My mom has covid. She first had symptoms Saturday, but they weren’t “covid” symptoms, and she has a lot of other health issues. Sunday afternoon she developed “cold symptoms”, and i tested her this morning with an antigen test. I’ve administered a couple dozen of them, but never seen a positive test before. It wasn’t subtle. The indicator line turned bright red the moment the fluid hit it.
She’s 84 and immune compromised. She was vaccinated, but odds are here immune system didn’t react. Her doctor is trying to see if he can get her monoclonal antibodies. He doesn’t think the pills are available, yet.
I was over Saturday (and today, to administer the test). I wore a decent mask. If her doctor can get her the antibodies, I’ll have to take her. So I’m a little worried for me, as well as a lot worked for her.
My nieces tested positive on Dec 26, after seeing me and my parents on Dec 25. My brother didn’t test positive but he was sick, and my SIL continues to be sick. Somehow I didn’t get it, neither did my parents (dad didn’t get his booster until Dec 27). Their family was all vaccinated so they are coming out of it ok.
Two people I know who had covid early on in 2020 got it again around Christmas. On top of them, a friend who is a teacher (vaxxed and masked) got it early December and another guy who worked in a factory got it in December as well.
Omicron is really catching rapidly. And seeing how it hit my unvaccinated cousin (the aforementioned kid on a ventilator) versus how it hit the vaccinated people, these vaccines are working.
Thanks. It’s not looking likely. The closest place is completely booked and gave me contact info for the other sites in the state. Her doctor applied to them, but they say it’s taking them 18 hours to review applications, and they are scheduling 72+ hours out, which, honestly, is probably too late to be helpful. The antibodies work best if you get them immediately after onset of symptoms, and don’t work at all if you wait too long.
He also looked for the new pills, but they aren’t available, yet.
A second friend in Thailand has it now, and she’s quarantined to a hotel room in Pattaya for 14 days. They bring her food and meds. This is day 4 I think, and she says she’s been running a slight fever and sleeping a lot but it seems to be improving. She hasn’t told her parents in the province where she grew up yet, doesn’t want them to worry. She’s on a high floor in the hotel, sent me pictures of all the fireworks at midnight there from her confinement.
That’s too bad. From my experience with delta, I suggest lots of fluids and Tylenol to help with the achiness. Hot tea for sore throat. The usual things for cold and flu symptoms, I guess.
If she’s at risk of more severe respiratory illness, a pulse oximeter is a good thing. It can be reassuring, and also can tell you if it’s time to talk to the doctor or go to the hospital. It helped to have for my spouse’s more serious case.
I had heard around the time I got vaccinated that ibuprofen might affect immune response. So, I used Tylenol when I got covid out of an abundance of caution. I am not really promoting that idea, because I don’t know if it’s true. But I can attest that Tylenol did help.
Advil works by depressing the part of the immune system that drives “inflammation”, so it’s plausible that it’s problematic for covid. When covid was brand new there were a lot of scare stories about how Advil made it worse. I don’t think they were ever really proven, there were a lot of medical rumors around then.
But my mom can’t take Advil, or most of the the nsaids, for unrelated reasons, so in this particular case it’s moot. I bought her some liquid Tylenol today because her throat is really sore and it’s hard for her to swallow.
That’s almost me as well except some of the people I know have been very sick and two people I know have died. Most of my coworkers have had it (one is currently out with it right now), both my parents, several nephews, several friends, a couple aunts & uncles. My wife and I have been very careful (we wear KN95s, shop early in the morning, etc) except for a holiday gathering with family. However, our antigen test 7 days later was fine. Back to bunkering and hope we remain some of the few that don’t seem to have had it.
Even without a test result, my doctor is fairly confident that I have covid, so I’ll count that as a diagnosis.
I’m fairly confident I was exposed no later than Sunday, when a maskhole came into the gas station I was getting breakfast at and tried to purchase two covid tests.
I started coughing on Monday, and at one point, lost my sense of taste for a couple of days.
I’ve gotten two Moderna shots, the most recent one in May, and have not yet been boosted. I have arranged to get a test in a week, and be boosted the next day.
Neighbors of ours (2 adults, 2 elementary-school sons) were diagnosed right around Christmas. The parents had fairly minor cases, the sons were (I think) asymptomatic.
And apparently half of that end of the street was quarantining - as those neighbors and several others had gotten together a few days beforehand. WHOOPS! I don’t know if any of the other neighbors actually caught it. I found this out the other day when I ran into one of the formerly-sick neighbors - she was heading to the mailboxes (which are outdoors, and she was across the street from me).
A friend who travelled for Christmas got a notice of exposure - she’s not sure where, but suspects it was on the flight back home. She’s isolating at home but feels fine so far; she can’t find any place to get tested.
We also travelled just after Christmas - drove to Vermont to visit our daughter. Exposure to others was minimal, and Vermont is taking masking pretty seriously - nearly all places we went had signs that required masks regardless of your vaccination status. Our daughter would have been our most-risky contact, as we were around her a fair bit, and she works in retail - but she’s vax’ed and boosted. We’ve been home for 4 days now and no symptoms, so hopefully no souvenirs!
Niece had it over Christmas. Her husband had it last christmas. My sister has not been able to spend christmas with them for 2 years now.
I have a co-worker whose husband was diagnosed right before christmas. Although her daughter was not tested, they have all be sick. She also has had her nanny get it, as well as a backup.
I think Omnicron is rampaging through the country.
Make that two offices, now, but still not mine. Our boss says there have been no transmissions within the organization, despite the appearance of several cases in close proximity at once. Today was supposed to be one of my days in the office, but I have a sore throat so I’m being told to stay home, even though my at-home test was negative.
It’s kind of remarkable that I live in LA and I still haven’t had any known exposure, hardly know anyone personally who’s had it, and don’t know anyone who’s died from it or even been hospitalized. Of course, now almost everyone I know is vaccinated, so while there may be a lot more infections, I’m optimistic about people in my circle recovering.
If you have another test, you may want to try swabbing your tonsils and then nostrils as directed. This method is apparently giving positive results sooner than with just nasal swabs. The UK has already incorporated those instructions in some test kits being distributed, and it’s starting to be reported here, but not yet being recommended by any official entity.
Good to know, thanks! I think since I have to (and even if I didn’t have to but could) stay home regardless, I won’t waste my only other test, since they’re in short supply. But when I do decide to use it, I’ll try that.
FWIW, I was able to order tests from RiteAid online, within the last week. I was surprised, as other places were out. Of course, it may have all switched around in a week.
Yeah I just ordered a couple more on Amazon; it said they should arrive in the next couple weeks but who knows. I think my priority going forward is to minimize the risk of getting my parents sick without minimizing the time I spend with them, so I’m going to use whatever tests I can get to check myself before I go see them. Everyone else can take their chances with me or stay home, no hard feelings. Of course I’ll keep wearing my mask in public to protect those who don’t have a choice.