Has having covid, not catching covid or knowing someone whose had it changed your view on how you first thought of it

[potentiallyme]

Before anything else I'd like to say so sorry to you all that have lost precious ones from covid (or any other reasons you've lost someone for that matter)
I feel beyond grateful that covid has not yet taken anyone I know. I was beyond panic stricken at the start of it all, now almost 2 years later I'm no where eat as frightened.

Yes having covid changed my opinion on it.

I was worried about DS catching it as a toddler given all the unknowns, also believed for quite a while follow all the rules and we should hopefully avoid it...... Oh how naive I was.
Reality is its a virus its pretty unavoidable regardless! Ours came from DS nursery which came from the hospital.

I also learnt the hard way that whatever your perceived risk is of how ill you would be the reality is you have no idea how it's going to effect you especially if like me you catch it prior to vaccination. I should have been low risk and mild reality is that I was a moderate case and only just avoided a lengthy hospital stay although was very unwell and put on numerous drugs. I also have long covid and took me months to walk more than a few hundred metres compared with previously of walking miles a day.

Currently have covid - as does DH and DD. Other child hasn’t.

We’ve always been careful and followed guidance, DH and I double vaccinated and waiting for booster in the NY.

Honestly, until we had it I thought life was getting back to normal. Now we have it, I feel sad that this is our life for the foreseeable futures. The constant testing, the paranoia of it all, and the fact that there is no end in sight for this temporary way of living. Yes, I understand that eventually, it will reduce in its severity, but when?

Yep, I feel awful, like I have proper flu, and now feel as sad and concerned as I did in March 2020.

I haven't had it, barely know anyone who has, and no one badly. I wasn't scared or worried right back in the beginning of March 20. I was calm and ok about it all and just followed guidelines and did what I was told to do. I chose not to wipe down my shopping, which I quickly thought was ott. It seems to have heightened more peoples anxiety. I appreciate many have lost loved ones and also the long covid issues, but I still can't get my head around the anxiety.

@Fadette it’s just a hot drink made with turmeric, pepper, ginger, lemon juice and honey. All those things have some kind of benefit and some people were saying it’s helpful when you’re ill so we made it daily and sipped it all day. I hope I don’t need to mention that I’m not touting a cure or anything and there’s no proof it does anything but it’s soothing and can’t do any harm.

I lost both my parents to covid at the start of this year - both in their sixties and far earlier than expected. I spent many hours on covid wards with them. I also lost a double vaccinated uncle to covid in the summer - in his 50s but CEV.

I’m gradually returning to normality but very uncomfortable in crowds and disappointed that social distancing and mask wearing has effectively stopped, including in close contact. I really struggled getting the train home from work when there was disruption and I was literally stood in someone’s armpit with others without masks breathing all over me. I haven’t done large scale events and don’t quite when I will be happy to do so - perhaps in the Spring?

I am now double vaccinated but still acutely aware of the risk. As a family of 4 none of us have had covid, but so many around us have had it or lost people. Even since September my son has seen two of his friends lose their fathers - in their 40s.

[quote TheScenicWay]@Fadette it’s just a hot drink made with turmeric, pepper, ginger, lemon juice and honey. All those things have some kind of benefit and some people were saying it’s helpful when you’re ill so we made it daily and sipped it all day. I hope I don’t need to mention that I’m not touting a cure or anything and there’s no proof it does anything but it’s soothing and can’t do any harm.[/quote]
Thanks. It does sound soothing!

Two colleagues have lost very elderly relatives to covid. Other than that, the many people I know who have had it, including CEV, BAME, and morbidly obese, have all been poorly for a week or so with a very bad cold, and then back to normal. No long covid, no second infections, no one anywhere near requiring hospitalisation. Many said that the fear they had when diagnosed was worse than the illness.

It’s so strange how it hits some families harder than others.

We were very frightened early on as my neighbour lost her brother in March 2020 to covid. Then another neighbour caught it and was incredibly poorly (May 2020) we see very little of her now - she has long covid, very young children. She struggles with her breathing, unable to put on weight - she was incredibly slim beforehand and a runner.

Finally a family friend in her mid 40s who ended up on a ventilator she is out now but has long covid and young children.

I also know many people that have survived covid, however most have long covid. This varies from brain fog, breathing issues, loss of taste (this is a big one) low energy - months and months on.

So glad we got the vaccinations as I believe we would have suffered badly if we got covid.

I've done everything properly and I still got it.

People have got to get away from this line of thinking that they can avoid it via their behaviour. It's a virus. It's job is to infect you. Short of strict isolation or full hazmat suits, it's naive to think you have the power to stop it.

@gamerchick
Exactly me, a mild illness for a small percentage of kids is still a significant amount of children with more than a mild illness when most of them are getting it.

I’ve had respiratory issues all my life, know how to deal with them, don’t panic. Watching your previously very healthy child distressed and unable to breathe is something else.

I have less fear of it than I did for me personally, but that is ONLY because of the vaccinations.

If I had not been vaccinated, I would still feel the same. The virus hasn't changed.

I've got friends who have had it - young, healthy people - whose lives have been changed by it. One in his 30's who had it over a year ago and seems to have now permanently lost sense of smell and taste - it almost doesn't sound like a big deal but imagine it! Never being able to smell or taste again. That's bloody horrible.

Another friend in her 40's - also previously healthy - has long Covid and has had to reduce her working hours and is not able to live life anything like she was before due to extreme fatigue. This has also been over a year and shows no signs of letting up.

So I don't feel any differently about the disease itself. It's awful.

I only feel better because of the vaccine, and I worry about those who are unvaccinated and have been brainwashed to think vaccines are evil etc.

I have it now, I tested positive on Monday 3x LF tests followed by a positive PCR
It feels like I have a very heavy cold. The headache was the worst I’ve ever experienced. Like someone was crushing my head in a vice, thankfully it’s subsiding
Im double jabbed , due my booster on the day I finish isolation , clearly that will have to be moved by a few weeks .
I’m not worried ,I feel ok, not great but don’t feel the need for medical intervention
The lack of taste and smell is weird , never had anything like it , I’m eating oranges and might as well be eating cardboard

My father with dementia caught it in his care home. It has progressed his dementia rapidly and he has been bed bound since then - 10 months. For him it would have been kinder to have taken him as he now has no quality of life at all.

My two closest friends caught it, no underlying health issues. One ended up in hospital and is still not back to full health 9 months later.

I feel like it's just a matter of time before I get it. I don't particularly worry about it for myself but my partner has underlying heart issues that would worry me if he caught it. He's not worried about it though.

@RonaLisa

My view has not changed since the first minute it was mentioned, namely that it's a great big fuss about very little, in the grand scheme of things. I'm more concerned about antibiotic-resistant viruses, not least as young people (i.e. our children) would have no defence against them. I'm also more concerned about the mental health of all the people who suffered far more from lockdown than from Covid.

All viruses are antibiotic-resistant. Antibiotics fight bacteria, not viruses.

It's given me a kick up the arse on exercising regularly.

Terrified at the beginning, but not just because of the disease, because of the idea of restrictions and lockdowns as well. Thats pretty serious cognitive dissonance in a western country.

I will take all the vaccines and would like more pressure to be put on vaccine refusers. I would be ok with vaccine passports.

Dd1 had it. Coughed literally 4 times in 1 days and lost her sense of smell for a week.

It's so Random ,I haven't had it but my son ,sister , nephew, other family members and friends have and all been fairly mild ,but my sister's friend ,has long COVID ,and now has lots of medical issues including Angina ,,I'm Doubly vaxxed plus booster ,I'm not staying in ,but still cautious and aware that for some it's a nasty ,sometimes life threatening illness .

I feel more uncertain than ever! Despite having young DC at school, knowing plenty of key workers and vulnerable people, I know very few who've had it. Those who have were mildly effected and have now moved on and not taking it seriously anymore. Great for them but they forget that many of us are still waiting to see how our bodies will cope - some of us will be unlucky. DC school have effectively told us to send them in with covid symptoms. They are tired of the frequent absences . Even if I don't die of covid I'd still like to avoid being fatigued for several months, or losing sense of taste and smell for a prolonged period which sounds miserable! There's no understanding about long term effects of all this infection - particularly for young DC. Sometimes I feel a bit lonely in my concern which was not the case at the beginning when it felt like we were all in it together.

I've had it (probably/ very likely) twice. It was grim both times and I was ill for weeks. I'm double vaccinated and boosted as I have low immunity. The current bout has left me ill since July, despite being fit and healthy before I got it.

I live in (mild) fear of getting it again so am much more cautious about large gatherings, hand washing and being in enclosed spaces.

Know of several people who have died from it.

My social circle is now much smaller and I won't knowingly mix with unvaccinated people indoors.

I Haven’t had it but an awful lot of people I know have.
With school age kids I think it’s inevitable we will have it in the house at some point. I’m no longer that scared of having it myself but the prospect of my vulnerable parents getting it still terrifies me. Luckily they had their boosters recently.

That said I think the more realistic risk is of them in their mid 70s being ill from sthg else and not getting the care they need because of the current pressure on the health system. Partly but not entirely due to covid.

At the beginning I was very concerned for my parents (in their 80’s) and PIL (in their 70”s). My mum had just been discharged from hospital post heart valve surgery the week before lockdown and we were fortunate she had arranged to stay with her sister (she ended up staying for around 5 months in the end). My father’s wife is much younger so I felt confident he would be ok in terms of shopping etc. I wasn’t massively worried about us, but took steps to improve my health and lose weight to get to a healthy bmi.

I’m no more or less concerned now. It’s a matter of doing our best, getting vaccinated and living our lives.

Never been scared of it as the tiny % of likelihood of death in my age group showed it was in the most part about of flu/mild illness. The loss of freedoms and the lockdown scared me more, the hysteria on here was also dreadful. Never stopped going to the supermarket or sanitising post/shopping. Was keen to get vaccinated as soon as possible as that made sense. Have recently had it, only tested due to no sense of smell. Apart from a couple of days being very tired was absolutely fine.

I've never been anxious about getting it, or for members of my household (all under 45). I've been more concerned about keeping my preschooler active and encouraging her social development as much as I could. So she's attended nursery since they reopened, and I've taken her to all the usual places whenever they were open, like toddler groups, soft play, theatre trips etc. She rarely gets ill, has never had a fever in the past 2 years and hasn't shown any signs of anxiety as I've always made sure we got out and about even if just for walks during lockdown. Life has been fairly back to normal since July, although we haven't flown abroad yet (we will in a few weeks).

Know nobody who has died or been hospitalised. No one in my extended family has tested positive, although DH had some symptoms like loss of smell so probably got it back when testing was less available. All my extended family have been vaccinated as soon as it was offered, we are all under 70, not overweight or relevant health issues. None of us has been financially affected badly by the lockdowns either, some of us have lost jobs but found another quickly.

@Worldgonecrazy

Two colleagues have lost very elderly relatives to covid. Other than that, the many people I know who have had it, including CEV, BAME, and morbidly obese, have all been poorly for a week or so with a very bad cold, and then back to normal. No long covid, no second infections, no one anywhere near requiring hospitalisation. Many said that the fear they had when diagnosed was worse than the illness.

It’s so strange how it hits some families harder than others.

There is some very robust research that vit D levels play a significant role. And lots and lots of people have low vit d.