How the Author became Mr. Know it all after recovering from Covid

At the outset, I will put a disclaimer that I am no authority or Mr. Know it all on Coronavirus. One of the reasons why the infection is rising is because we are still not willing to follow the safety guidelines.

People in public places like shopping malls or crowded market can be seen wearing masks on their chin rather on the nose. This learned class feels that the virus will get transmitted by licking rather than breathing. People jogging in the morning keep their mask down. They don’t realise that the huffing and puffing they create while running sends their breath to a much father distance thereby increasing the risk to others.

How I became the Mr. Know it all

I have written a couple of stories earlier on my blog about how I recovered from the coronavirus and how I spend time during my Quarantine. Many of my friends have been calling me ever since I recovered to check on how I recovered? I try to counsel them but only on non-medical  matters.

There was a time when my parents wanted me to become a doctor. I  appeared in a lot of medical college entrance examinations after clearing class 12^th. But being a person of average intellect the dream of becoming a doctor and advising patients always remained elusive.

Post my recovery from Covid-19, the perception of me being a Mr. know it all has gone up. People in my friend and family circle call me for my advice. Despite having no relations with a doctor in my family, I have started behaving like one. But honestly, my advice is only limited to what to eat and how to quarantine oneself, etc.

The counseling by Mr. Know it all on Corona symptoms

As the virus is spreading more and more people are becoming a victim of Covid-19. A lot of people in my circle call to check on the symptoms I got when I got infected. It all started with a high fever on a Monday morning in June. When I woke up, I was feeling low on energy. I asked my wife for a thermometer without realising that it will become my daily companion for the next 30 days.

My wife asked me to immediately get into quarantine. I was slightly skeptical and kept telling her that it’s viral and not Covid-19 as I had not ventured out for the last 2 weeks. But she was very firm. I meekly surrendered and decided to stay in the bedroom. Patients with Covid-19 get various symptoms like a low-grade fever, coughing, breathlessness, body fatigue. Some even report loss of smell and taste. In my case, it was only a high fever followed by loss of smell.

The doctor was consulted the same day and he advised that I should stay in quarantine. I was to be kept under observation for a couple of days and if the fever persisted than I should go for a Covid-19 test. For 2 days, I was only advised Dolo 650 for fever 3-4 times in a day (Please take medicines only after consulting your doctor). My Doctor met me on a Wednesday and advised for an RT-PCR test for Covid 19. The lab suggested by him was providing home -collection service and the test guy collected my swab sample on Thursday. Friday was a doomsday as I tested positive and so started my journey of Castaway.

The Quarantine journey of Mr. Know it all

Have you watched the movie Castaway starring Tom Hanks where he gets marooned on a desolate island after a plane crash? If you are in Quarantine do watch this movie. The meaning of Quarantine is a strict cut-off from the outside world and getting confined to the four walls of a room.

You have your own set of utensils in which you are served the three meals. The utensils stay in your room and like you do not venture out. You wash them after every meal, dry them and keep it in the room. The clothes are washed by you in the attached bathroom and dried in the room itself.  Those who don’t have the luxury of an attached bathroom should use one in the house which may not be accessed by others.

Maintain a good hygiene

You have to maintain a good hygiene in the room. It was after a week that my fever came to normal though I used to get a low-grade temperature during the night. Once I got the strength back, I used to clean the room with a broom and also dust the room very alternate days.

The Municipal Corporation played a great supporting role and would visit our house twice a week to collect the garbage. Please remember that the garbage of the quarantined room can’t be mixed with the garbage of the rest of the house. It should be collected in a separate garbage bag and knotted before being disposed of to the Municipal garbage van.

Keep a watch on yourself

I used to maintain a temperature chart in my notes on the phone. Along with the temperature, I used to check my Oxygen level and pulse through a Pulse meter (You can easily get one from the chemist). As per the doctor, a reading of 93 and more was a healthy one. Anything less was a concern and one needed to consult the doctor immediately.

This ritual I followed 4 times a day and shared it with my family. After the 1^st week, my readings were normal except that I had a low-grade fever that continued for almost 2 weeks. Also after 5-6 days of high fever, there was a loss of smell. I could feel it as I was not able to smell the room freshener that I used to spray in the bathroom. Few people also report loss of taste but I was lucky that it didn’t happen to me. As a result, I didn’t lose my appetite.

The daily diet

The diet for me during the quarantine period was normal home-made food. The morning tea was accompanied by a butter toast or biscuits. Breakfast was mainly poha or toast with an omelet. My spouse would make it interesting by changing it to upma or uttapam every alternate day. Lunch was mainly a typical Kayastha one with Arhar dal, chawal, aloo-gobhi, or Lauki-aloo or pyaaz wali bhindi accompanied with chapattis. Evening tea was accompanied by some Rusk or biscuits. Dinner was light mainly khichdi with aloo ka chokha or curd rice. At times I would prefer butter toast with homemade tomato soup.

The daily routine also included inhaling steam 2-3 times a day. One of the most boring activities was gargling but beggars can’t be choosers and I used to do it 2-3 times. At times I would cheat also by missing an occasional one. My wife ensured a high fluid intake along with Kadha. I preferred having juice or Bournvita milk twice or thrice during the day.

To conclude I kept my spirits high during the 24 days of my quarantine though it was not an easy task. The Mr. Know it all wishes a speedy recovery to all those who are in home quarantine. Till then stay healthy and keep smiling.

You can read some similar stories on my blog. Click on the following link:

The Quarantine story of the author infected by the coronavirus

The Quarantine Lessons from the author who became a victim

To know more about Coronavirus click on the following link:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52301633