My 7 Stages of Covid-19

We’re 2 years into the Coronavirus pandemic but for some, they are experiencing Covid-19 for the first time. We are part of that group. We did all the right things: limited public spaces by staying home, wore masks, sanitized everything, and got vaccinated. However, that didn’t stop our family from eventually contracting Covid-19. For those that may not have experienced Covid-19 yet, here are the 7 stages of Covid-19 that we experienced. I’m also sharing tips on what to have on hand to help you get through it!

Our Covid-19 Journey

Like so many parents, we received one of those dreaded school phone calls saying that yet another individual on campus tested positive for the virus. We received a second phone call letting us know that our youngest was a close contact. This wasn’t the first time he’d been a close contact either. At the beginning of the school year, he had to quarantine for several days so he can be monitored for symptoms. He remained symptom-free and returned to school.

The school district has made several changes since then. Students who are close contact do not have to stay out of school – just be monitored for symptoms. If the virus is suspected they are to quarantine, get tested, and report it to the health department and school. Just before the holidays the district also removed the required mask mandate and a spike of reports came into the schools following that decision.

This time he caught the virus the Friday before Thanksgiving break. We canceled all plans and quarantined the family. He spent the majority of the break in his room where he was closely monitored and given extra electronic time and other things to keep him busy. Kids are resilient and a few days later he was on the mend. We tested him with at-home Covid-19 test kits until he was finally negative. We managed to salvage a piece of that last weekend before school started again.

By Monday our older son was showing Covid-19 symptoms. Despite doing all the right things he still managed to catch it! We started yet another round of quarantine, testing, reporting to the health dept. and school. Our son has been out of school for over a week now and finally returns tomorrow. I had breakthrough Covid-19 just a few days after he started his symptoms. Of course, mom would catch it after 2 weeks of constant exposure (face in palm). Sigh…

Something consistent with all of us is the stages of Covid-19 we experienced, except for number 7. That only happened to me. So let’s break down the stages. Of course, your experience may be different, while others may be asymptomatic.

The 7 Stages of Covid-19

An itchy throat. When the Coronvirus initially began there was a lot of talk about a sore throat. In our experience, it was more like an itchy throat than sore. If you are regularly drinking beverages, you may simply forget about it after a while.
Later that day, or possibly into the next day sneezing begins, and tissues are needed for that runny nose. At this point, you may think you’re coming down with a cold.
The headache is the key. If you can imagine the worst headache you’ve ever experienced in your lifetime and multiply that by 5 – that’s how severe a Covid headache is. The headache won’t go away. You’ll have sinus pressure, jaw, neck, ear, and in my case teeth pain. Yes, my teeth hurt! If you’ve ever had a sinus infection you may mistake it for that, but don’t. Go get tested!
Chills and body aches follow. They come and go and your extremities will feel extra sensitive to temperatures. The body aches are strange. I experienced them in my legs and back.
Fatigue sets in. Take this time to rest. Your body is fighting an awful infectious disease and is wiped out.
Loss of smell and taste. This Covid symptom is the strangest! I put Vicks Vaporub under my nose several times a day and can not smell it. I can’t taste anything either. Absolutely nothing for days now. It can cause malnutrition and dehydration so stay on top of eating and drinking fluids regularly despite not having interest.
Breathing complications. The boys didn’t experience this one, however, I’m still battling some minor breathing complications and dizziness. Oxygen levels below 88% are cause for concern so this is important to monitor.

Thankfully, none of us had symptoms severe enough to send us to the hospital. We are very grateful for that. The coronavirus can cause severe breathing complications and organ failure. It is very important to stay in contact with loved ones and monitor your progress. For accurate up-to-date information, visit the cdc.gov website.

What to have on hand for Covid-19

If you begin experiencing the stages of Covid-19 you will need several items to help you through it. Here’s what we recommend:

Tissues
Pain reliever like Ibuprofen
Gatorade
Heating pad
Massager
Face roller
Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

The pain reliever will help with the Covid headache as well as body aches. As I mentioned above, the headache is severe and hurts multiple areas of your face. I found a Jade face roller helpful. The coolness combined with a gentle massage helped relieve some tension. The massager gun helped with neck pain and the heating pad helped with body chills. The pulse oximeter is highly recommended by my nurse friends to monitor your oxygen level. Again, if it gets below 88% it’s a cause for concern. And finally, it’s important to keep hydrated. Covid makes you thirsty. Having Gatorade on hand to replenish electrolytes is a must.

Don’t forget to check on your friends who are experiencing Covid-19. We’re 3 weeks into quarantining since none of us overlapped by much and it’s definitely isolating. We’ve missed special gatherings, school, going places as a family like a simple dinner out.

I hope sharing our experience helps you. Stay safe and healthy!