways.

Anyway let's hope that things develop in the best possible way. Have a nice evening and stay safe.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Well I had to go and feed some people in an Isolation block 6 days ago. They all had symptoms and some were pretty poorly.

I’ve woken up today feeling tired and a bit rough with a sore, thick feeling throat and my glands feel sore but no raised. I’m imaging that’s me got it!

Sincerely hoping you have the milder 'Royal' version too ( tho' you'll still feel pretty sh*t at times ).
Keep us updated if you feel up to it - I really think that a personal account can help people to see cv in all it's manifestations , rather than solely as some all powerful plague , waiting to get you , against which we are defenceless .
Look after yourself - and probably best not to follow my recovery plan which has pretty much consisted of Carry on as Normal . And whisky ( but GOOD whisky ).

 

[Duckanasteroidiscoming]

Yes, you are right that there is a balance to be had. Germany seems to be doing super well with their approach. I do a lot of business there, and certainly in the sectors that I am close to it is not business as usual, but perhaps it is in others. Of course their extensive testing has allowed them to apply lockdowns in a more targeted way, and having c. 30 ICU beds / 100,000 compared to about 6.5 in the UK will go a long way to helping them. Sweden is interesting, 2 of our best friends are Swedish doctors and they are terrified by the stance taken, but I do think that their demographic (50% households being single adult if I understand correctly) compared to big family groups in, for example, Italy will give them some protection. But overall I agree that it is really difficult to interpret the statistics, and actually a lot of the numbers do not really make sense. Have you found any reliable site for number of tests taken by country? I have been looking for this but did not find a good source. Where I live there is massive controversy about how numbers of cases / deaths are counted, although in actual fact when you look more closely it is not very different to other European countries. The US terrifies me, I have a sister and niece there, and the lack of welfare state seems a real danger.

Sadly I do believe that there are very hard times coming for the UK and most of Western and Central Europe, but you are correct that there are some signs of hope for Southern Europe. The problem is that the health services in almost every country desperately need more time to prepare, so we really need people to do their bit. I don't really see the UK tabloids, so I don't see these sensational reports - but on the other hand I do think that a little bit of fear is necessary in some ways.

Anyway let's hope that things develop in the best possible way. Have a nice evening and stay safe.

There will be lots to learn from this for sure and hopefully countries will be better prepared to deal with future epidemics, though ones on this scale don't happen very often, thankfully. Definitely hard times ahead economically. My partner's new business hasn't been up and running long and he's gone from being snowed under to having pretty much everything put on hold - though had a couple of new enquiries this afternoon. Like all good entrepreneurs though he is undaunted and undeterred but also realistic about how tough it's going to be going forwards.

As long as people stick to the government's instructions, alongside using their own common sense rather than panicking, things will get better

 

[Abi90]

Sincerely hoping you have the milder 'Royal' version too ( tho' you'll still feel pretty sh*t at times ).
Keep us updated if you feel up to it - I really think that a personal account can help people to see cv in all it's manifestations , rather than solely as some all powerful plague , waiting to get you , against which we are defenceless .
Look after yourself - and probably best not to follow my recovery plan which has pretty much consisted of Carry on as Normal . And whisky ( but GOOD whisky ).

I’m going for good whisky and rest!

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

I'm feeling a bit rubbish again today , mainly a bad headache and feeling a bit weary and wobbly , but also my stomach feels a bit weird ( tender ?). And the other developement is that Mr Farside has finally ( inevitably ?) succumbed . He was a bit sweaty during the night and has woken to a dry cough , sneezing and that vital symptom that all the experts have so far missed - hot ears ( don't ask ).
This means that regardless of the advice given to stay indoors if you are infected , one or the other of us is going to have to go out to see to the horses . As it happens we decided to carry on as normal and both went out and did our normal jobs , which are currently minimal with just the essentials covered . We managed fine and in the absence of face masks we wrapped our faces with scarfs to minimise inhaling cold air and/or dust . No idea if this is effective but at least it makes you feel proactive !
When I got back in the house I had a missed call from my mother . She never phones me - I always have to phone her , so when I told her 9 days ago that I was pretty sure I had Corona and she then proceeded to complain about the fact that I had cancelled our planned trip to the cinema and that my father's golf club was closed , I decided not to phone again , just for devilment - to see what happened . The message she left was
" It's me . I'm phoning to remind you to bring the Sunday papers round tomorrow because you didn't bring them last week . Your father was quite cross . Make sure your hands are clean and leave them by the front door - we don't want to catch anything if you're infected . I haven't been out so I haven't got anything to tell you . Bye "
She is not senile , she is just not a nice person . My mother is a whole other thread !

 

[southerncomfort]

Oh heck, sounds like you really have it bad.

Is their a way to minimise your outside jobs for a bit as it really sounds like you need to rest?

 

[canteron]

Hey sorry to hear that - let’s hope this beautiful weather drives the virus away. I wish tomorrow brings cheerier news.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Oh heck, sounds like you really have it bad.

Is their a way to minimise your outside jobs for a bit as it really sounds like you need to rest?

Not really . Horses are at the end of the garden . They live out 24/7 all year round with access to their stables . They are on deep litter and although they do sleep inside they generally poo outside . They get their water from an easily filled butt on the yard and they get mixed hay and barley straw tipped into a container , also on the yard ( so no filling nets ). We usually poo pick twice a day , taking the dogs with us for a runaround , but this can be left if we don't feel up to it . As it is we're finding that as long as we just amble along we're coping absolutely fine .
Up until very recently we had 6 ponies at home , 5 of which were in full work and competing and stabled overnight . I managed to deal with them at times when I felt worse than I do now ie. with flu . Fortunately we are currently down to two very laid back and low maintainance natives . My current symptoms may worsen or not , but for now we are doing ok and , hand on heart , up to this point in time , I have felt much , much worse in the past .

 

[canteron]

Good morning. How are you feeling and did your parents get their Sunday papers? Hope you are on the mend.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Firstly I have to say that my son and daughter have been really good about keeping in touch during the lockdown and my subsequent illness , usually starting with someone sending a 'How are we all ?' text mid morning and followed by numerous text/phone calls during the course of the day . So I was really taken aback when they both phoned first thing this morning to check up on us - I thought they were concerned for their dad because he had developed symptoms yesterday , but they both said that they had been worried about me because when they spoke to me yesterday I ' sounded really out of it !'. This really shocked me because , in my head , I thought I had sounded just the same ( don't want to worry them any more than necessary - what can they do ? ) . When I relayed this information to Mr Farside he said ' Yup - you looked cr*p yesterday '. No one told me !!
Any how the good news is that I feel a lot better today - this virus seems to bounce you back and forwards between 'feeling better' and ' no - wait , feeling sh*t again '. So , symptoms today are generally mild background headache ( comes and goes ) , breathing sounds a lot better , cough infrequent and feels looser , intermittent low grade chest pain ( nothing at all when I woke but flares up occasionally ) , bit tired .
Mr Farside says he feels ' Fine ' - which is all you're going to get from Mr Farside unless you press for information , so we have to go through the checklist
Headache ? No
Throat ? Croaky
Cough ? Occassional
Temperature ? No
Tired ? No

 

[southerncomfort]

Fingers crossed you're over the worst and on the mend now. ?

I'm still suffering from the chest pain too. I think it must be one of the last symptoms to go along with tight chest/breathlessness.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

My sister has just phoned me .
Apparently my mother asked her to take the Sunday papers round as I " let her down so badly last week " .
My sister said she would and my mother said that she would need to deliver them before 10am as they were going to a " soiree ".
Further enquiries revealed that my parents and the other residents in their private apartment block were planning a drinks party in the grounds ' too alleviate the boredom and boost morale '.
When my sister , who is now doing all the fetching and carrying for my parents , pointed out that her husband ( my brother-in-law ) has a heart condition and would be at serious risk if he contracted cv , my mother replied ' Oh no , no one here will have it . They're all VERY respectable people '.
My sister is furious . I did the only thing I could do given my current state of health . I offered to go round and hug them .

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Fingers crossed you're over the worst and on the mend now. ?

I'm still suffering from the chest pain too. I think it must be one of the last symptoms to go along with tight chest/breathlessness.

I think you're right . The media is also reporting that a lingering temperature , as suffered by Boris ,can indicate a higher risk of developing pneumonia but , as far as I'm aware , I haven't really had a temperature to speak of but not really been checking ( the only thermometer in our household is in the horsey first aid kit . And it has been well used . I'll take my chances !) .
Hope you continue to improve X

 

[Errin Paddywack]

thefarsideofthefield, how are you today, still on the mend I hope.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Headache , headache , chest pain , headache .
On the upside - have just realised that the weird 'spacey' feeling is probably a touch of vertigo as I've had post viral vertigo on a couple of occasions previously . This actually makes me feel a lot better as I can now separate it from the cv symptoms !
Mr Farside is 'fine' - but don't know if that's more 'fine' , less 'fine' or the same 'fine' as yesterday ?
Done the animals ok and going to have a quiet day . Oh but wait - every day's a quiet day ....

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Still here , and feeling better this evening . My head felt like it was in a vice this morning , and then the headache just suddenly lifted without warning , and now it's just humming away in the background . This seems to have been very much the experience for me with this virus , I can be feeling comparatively well one minute and then suddenly BAM ! I get knocked sideways by something that comes out of nowhere , and it can be just one symptom all on it's own ie . sharp chest pain , fatigue or The Headache ( it's earned itself the capital letters !) or the whole package in one go . And then just when you're thinking that things have really taken a turn for the worst - * puff* - it's gone !
It's just all or - well not nothing , but an awful lot less ! But , as I said , not feeling too bad at the moment .

I was toying with starting a thread entitled THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T SAY TO PEOPLE WITH SUSPECTED CORONA VIRUS but on reflection thought it would be , at best , a rather niche subject and , at worst , perhaps not the most tactful topic , so I shall share this with you here .
I was sat in my armchair this afternoon when I became aware that Mr Farside was gazing at me with a thoughtful expression on his face .
" What's up ?" I asked .
" I was just thinking how amazing your body is ." he replied .
Why Mr Farside - you romantic old dog you ! But , just as I was about to respond in kind , he continued ….
" There you are just sitting doing the crossword whilst, inside , your body is fighting for it's very life . It's just amazing isn't it ? "
WTF ? Are all men born without a tact filter or is it just mine ?

 

[maya2008]

Lol at the tact filter!

In our house it's day 13 after onset of fever and 'proper' symptoms for me, everyone else is recovered (OH was ill for a grand total of 5 days, climbing the walls with boredom after day 4!). It was quite handy because he got better just as I got ill, so there was always someone well enough to look after the four legged ones. Interestingly, we told everyone we'd been near in the week before we got ill (that was before lockdown for OH), and no one else has gone down with it. We seem to have managed to keep this to ourselves - probably because we were trying so hard not to catch it from anyone else!

I made it out of bed for more than 5 mins on day 11, then to visit very worried horses yesterday (who sniffed me all over to investigate and showed me who had ripped their rugs so I could sew them up!). Today, I didn't need a lunchtime nap and my breathing was fine, so I could do a little more, but even helping with lunging made me really spacey and tired this evening. My balance is definitely off still.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Hope you are over the worst and continue to improve Maya2008 .
I'm feeling way better today . I know - heard that before ! , but for the first time in 12 days I don't have a headache . Yay ! Infact the only symptom I've got at the moment ( and I say that with some caution ) is a bit of a rattily cough but no wheezing and no chest pain . More energy too , and no vertigo .
Mr Farside says he ' is fine' . He is currently up a stepladder cleaning the outside of the conservatory so I am assuming that that means he is feeling 'fine' fine .
Incidentally , my symptoms started on the same day that Boris announced he had symptoms , so just shows to go how differently this virus affects people and how many different paths it takes them down .
Wishing all fellow suffers the very best , wherever and whoever you are X

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

So feeling pretty much back to normal today .At last ! Fingers crossed that that's me done and dusted - and that hopefully , if not immune , I now at least have some resistance to cv .I would really love to be able to take a post-infection test to confirm whether I now have anti-bodies .
Mr Farside says he 'feels fine' - but then added that he feels like he has 'a bit of a cold '. He's still up and about and keeping himself busy ( faffing about in his workshop at the moment ) so we'll just have to wait and see how that developes .
So I have a question if anyone can help me , because I'm a bit confused by the information re coming out of self isolation . The info I've seen says that you should isolate for 7 days or until symptoms have gone . It also says that if someone in your household is showing symptoms of cv then you should isolate for 14 days , so my OH also self isolated with me when I started . Now he's showing symptoms , but as I've (presumably ) had it , do I just have to isolate for as long as he shows symptoms ? I get that whilst I (hopefully) won't get re- infected I could still spread HIS infection through contact if I went out . However , should he recover in less than 14 days , as I won't be incubating the virus ie. I won't be infectious , are we both safe to come out of self isolation at that point ?
Hope that makes sense !

 

[Floofball]

Glad your feeling better ?? Found this re isolation

 

[alibali]

So glad you're feeling better! I think once you've definitely no symptoms that's you out of isolation ?

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Very glad to hear you are better, I was starting to worry that it was going the wrong way.

 

[maya2008]

In theory it is out of isolation after 7 days if no fever, but I think that is probably a bit soon for many people. My OH was fine out of isolation after that time and back at work - he hasn’t infected anyone and he’s been back out at work for over a week now so we’d know if he had! My breathing was good yesterday (day 14), cough gone, I sat on a horse....and now the cough is back again, more mucousy this time!

My friend who got it a week before me, said exactly this last week, that her cough went away for a couple of days then came back (she's fine now). And here I am, experiencing the same! Maybe we both got too enthusiastic about feeling better and overdid it, who knows?

So be careful thefarsideofthefield - don’t overdo it. Maybe then you'll avoid the cough coming back!

 

[southerncomfort]

Even though I've had it, I feel very anxious going out to the shop.

As certain as I am, and the 111 symptom checker agreed, until I've had an antibody test their will always be a tiny bit of doubt and worry.