What are your experiences with covid

[MerinoFroggie]

I never got covid. My family never got covid and I don't know anyone who got covid.

I don't have first hand experience of covid. I think some people online, I don't know about real life, are quick to dismiss covid as fake. I am not like that. I believe its very real and I follow guidelines to avoid an infection and avoid passing it on. Trying to keep myself and my family as healthy as possible.

I think from reading online - the virus is different for everybody.

I think maybe it's mild for children and younger adults.

I think maybe it's hitting middle aged adults harder and perhaps more middle aged people are experiencing flu type of illness.

It's killing more older people.

Would I be right or wrong in these observations?

In my work circle, we are beginning to see more people (younger adults, students), being tested and diagnosed positive and they have little to no symptoms. It's now giving more people are carte blanche to ignore the restrictions thinking covid is mild for everybody.

An elderly man at the end of my road died of it in March.

My sister had it in March, mildly.

My ndn died of a stroke while shielding but had a chest infection from January (she wasn't tested for Covid).

My friend's son, a prison officer, was extremely poorly with it in April.

Her other son, aged 37, died out of the blue,
a couple of months later. The post mortem has been inconclusive.

My other ndn is a nurse who works on a non-Covid ward but has experienced many patients being transferred to Covid wards. She has lost quite a lot of friends and colleagues to it and has been in on her days off to stand socially-distanced outside the hospital to watch a colleague's funeral cortege go by. She goes to bathe her mum who has arthritis and us so scared of infecting her.

A 57 year old woman I knew, but not well, was found dead at home. She was found to have died of Covid. Her family - children, her parents, her siblings and their partners and their children were tested and ALL found to be positive. Most were asymptomatic but her parents ends up hospitalised. They have now recovered although her father is suffering from memory loss as a result. He knows his DD died but cannot remember her funeral. They were all tested because the extended family had all been in close contact, throughout the pandemic and ignored the guidelines. It has been a very hard lesson for them.

My Mum (in her 50s, no underlying conditions) was in hospital with it last week. She is thankfully home now but is still very unwell. She most likely caught it in a shop and was in tier 2 at the time.

I'm in an area which has been in higher tiers/additional measures since September and only know have a couple of acquaintances who have had it. They all had mild symptoms. DP works in retail and none of his staff have had it.

I know two people that have had it, one in her 60's, who had sickness as the main symptom, and one in her 40's who had what appeared to be a nasty cold. Both recovered well and don't seem to have any lasting issues from it.

Personal experience - type 1 diabetic, late twenties, could liken to bad cold/mild flu. I’ve certainly felt much worse. Don’t know of anyone who has suffered badly with it, but aware that I’m very lucky that is the case.

I know a few people now who have had it. Me, my partner, my son, and 2 work colleagues.

Me and my partner had been taking vitamins since April and definitely had it the mildest. I'm 48, smoke and drink, not exercised since February and I just had a bad headache then the next day lost my sense of taste and smell. I did feel tired and slept a lot for 3 days but I had been working long hours without a break so could have been a bit of both. Partner is 35 and much fitter than me and had no symptoms whatsoever.

The guy at work is early 30s. Non smoker and fairly fit. He also had the banging headache and slept loads. But he was fine when he was allowed back to work.

My son was actually the worst affected. He was at Uni - pretty unfit but doesn't drink or smoke. Terrible diet. He described it as the worst cold he's ever had and was in bed for a good week with it.

I'm fortunate that I don't personally know anyone who's had it severely or had long covid. I was convinced back in March that if I got it I'd die as I'm so unhealthy. I even made sure to get my finances in order I was so paranoid. I've heard different blood types suffer to different degrees and apparently my blood group - O - is one that gets it milder. No idea if this is true and can't even remember where I heard this. I'm convinced it's the vitamins that helped us. I take a multivitamin with iron, c, d, zinc, iodine, collagen, calcium and a few others I bought on a whim. And I make sure my daughters both take daily vitamins too (they never caught it from me despite being in the same house). I definitely look and feel better from them anyway so no harm in carrying on with them.

We've had an outbreak at work, small business. 3 out of 8 tested positive.

It's been fucking horrendous. Everyone had to isolate over Christmas and New Year; they are all at war with each other as to who was the source. I've spent the day soothing and reassuring, and I could sit and cry tonight. And out of the 3, two are off long term sick which is having a massive impact on workflow.

Anyone who says this is a mild illness and nothing to stress about in front of me better run as fast as their legs can carry them.........

I was naive to think that it wouldn’t be that bad for me because I’m young and healthy but it’s horrible! I’m not sick enough for hospital luckily but it’s definitely worse than a ‘bad cold’, everything aches and I can’t even cheer myself up with chocolate because I can’t taste a thing!
I was terrified for my baby but baby is very well so hopeful it stays that way
Other people I know who caught it (10+ people) have been as expected and generally all recovered but I do know of a few older people that have died and someone else in hospital.