When you had COVID what did you find most useful or wish you had in?

[AtLeastPretendToCare]

My household has had multiple exposures to cases recently so I’m planning that it is when not if it breaks out within the family. So I want to prepare. Adults are jabbed and had/getting boosters. Primary school aged children attending school.

If you’ve had COVID, whether mild or more serious, particularly more recently please tell me what you really found helpful to have at home or what did you not have and you wishes you had that would have made thing easier for you?

Any input whether big or small appreciated.

Sudafed and a stash of microwaveable meals

Lots of painkillers - headache was an arse. But you can't order loads in an online order.

Salt and vinegar crisps - only thing we could taste by day 4. Luckily you can order loads in an online order!

Squash - different flavours in an attempt to taste different things.

Easy peels and bananas - texture a bit odd, but could slightly taste their sweetness.

Marmite rice cakes - with peanut butter for a bit of protein and crunch and salt.

If not a cook, then proper pots of fresh veg soup. We made some, and just ate that for every meal for a week. If a cook (or can be arsed), make a load of soup with whatever veg you've got.

1. Take vitamin D now.
2. Invest in a slow cooker
3. Radio for days if you cannot get out of bed.
4. Cosy dressing gown and slippers.
5. Netflix/Amazon prime for when you feel better and need to be entertained.
6. Be realistic. Don't expect to do everything you usually can

If not instant mash (you can buy it on Amazon - only buy Idaho stuff), then frozen mash is ace too.

If not instant mash (you can buy it on Amazon - only buy Idaho stuff), then frozen mash is ace too.

Medicines
Plain food - put milk and bread in the freezer
Orange juice
Tissues

Sinussolpha I think it’s called ? A friend dropped them off and they were amazing at relieving symptoms along with nurofen plus
Amazon prime- we used a lot to order jigsaws and arts & crafts supplies to keep dds entertained

Local takeaway number to feed children

Lots of different minerals , I lost taste and smell but could taste lime cordial , drank gallons of the stuff !

Yes to radio and headphone I couldn’t cope with Tv or follow anything but slept and went around clock with radio for company.

Loads of pjs or T-shirts for all sweats and being generally smelly

Lots snack things that can be brought to bed and don’t go off, I was alone so if I couldn’t get out bed I didn’t eat.

Spare blankets case of sickness I was coughing so much made myself vomit multiple times. Luckily I have many double blankets that can wash easily but if you only have one duvet you could be in trouble.

Note pad or phone app to keep track of meds. I realised by day 4 that although my stopwatch on phone was tracking 4h -5h intervals. In my state I wasn’t accounting for the max dose of 4 times in any 24h. I was just taking after least 4h around the clock. But if I had page a day would have been easier work out when feeing rough and muddled.

Ice packs and hot water bottles. Sometimes you will be shaking because you are feeling cold other times when temp
Is 104.

Squash even water tasted like ditch water

Oximeter
Marmite (was one of the only things I could kind of taste)
High Strength Vit D
High Strength Vit C
Sambuccol with extra zinc
Cough syrup for tickly cough
Fruit juice
Tissues
Massive sainsburys delivery
Grapes

Lots of ice and Lucozade!

I think

Another one for cold and flu tablets. Fruit juice, strong teas (lemon and ginger, peppermint and liquorice - I couldn’t taste usual coffee properly and these were a good gauge to taste returning). Also agree with having great intentions to cook new recipes, keep eating healthy etc but in reality just needed really easy food (healthier for the kids) and just easy for us to keep us going. Didn’t want to move from the sofa really.

Day nurse, night nurse
Thermometer
Oximeter, but agree with earlier post, quite scary

Lemsip - I lived on it
Ready meals, or easy quick food that requires no thought
Orange juice
Amazon Prime grocery delivery
Someone to take DC to and from school

Has anyone had it with a BF baby? I'm so nervous about having to care for her if we both get affected, plus you can't have the lemsip etc mentioned so often above. Any tips appreciated as might feel more prepared

Ibroprofen, frozen food, baking ingredients (relieve boredom, I didn't get sick apart from a brief fever, hence first on list) cough medicine can't hurt though I didn't have one. Stuff to entertain kids if she applicable, a decent internet connection (we didn't)

@QuiltedHippo

I used to make my own "lemsips" by stirring honey and lemon juice into warm water and taking a paracetamol. Lemon barley water or ribena are good ready made options

Lemsip
Squash
Bread- lived on toast
Cough mixture eg benylin that causes drowsiness
Night nurse (one or the other not both!)
Inhalers. Not asthmatic but DS is and I used one of his spares
Pulse oximeter
Vitamin D and C

5 of us down with covid in this house currently. Glad we had a supply of Lemsip, Calpol, paracetamol and cough syrup. Easy snacky foods: Biscuits and crisps, crackers, bread and butter, porridge, cereal and bananas and satsumas. Fruit juice and cordial (neither me or FH can't taste/smell tea or coffee so have switched to hot cordial and we are going through a lot between us!). We ordered some easy baking kits, craft kits for the kids to keep them entertained- our house has never been so generously decorated for Christmas!

Think it has been covered:

Lots and lots of paracetamol and
ibuprofen
Vit C and B12
Very easy ready meals
Soup
Oximeter
Tissues
Beconase nasal spray

I had absolutely no smell or taste so have a few things in you really like to ensure you eat. (even though taste might be weird or zero)

Lemsip - I lived on it

Just to be on the safe side, beware of forgetting lemsip contains paracetamol. There are limits on how much you can drink and don’t take anything else containing paracetamol with it. It’s surprisingly easy to take too much if you’re using it to calm a sore throat.

Pulse oximeter, peak flow meter, thermometer and blood pressure monitor.

I'm asthmatic and got a secondary chest infection and had to report my daily heart rate, temperature, oxygen levels, blood pressure and peak flow to the Covid Monitoring Service daily. So having all of the above was useful.

Pulse oximeter was the most useful, it was very reassuring.

Other than that I was pleased to have things like long life orange juice, frozen fruit and veg and food which could be made quickly like tinned soup. Lozenges, honey and lemons were useful as I had an awful cough.

All the things mentioned so far. I craved pork scratchings, somethjng I don't usually eat but didn't have anyone to drop them off. When I did finally get some i couldn't even eat one piece. Tastes vile. Odd

Calpol/nurofen
Vick
Olbas oil
Strepsils
Lots of baths
Easy food
Multi vitamin

I haven't felt particularly ill but definitely needed throat sweets and tissues.
Also stuff like pet food, I'm glad I bulk bought some last week otherwise I'd have some very cross pets.
I've also just ordered a load of activity books for my son so maybe get some supplies like that in.