Early Plot Twist

Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash

So, I managed to not have COVID-19 since 2020 only to get it on the first week of 2022.

It started as an itchy throat by the end of December but nothing alarming. I chalked it up to having eaten something that irritated my throat. But the sensible part of me knew that I’d have to do something in case it worsens. So even if I was only having an itchy throat (not even painful) which kinda progressed to a dry cough, I already started wearing masks even while at home and kept my distance when I talk to my mom and the kids. 

That Monday, January 3, my sister-in-law came out positive after a random antigen test at work. Even so, I wasn’t at all worried, because she sleeps and stays with my cousins next door. If for anything I’m more scared for Liam as he sleeps with her every night. My cousins quickly have themselves tested (both had COVID last year) and both came out negative. They were not exhibiting any symptoms as well. Meanwhile, Danna went on isolation at the house across the street. 

Right around the same time, Gavin already has a cough and after two home antigen tests, he tested negative. However, as he’s showing flu-like symptoms such as cough, colds, and fever, we had him go through RT-PCR testing through the local barangay just to be sure. Days later, it came positive.  

By this time, every one of us at home is already wearing a mask even inside the house. So many people I know is getting sick but most of them say that it might be just the season. Meanwhile I went on with my day-to-day activities as usual because I was feeling fine. No loss of taste or smell, no colds or fever. None of the usual symptoms we all became familiar with. 

But Wednesday night, January 5, I retired to bed early because I wasn’t feeling right. I suddenly had diarrhea and chills. After an hour I already have a low-grade fever that I asked my nephews not to go near me anymore. 

Then came the body pains. It felt like my body was hit by a wooden plank all over. 

It was strange because usually flu symptoms would come out gradually, with one after the other. But in my case, it all came in one sweep. 

The following morning, I no longer have fever and body pains, just a tolerable headache and a worsening cough. I decided right then to get myself tested. See, I’ve had so many friends going online saying they have these so-and-so symptoms but were all quick to dismiss it as flu without even having themselves tested. Frankly, I feel that’s quite irresponsible. 

In as much as I want to get it over and done with, I don’t want to go to the health center and have myself tested through our barangay. I was having that dilemma: If I have COVID then I might infect people there and if I don't, then I might only catch something. 

At the time, the isolation/quarantine protocols call for the positive individual to be isolated in a facility. I personally don’t want that as it will disrupt my routine (my work) especially when I only have mild symptoms.

I tried looking online on where I can order a rapid antigen test kit, but most are available in boxes of 25 which costs about PhP2500-4000. It’s a good thing a friend saw my tweet and sent me two (2) antigen test kits and some Tylenol. 

She also walked me through on how to self-test and within a few minutes, I saw two lines on the strip. Yup. Positive. Clear as day.

Frankly, I wasn’t scared of the fact that I had COVID but more of our situation at home. Our space is very small and I share my room with my kuya. Then again, my family is ever so supportive that every one of us made the necessary adjustment within the household instead of isolating me elsewhere.

It came coincidentally when the COVID cases are starting to surge so the government updated the protocols for quarantine and isolation. Instead of the usual 14 days or two weeks, it was shortened to 10 days from the onset of the first symptom. As I am unsure which of it was my first symptom (Was it the sore throat? The cough? The fever?), I started counting on the day I tested positive: January 6.

The days following, I had a legendary cough. The kind that I haven’t had in years. At first, I try to remedy it by taking Carbocisteine but it only made the cough harder to expel. It has gotten so bad that I would wake choking on my own phlegm and then coughing out blood. At its peak, I started to have chest pains so I would check my oxygen saturation, which is always normal between 97-99%. Thankfully, I don’t have any trouble breathing or fatigue (my friend who also tested positive around the same time can't even sit in bed for a long time because she gets tired) but the coughing is giving me a hard time. At this point, I consulted with a relative who is a cardiologist.  

He prescribed Levocetirizine + Montelukas (which I think was strange since it’s usually given for allergic cough) and Acetylcysteine (Fluimucil) which I had to take for 7 days. I thought my cough was more due to bacteria than viral so I was expecting to be given some antibiotics but turned out it wasn’t.  

The relief wasn’t instant because I would still have sleepless nights because of my cough. I never had a cough this bad except maybe at the time when I had tuberculosis as a kid. For a while, I thought I had to take something else other than what was prescribed (I know that is not a wise thing to do, but sometimes you can get desperate). During the first few days, I was taking the traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Lianhua Qingwen, that I stocked up when there was the Delta surge last year. It provided some relief in my chest congestion. I also went and bought another Chinese herbal syrup, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, which was proven effective for sore throat and cough. I can also testify to the efficacy of cough patches as those helped me sleep at night. 

I still have some coughing to this day but not as bad as before. I also ended my quarantine last January 16 feeling much better. Overall, if not for the cough, I would say I won the COVID battle by a stretch. 

For days Acetylcysteine was out of stock at most drugstores as this is highly recommended to melt sticky phlegm. Just dissolve this into a 1/4 glass of water every night.

I stocked up on Lianhua Qingwen last year and it’s only now that I had a chance to take it. My kuya who had COVID last year swears to this. 

I highly recommend you stock up on this. I gave it to my senior mom and her cough miraculously went away in two days. It’s also very effective for Gavin’s cough.

This eased my tired and dry throat after days of coughing out phlegm. Now I know why a lot of people take this.

The COVID situation in the country went on a sharp increase, starting with only 3000+ on January 1 to about almost 40,000 in a matter of days. Would you believe several over-the-counter meds, branded or generic, for fever, cough, and flu were out of stock in drugstores? A lot of people I know are either sick but don’t want to get tested while some admit to having COVID. Thankfully, none of those I know who are COVID-positive are severe or critical. 

Omicron became the dominant variant, which explains why a lot of people are getting infected being that it is highly transmissible compared to Delta. And while they say that Omicron is not as deadly as Delta, it is not something you’d still want to have. 

I know that being fully vaccinated and getting the booster (and my yearly flu vax) made a whole lot of difference for me. Omicron is in our midst and if you’re like me who is just living her life in the new normal, trust me, it’s just a matter of time before you get it. Honestly, it’s not something you can avoid forever. It will be best to get the vaccine or the booster if you haven’t. Do not count on getting it and then hope to have the natural immunity to it.