I am getting two lines for my Antigen Rapid Test.
Wondering how fast can the dominant strains of COVID-19 spread among household members? It’s fast.
It all started with one of my family members being ill and refusing to perform an ART to determine if one is Ag+ or Ag-. Ag+ means that the result of the ART turns out to be positive and vice versa. It soon spread to other household members, and we were caught off guard. Finally, it spread to my daughter, and I spend the whole week looking after her, being the primary caregiver for the entire week.
Day#00
I can’t sleep well on the night of 11 March 2022, flipping around the bed with a slight sore throat and stuffy nose. This is what happens when I am down with flu, I can’t get a good night’s sleep, and my body tends to keep me awake.
Day#01
The following day, I quickly took out an ART Kit and tested myself, which turned out to be positive. Fortunately, the symptoms were relatively mild for me. I have a mild sore throat and a stuffy nose without other significant symptoms such as fever and persistent cough.
I hope that the symptoms don’t worsen over the next few days. I have decided to visit the GP I frequent to get medication for my symptoms. Sadly, the usual GP was not around, and the doctor standing in for him couldn’t give me something that treated what I was asking for. However, he is the doctor, and probably he’s treating the root where I am focusing on the symptoms.
Day#02
My energy level was low on this day, while the symptoms remained mild. The cough syrup made me sleepy, and I slept quite a lot today and did not have much appetite for food and drinks. Due to this, my body temperature was slightly on the high side, and eventually, I drank a bottle of isotonic drink to replenish the fluid and bought the temperature down.
Well, at least I still managed to vacuum the floor and prepare our dinner before getting back to my “resting corner”. I continued to catch my Disney+ and LinkedIn Learning. Not a bad use of my downtime during this period.
It is a pity that I cannot get outdoor to continue my jog when the weather is lovely today. So instead, I stare out of the windows to enjoy today’s good weather.
Day#03
I feel much better today with some mild symptoms that are yet to recover. I am not that tired and think I am getting back more than 60% of my energy level. I continue to drink more water to ensure that my fluid is kept at an optimum level.
I keep my mask on throughout the day, and it is getting stuffy and having a slight headache from all the mask-wearing. Likely due to the hook that’s putting on my ear that’s getting uncomfortable.
Day#04–72-hour mark
I did not sleep well the night before and was flipping around until way after midnight. However, I woke up today feeling much better as compared to yesterday. I think that I am about 80% well, but I can only know the real damage when I can start going out for my jog.
I decided not to perform the ART today since I am not going out. I do not want to waste one if I am still shredding the viral load. However, I will perform the ART tomorrow, and if I am well, it’s time for me to head outdoor.
I am getting used to wearing the mask throughout and while sleeping, do not bother me while I am worried it drops when I am deep asleep. Continue to cook for my family and run through the videos in LinkedIn Learning. Let’s see if I can finish this course before the end of the month. It’s quite a long one, 1d 16h worth of content to go.
Day#05-Day#06
While I am feeling much better, I am still tested as Ag+, which means I need to continue my self-isolation. I can only leave the place on the 7th day, according to the current policy or when I am tested as Ag-.
Thus, I will need to continue to exercise caution when talking to my household members, keeping it to the minimum. And I am wearing a mask throughout, even when I am sleeping. As I tend to sleep sideways, wearing the mask makes it rather uncomfortable and risks falling off. Thus, I have to sleep flat on my back for these few nights.
Day#07-Day#09
I am excited on the 7th day as I can officially “walk-out” of my place of self-isolation as I am deemed less infectious today. However, I did not simply let myself loose but continued to wear my mask to run an errand and quickly return home.
While I am officially a “free-man” to go anywhere, the feeling of not wanting to create any unnecessary trouble runs over me. I should stay out of crowded places and continue what I have been doing for the past week. I will be out of the woods once I have tested Ag- in the next few days ahead.
Something great that resulted from this is that I clocked close to 8 hours of sleep daily. Sleep is something that urban people are deprived of in modern times, and it’s crucial to maintain good sleep to keep immunity high.
Day#10 — Today
After ten days of positivity on the ART, I am happy to get negativity this morning. Still, it is not time to celebrate as we are still in the pandemic. So I will stay safe, wear a mask and wash my hands when I am back from outdoor.
I am fortunate to have mild symptoms compared to some of my friends. However, each of us is different and do not think that when our friends are mild, we can be mild too. So please continue to do what you have been doing and keep those around us safe. Remember, we are as strong as the weakest link.
