
Ask HN: Have you been infected by Covid-19? What is it like? - ekianjo
Might be useful to provide some information about existing conditions you may have so that we can get a picture of what symptoms to watch for beyond the &quot;fever and difficulty to breathe&quot; described by most sources.
======
okareaman
I'm a retired programmer who does ride sharing in Silicon Valley. I often pick
up people at the San Jose airport. Sometimes they are coming in from China or
Seattle. I live in a Chinese neighborhood. I gave a woman who couldn't breath
a ride to the emergency room. When I got sick in February, I figured it was
the flu, but now realize it was probably Covid-19 based on symptoms. I
recovered nicely and have been quarantining myself just in case.

It's like the flu with the added difference that it makes breathing more
difficult. Also difficulty swallowing. It was more annoying than anything, not
really that bad. I don't have any health problems, but if I did have breathing
issues, I imagine it might be very problematic.

~~~
jhanschoo
It's interesting to read just how differently suspected cases are being
handled across countries.

In Singapore once a case was/is discovered, an intense contact tracing effort
begins to identify and quarantine everyone who might be infected, to contain
the spread.

If you haven't, it might be useful to ring up healthcare workers and people
you've met and let them know.

~~~
happytiger
Oh yea they have stopped doing that here just about 4 days ago (Northern
California) because there are too many community cases and the plan is to move
to phase 2 (containment is now mitigation).

Singapore has a truly excellent infectious disease program.

------
aufav36
Have 4 family members that have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Austria:

\- Male (56), no symptoms except weak voice

\- Female (55), no symptoms

\- Male (80), light fever (37,7C), weak voice

\- Female (81), no symptoms

These cases are all connected, and we have talked with others that seem to
have caught the same variant/mutation. None of them does really show symptoms,
no hospitalizations, no real fever, and no hard breathing. Hope this is a
light variant/mutation, and the situation stays the same for them.

~~~
jrs235
I hope you can update this this in 5 days, 10 days, and 15 days so we can see
if/when symptoms change or appear.

~~~
aufav36
Will report back in those intervals, thanks for the idea!

~~~
aufav36
Update: All of my CoV-positive relatives are very well, and Male (80) just had
light fever (~38,3 C) for 4 nights straight, but is now fever-free since two
days ago (22.03.).

So all of them did neither show symptoms, nor had any health issues, with the
exception of Male (80) with light fever.

------
andrewseanryan
I was not tested although I went to the doctor 4 times over 5 weeks. I went to
Milan from Munich in January. Upon returning to Munich, I was hit with a
sudden, dry cough. It was noticeably different from anything I had experienced
before. I went to bed and woke with a fever of about 102. It lasted for days
and I developed a very strange lung issue. On every exhale it sounded like
1000 pop rocks going off in my upper lungs/throat. The sound was loud enough
to wake me. I “recovered”, with lasting lung issues for about two weeks. A
week later I developed another fever that lasted 3 days. I then had intense
night sweats for 2-3 weeks.

If I had it, it would go against many of the models of when it reached Milan.
If I didn’t have it, I had some other monster illness that hit the lungs hard.

------
danek_szy
Symptoms as described by WHO:

\-
[https://i.cbc.ca/1.5496615.1584111464!/fileImage/httpImage/i...](https://i.cbc.ca/1.5496615.1584111464!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/covid-19-symptom-
chart.jpg)

\-
[https://sm.mashable.com/mashable_sea/photo/default/coronavir...](https://sm.mashable.com/mashable_sea/photo/default/coronavirus-
symptoms-eng_j6gy.png)

~~~
axiomdata316
What's alarming and kind of ironic is that COVID 19 has a lack of symptoms
compared to the common flu. Aches and pains sometimes for COVID 19 as opposed
to aches and pains common for the common flu. Runny nose sometimes for COVID
19 but runny nose common for the Common Flu. Its almost to say if you feel
really bad you probably don't have COVID 19 unless you really start having
trouble breathing. It's helps me appreciate the need to stay home if I just
start getting SOME of the symptoms for the flu like a fever. Don't wait for
body aches or a runny nose.

~~~
mantap
The important thing is that achy muscles don't spread disease (quite the
reverse) but coughing _does_. So people with a recent bad cough should stay at
home.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
Even if it's _only_ flu people should try and avoid spreading it around at the
moment.

------
kjakm
It might be worth taking a look on Twitter. This doctor is 'live' tweeting his
experience with the disease including lung scans [1]. Based on some other
first hand experiences I've read on the Twitter/News people's experience
varies wildly. Some people say it's not much worse than the flu. On the
otherhand I saw a tweet from one doctor who had it claim it was worse than
child birth so seems like the variation in experience can be massive.

[1] [https://twitter.com/yaletung](https://twitter.com/yaletung)

~~~
samfriedman
>people's experience varies wildly

Here's an article about two Chinese women with COVID-19, with very different
outcomes.

[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/13/world/asia/co...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/13/world/asia/coronavirus-
death-
life.html?algo=top_conversion&fellback=false&imp_id=488592137&imp_id=369373730)

~~~
rntksi
What a heart wrenching article. When it's just numbers people can brush it
off, but when it has a human face and story, I think that's when it really
hits most people. More so when it affects closed ones too.

I've been repeating this to my students: don't panic, but be cautious.

------
rv-de
A recurring symptom mentioned here is difficulty breathing. That's terrible
and can easily cause harmful feedback loop. I'm mid-30s so I will try to defer
medicinal interaction for as long as possible. To self-assess the seriousness
of breathing issues I intend to make us of a pulsoxymeter.

Is there somebody here who could suggest a rule set for when to seek help?

Something like: seek help if SpO2

\- between 85% and 90% for more than 48 hours

\- between 80% and 85% for more than 24 hours

\- below 80% immediately

(actually I do feel mildly ill and as if breathing is a little bit more
uncomfortable than usual - but according to my pulsoxymeter SpO2 is at healthy
98% with a pulse around 60 bpm. so everything seems perfectly fine)

~~~
rsync
I am an EMR in California and provide (emergency) medical care relatively
frequently.

"To self-assess the seriousness of breathing issues I intend to make us of a
pulsoxymeter."

I like the idea of owning a pulse oximeter and have them in all of my first
aid kits. However, I think of them as providing _immediate information about
an acute breathing problem_.

Your SpO2 should be around 98 _always_. If you go below 95, something is
really wrong and requires immediate attention. You will be displaying signs of
breathing difficulty and you're not going to see if it lasts 24 or 48 hours.

If you are not tremendously affected by a cold/flu/coronavirus, I would expect
you to have a ~98 SpO2 throughout, even if you feel terrible and perhaps feel
your breathing is a bit labored.

" ... below 80% immediately ..."

Just to put this in perspective, all else being equal, you're not going to be
coherent or functional in any way below 80%. I would personally call 911 if I
saw an otherwise normal person below 90 and I would be very concerned if I saw
readings below 95 - especially if the trendline was down ...

~~~
rv-de
thanks for putting things into perspective.

------
anttisalmela
One Finnish entrepreneur describes his so far mild infection:
[https://perjantaikokki.fi/2020/03/14/greetings-from-a-
corona...](https://perjantaikokki.fi/2020/03/14/greetings-from-a-corona-
positive-patient-from-quarantine/)

------
japan-throwaway
I hesitate to post this because I haven’t been tested, but I can’t help but
wonder. I live in Tokyo. 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night
vomiting, and had a ~38.5C (101F) fever for 2 days. Muscle aches, very
fatigued etc, but no real breathing problems - basically a tougher-than-
average flu. I went to the doctor and tested negative for influenza. The
policy at the time in Japan was not to test for COVID-19 unless the patient
had a cough. My wife came down with the same symptoms a couple of days later
and had an intermittent 38~9C (102F) fever for three days, and also tested
negative for influenza (we both have flu shots every year, if that’s
relevant). A couple of weeks later we (plus 2yo child) all have cold-like
symptoms and a cough, and are keeping ourselves isolated. It isn’t possible to
get tested now unless we have a fever, so who knows. Our child has not had a
fever at all and seems quite cheerful apart from a runny nose and cough. 3
weeks ago I would have had to have been quite unlucky to catch it which makes
me wonder if I’m just a hypochondriac, but the timing makes me wonder. We’re
all on the mend and I don’t feel there’s any need to tie up medical resources,
but it would be nice to know for sure if we have / had it. Again I hesitate to
write this because I don’t wish to add to the mountain of misinformation out
there, but at the same time I’d be very interested to learn if anyone has had
a similar experience.

------
chewz
‘I was stupidly overconfident’: a South Korean coronavirus survivor’s tale

[https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-
environment/article/30...](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-
environment/article/3075170/i-was-stupidly-overconfident-south-korean-
coronavirus)

------
benrrio
I have had a fever for a week and difficulty breathing. I have asked my doctor
about getting tested for Covid19 and they have declined to test me because I
don't meet the critical criteria: age > 60, around large groups of people,
etc.

I run in circles with someone that returned from Italy and has been confirmed
to have Covid19. I'm assuming I have it.

The fever isn't so bad for me but there have been a few times where I thought
I would die from not being able to breath. There is only one thing I did that
helped with the breathing but it fits in the old wife's tales category so I
wont post it here since I don't want to be mocked for it. We used to the same
thing 10 years ago to get my Mother-in-law off the ventilator when they told
us she would never get off.

Today is day 6 since the fever started and the fever is gone today, still
feeling weak.

~~~
biotechiscool
Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine? Old wives tales usually have some
science behind them that hasn’t been tested yet. No one is saying they have
the magic cure-all.

I make a mixture of turmeric, horseradish, ginger, garlic, habanero, hot
onion, and apple cider vinegar. Chop finely or blend and let steep and ferment
for as long as you want. Doesn’t go bad. I take shots of it when sick.
Actually really good to put in stir fry and stews too.

All of those ingredients have proven health benefits. Doesn’t replace
antibiotics or medical treatment but can’t hurt. I’ve noticed it reduces the
time I’m sick.

~~~
whotheffknows
On this note about old wives tales, I'm a woman. I've tried every medicine,
multiple birth controls, diets, workout and stretch routines to help with
period cramps and pain, and I get to try a method and then take what I think
helps and adapt for a better test every month until I run out of eggs and here
is the bottom line for me at 30 having optimised alot.

Yes drinking water, stretching/really being flexible and fit helps and at the
very least needs to start a few days before...

Salmon avocado, iron like steak help with body recovery.

Epsom salt baths help with the cramps as a natural muscle relaxant so does
ibuprofen...

It's actually ginger juice, that makes 90% of the pain go away. I bought a $99
breville juicer 8 years ago and lasted me as long. Just got a new one. Three
days before I juice ginger with other things

Maybe apple, celery, lemon to help it go down.

Every time I go to the store to get it the cashier's comment they have never
seen anyone buy so much ginger in their life, and if it's a woman I tell them
my secret. I buy pounds of it and drink probably a quarter gallon the week
before.

If you are a woman or have a loved one who suffers from severe period pain,
this does amazing things.

That being said, have no idea about respiratory stuff.

An actual Coronavirus story:

I did hear the scientists looking into this said bodies are overreacting into
respiratory failure, so maybe it is like many others illnesses potentially
about suppressing an extreme over reactionaey autoimmune response.

Someone in my industry got it. 45yr old smoker had to be induced into a coma
to avoid acute respiratory failure a couple of weeks ago, after being
diagnosed with Coronavirus.

I think the public needs to stress more vulnerable smokers are regardless of
age to Coronavirus. Smoking is much more common in China and Italy.

~~~
andor
Since you mentioned steak, have you tried a vegan diet? Dairy and meat contain
hormones that might affect you. Neil Barnard has written about that, if you're
interested.

------
amai
Here is an interview with one of the first patients in Germany:
[https://www.br.de/radio/bayern1/coronavirus-in-
bayern-100.ht...](https://www.br.de/radio/bayern1/coronavirus-in-
bayern-100.html)

The interview is in German but maybe Google Translate can help. His symptoms
however have been very mild.

------
notahacker
34 year old healthy male, non smoker and no relevant medical conditions. Not
tested [govt policy] but it's a completely unfamiliar infection of the lungs
picked up in a major European city, so go figure...

No proper fever [some of my sleep is the slightly fitful sleep I'd associate
with fighting off mild infections, but my temperature is normal or very
close], I've coughed only a literal handful of times and not painfully, so
clearly sufficiently mild to miss those characteristic responses, no headache
and only occasional feelings of fatigue and a bit more sleep than usual. Just
inflamed lungs which are more uncomfortable than painful. Back when I felt
completely healthy last Wednesday and went for a 3k outdoor run (no more
uncomfortable or slower than I'd have expected considering I haven't run much
this year) I obviously felt like I was breathing a bit too shallowly and
breathing deoxygenated air at the end. This is basically that same feeling
coming back the following day, except with a normal breathing rate [and heart
rate]. I can still take a deeper breath whenever I want and I'm far from
worrying I'm about to run out of oxygen, but just feels uncomfortable and I
can imagine how it can cause much more serious problems for people with more
severe symptoms, pre-existing lung conditions or immune system issues. It's
been steady for the last five days.

------
criddell
After reading a lot of reporting about this, it isn't clear to me if Covid-19
is the name of the virus or the disease or both.

I realize that for laymen (like me) it doesn't really matter. But academically
speaking, is there a difference?

~~~
burakemir
Covid-19 ist the disease. [https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-
coronavirus-2...](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-
coronavirus-2019)

The virus itself is called SARS-CoV-2 and previously 2019-nCoV

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syn...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2)

------
makomk
Sky News ran an interview with a woman in London diagnosed with Covid-19:
[https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-london-woman-who-
caug...](https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-london-woman-who-caught-
coronavirus-in-italy-describes-covid-19-11956362) It doesn't seem like
something that can really be spotted based on the symptoms, which is probably
why it's so hard to contain.

------
8fingerlouie
According to the danish health authorities, the symptoms include: Fever,
airway infection/breathing problems, chills, muscle aches, sore throat,
headache, diarrhea and vomiting.

As far as I can tell they’re listed in order of frequency. As for “airway
infection” they mention dry cough and runny nose.

From what I can tell the symptoms are more or less similar to a regular
seasonal flu or a common cold, but with much more severe outcomes for some.

------
vinni2
I was sick couple of weeks ago and symptoms were very similar to Coronavirus
and my doctor dismissed the need to get tested for Coronavirus because I
didn’t travel to any of the hotspots. I am feeling better now but I will never
know if I had the virus.

~~~
pfdietz
Eventually there will be a test for antibodies, assuming you develop long
lasting immunity.

------
masonic
Request: for those who report positive tests, please advise if they were told
whether active virus was found or just viral DNA (contagious vs not), and
sample source (oral swabs, anal, both).

------
amiga_500
Yet to see a post from someone healthy who can say:

\- Had covid

\- Had shortness of breath

\- Recovered

\- Back to running now

\- No notable lung capacity issues post recovery

Not saying they are not out there.

~~~
excitednumber
[https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/woman-who-survived-
coronavirus...](https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/woman-who-survived-coronavirus-
shares-her-early-symptoms/)

~~~
amiga_500
Thanks, but this really doesn't discuss her post-illness lung capacity, it was
simply that she didn't feel that ill during it.

------
batter
I would be rather interested if anyone tried zinc supplements. I do get that
Choloquine is ideally should be also part of regimen, but since it's
prescription only, so you can't simply get it.

~~~
pillefitz
I bought Cinchona bark, which contains quinine, hypothesizing it might work
against the virus. Hope I don't need to verify.

------
6gvONxR4sf7o
FYI everyone, you're going to get a huge selection bias here. The kind of
infected person who's going to see and answer this question will likely have
symptoms on the milder side. Answers here should not be expected to be
remotely representative.

~~~
Fjolsvith
Exactly. The few really sick people who are 70-80+ years old will likely not
be social media users.

~~~
6gvONxR4sf7o
And really sick social media users are less likely to be posting.

------
noevil4
Take good care

------
hn_throwaway_99
Your comment about not being older than 60 to get tested made me so angry and
shows how fucked the US is. Testing has nothing to do with protecting _you_
(the current treatment for Covid-19 is the same as any other severe
respiratory illness), it's about deciding who needs to be quarantined and have
their contacts tracked to protect _other_ people. While the severity of
symptoms varies by age, the transmissibility does not.

The numbers are many multiples of what is being reported.

~~~
Yetanfou
> Your comment about not being older than 60 to get tested made me so angry
> and shows how fucked the US is

I live in the (presumed) social democratic paradise of Sweden where the
"government" has just decided to stop testing anyone who is not already in a
hospital and belongs to a risk group, i.e. anyone under ~65 years of age
without any co-morbidities [1 - Swedish]. The "state epidemiologist" Anders
Tegnell has other wisdom to spread to the world like the fact that a call for
as many companies to have as many employees as possible working from home is
"problematic" because it ends up exposing some people to more risk of
infection than others and thus offset the principle of "fairness" in society
[2 - Swedish]. In other words, if we can not lower the risk of exposure for
everyone we should not lower the risk for anyone. He is also against school
closures because children can not get infected - oh, they can? OK, because
children don't get very ill - but they'll still spread the infection to those
who can get very ill? OK, because some children don't have it all that nice at
home so it would not be fair to them to close the schools. Again, if we can
not make it better for everyone it is preferable to not do anything at all.

Sweden is now coming under heavy criticism from other countries, China being
one of them [3 - Swedish] when they state "Sweden has capitulated in front of
the virus and stands to become a danger to other countries". This is probably
part of an ongoing spat between Sweden and China where Sweden earlier
criticised China's actions against a Chinese-Swedish citizen but there is no
denying that the Swedish "government" has shown a lack of foresight and
proactive strategies. There is a dearth of supplies, Sweden has the lowest
number of hospital beds per capita in the OECD which is odd for the country
with the highest taxes in the world, the health care system can not cope with
the normal case load let alone with an influx of Corona-related patients.

[1] [https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/samhalle/a/70GQRV/nya-
str...](https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/samhalle/a/70GQRV/nya-strategin--
slutar-rakna-exakta-antalet-coronafall)

[2] [https://nyheteridag.se/tegnell-ojamlikt-att-spotifys-
anstall...](https://nyheteridag.se/tegnell-ojamlikt-att-spotifys-anstallda-
far-jobba-hemma/)

[3] [https://www.svd.se/kina-riktar-skarp-coronakritik-mot-
sverig...](https://www.svd.se/kina-riktar-skarp-coronakritik-mot-sverige)

~~~
bjourne
Another "I'm a Swede and I hate my country" poster. I'm also Swedish so I know
what you write is 100% bullshit and parroted from a bunch of right-wing sites.

The reason why not everyone is offered testing is because healthcare is very
accessible and free in Sweden (like it is in Denmark, Norway, and Germany too)
meaning that you can't offer it to everyone who wants it. Because if you did,
you would have to pointlessly test a million hypochondriacs with symptoms that
have nothing to do with corona just for the sake of it.

For one view on how well countries handle the epidemic, look at the fatality
rate. US: 49/2195 = 2.2%, Germany: 5/3062 = 0.16%, Sweden: 2/867 = 0.23%,
Norway: 1/996 = 0.10%, Frane: 79/3667 = 2.2%.

~~~
Yetanfou
I don't hate Sweden, I actually quite like the place. I just don't like the
way the "government" handles things at the moment, including their handling -
or rather lack of handling - of the oncoming epidemic. Your statement on
Swedish health care being "very accessible and free" is easily countered by
the fact that the waiting times are notoriously long and getting longer while
the amount of provincial tax money spent per capita is more than double the
amount spent by neighbouring Finland which manages to avoid some of these
problems. Those long waiting times have led to a large increase in the number
of people who take out private health insurance to make sure they can actually
_get_ the treatment they need instead of having to wait for half a year or
more. This means those people pay twice for health care, one time through
their provincial taxes, another time through their health insurance. This has
been compounded by the "government" putting an extra tax on private health
insurance because they deem it unfair that those who have private insurance
don't have to wait as long for treatment as those who lack such insurance.

I am all for single-payer health insurance, either through the state or
through a private-public system like the Netherlands uses. I just don't see
how the current Swedish system can be seen as a good solution given the high
costs and low productivity it is characterised by.

Those fatality rates you quote are based on the assumption that the reported
case incidence is correct which is very likely not the case. Assuming that the
number of SARS2-related deaths is correct this number is probably the best way
to make an estimate of the actual case incidence in developed countries with a
functioning (not overloaded) health care system - this does not go for e.g.
Italy where they're now doing reverse triage, i.e. they decide who gets
treatment based on a desire to maximize throughput instead of treating those
who have the highest need first as is done in a non-overloaded situation.

By the way, I'm not a Swede. I am a Dutchman living in Sweden with a Swedish-
French wife and two Dutch-Swedish-French children.

~~~
bjourne
> I don't hate Sweden, I actually quite like the place. I just don't like the
> way the "government" handles things at the moment, including their handling
> - or rather lack of handling - of the oncoming epidemic.

That would be a fair position if you could tell us how you would do it better.
Preferably your proposals should be based on research. I imagine being an
epidemologist and constantly having people questioning your expertise is not
dissimilar to being a software developer and having people constantly doing
the same to you. Frustrating, in other words.

> Your statement on Swedish health care being "very accessible and free" is
> easily countered by the fact that the waiting times are notoriously long and
> getting longer while the amount of provincial tax money spent per capita is
> more than double the amount spent by neighbouring Finland which manages to
> avoid some of these problems.

Corona testing would be executed by primary caregivers for which waiting times
are short. See [https://www.vantetider.se/](https://www.vantetider.se/) The
stats say that 80% of patients have to wait less than three days for a
doctor's appointment.

Tax rates are a very broad discussion and in my opinion not relevant here.

> Those long waiting times have led to a large increase in the number of
> people who take out private health insurance to make sure they can actually
> get the treatment they need instead of having to wait for half a year or
> more.

6% of the population has a private health insurance. Such insurance can reduce
waiting times to specialist care but not primary care.

> Those fatality rates you quote are based on the assumption that the reported
> case incidence is correct which is very likely not the case.

True. My point is that, all else being equal, the better the healthcare the
lower the mortality rate should be. E.g Germany has 3062 cases but only 5
fatalities meaning that the disease is probably somewhat contained. The US has
2345 cases and 50 fatalities meaning the opposite.

> By the way, I'm not a Swede. I am a Dutchman living in Sweden with a
> Swedish-French wife and two Dutch-Swedish-French children.

I apologize for jumping to conclusions.

~~~
Yetanfou
> That would be a fair position if you could tell us how you would do it
> better

While I have much to fault the overly bureaucratic and top-heavy WHO for I do
agree to their current stance on the handling of the pandemic. This stance is
based on research and is supported by many in the field. It is also followed
by a large number of countries in Europe except for a few, Sweden being one of
those. I linked to one of Dr. John Campbell's (who is one of the more
reasonable voices on this subject) videos on this subject a few posts above
this one:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etlyvt9n_QE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etlyvt9n_QE)

> Corona testing would be executed by primary caregivers

It shouldn't. It should be done outside of the normal healthcare centres
("vårdcentraler") to reduce the risk of infection. Look at the way it is done
in South Korea where mobile testing facilities are used for an idea on how to
handle this. There should be no need for an appointment, the test should be
"drive-through" or "walk-through".

> 6% of the population has a private health insurance. Such insurance can
> reduce waiting times to specialist care but not primary care.

The waiting times are mostly an issue for specialist care. Given that a large
part of the role of the primary care provider is to refer people to specialist
care this reduction in waiting times is very relevant.

