Dh has Covid , scared

[Elasticatedwaist]

Dh has pretty bad asthma but didn’t receive a shielding letter . He’s been working , key worker . Been super super careful but today he’s tested positive. I have seen how he struggles with just a cold so I am very worried. I struggle with anxiety , and I’m waiting for an urgent gastro appointment aswell . I have an adult ds living with us who has Aspergers and doesn’t cope well .
Feel overwhelmed.
Is there anything I should be advising dh to do ? He’s upped his asthma meds today .

Breathing exercises recommended by a doctor:

Oh Op I'm sorry for your family that sounds very hard indeed.
How is he in himself? Why did he test? Has he got symptoms? Are you and DS ok?

Do you have a pulse oximeter? If not, buy one now, tonight. A humidifier may also be useful. Fingers crossed he'll be one of those who gets it mildly.

Dh had a pain when breathing in on Friday , then he got a cough , a bit short of breath and a bad headache . He wasn’t sure if it was a flare up of asthma symptoms at first . Myself and ds haven’t any Covid symptoms so far . I have headache but Ive not been feeling well anyway , long term, anemia etc and I have chronic silent migraine .
I’ve cleaned the house but I think it’s probably pointless and we will all get it .

Thanks for the breathing exercises I will pass that on to him

Oximeter ordered from amazon thankyou

Don’t assume you will all get it OP.

Two different households in my family each had one person with a positive COVID test; nobody else caught it from them.

@Elasticatedwaist -it's purely anecdotal but my DSis has bad asthma and had Covid a few months ago. She said it was like flu, the headache was bad but her breathing wasn't really affected.

Hope your DH has a similar experience. DSis was OK after about a week.

Get a sats probe. Got mine from argos as none available immediately from amazon. I've got asthma too and became very wheezy with covid.
Sats probe reassured me that my o2 levels were ok (should be >96%). Read up how to use them as being cold etc can effect the readings (they are fairly simple though).
Good idea re breathing techniques, also try lying on front as ithelps to open up lung spaces. I did get slightly breathless but could always speak in full sentences and could lie comfortably without struggling to breath.
I'll be honest, it is an anxious time waiting to see how things go. Trying to keep calm, concentrating on breathing is the way to go although not easy.
And rest, plenty of fluids, 1/5-2 ltrs a day. My dp got me some complans because I really lost my appetite. Chances are he will be ok, just need to know what to look out for. Take care.

Some really good suggestions on this thread that I am going to follow.

I have severe asthma to the extent that I'm on the clinically extremely vulnerable list. I'm just recovering from Covid now. I started on Christmas Day. I've been very poorly, and still am in bed all day, but I have managed at home and haven't needed to go to hospital. And I am definitely heading in the right direction now, getting better every day. So he may feel very very poorly over the next couple of weeks, but he won't necessarily be critically ill- so please don't panic. He's lucky he's got you- make sure he keeps his fluids up. I hope you both come through it as quickly and painlessly as possible

Vit d.

I hope he’s ok with it and the rest of you don’t catch it.

I’ve not had it but I know how anxiety affects my breathing so I’d recommend distraction where you can. I read it as a tip from someone who’d had Covid, that the anxiety was almost worse than the actual symptoms.

This is useful advice for dealing with Corona at home. Also my brother who is late 40s had it in March & found the blue inhaler really helpful during prolonged coughing fits. Hope it all works out ok OP

If you don’t have any, get some Vit d and c and get him taking it. Have a look but I think higher doses than those recommended on the packaging is advised for covid.

Also as pp said take Vit D supplements, although I’m not sure how effective they are in the short term. Good luck.

I read that you should sleep on your stomach. Or if you can’t then on your side. Hope your dh feels better soon.

@chipsandgin that’s a really useful photo. OP I’ve spoken to 111 and 999 today and the advice is to worry when the person struggles to breathe and/or temp goes above 38.5. Hopefully your DP won’t get to that point. Really encourage him to drink even if he can’t eat. Make a note of his bowel movements and definitely try the breathing exercises. If you can afford it I would buy a monitor for o2 levels and heart rate, for your own peace of mind as well. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice, 111 can ease your worries and give you the right advice and ambulances are there for this reason. I say that because I was scared to call because I didn’t know what the point was that it goes from worrying to “we need help here”. Sending you strength and praying this ends well for you.

I didn't have breathing problems but did keep having a rapid heart rate. I was advised by doctor to have dioralyte or similar to balance my electrolytes and I found that really helpful. I wasn't eating much due to nausea.

Some good advice from PPs, I hope you'll all be ok

I would contact your GP and ask about steroids. The steroids I was given early on really really helped. I have dilated cardiomyopathy andante heart failure and due to that I’m on the clinically extremely vulnerable list. I am convinced it was the prompt steroid treatment along with a few days in hospital on a small amount of oxygen that helped me not become as seriously ill as I was warned I could become.
I wish you all the luck in the world with this. My husband came out of ICU today.

Thank you for all the advice . I really need to stay well myself so that I can look after dh and ds . Not sure what we will do if I end up out of action.
I’ve ordered vit D and an oximeter . Hopefully dh can speak to his doctor later about steroids etc
Thank you for all your kind wishes . I hope those of you that have been ill continue to recover well .