My experiences with Covid-19

I have documented my experiences with Covid. We have had 8 different people infected within our
household across 3 generations and from a single source/strain. These experiences are India-Chennai
specific but would apply to most of the Indian cities.

As you have heard from many sources, Covid impacts people differently. Lung capacity, heart and age
seem to be most impacting factors, in that order. In my view presence of co-morbidities alone doesn’t
make your life more difficult. It is simply an indirect factor determining the severity. My 80+ year old
father with several co-morbidity issues had no difficulties and came out successfully (he has been doing
Yoga/Kapalabhati for decades). Another member who’s a Marathon runner also had very little issues.
But others with no co-morbidity issues and with less stamina/lung capacity, did show more symptoms
and took longer to recover.

See how the heartbeat of the same person becomes irregular at diff points in time in the day and
110 bpm while resting at bed!!
We can’t do a lot thinking about who will get impacted more. We can only take steps to avoid it and
take affirmative actions if we get the virus.

Symptoms:

Since there is enough material on symptoms, I won’t cover in detail except to highlight that symptoms
differs from person to person. If you are symptomatic, the tiredness and body pain are extreme and
there is no way you will miss it. The symptoms have been quite severe in the morning compared to the
evening for all of us. First 4-5 days of contracting the virus these symptoms are more severe. If you are
asymptotic, enjoy your day at the cost of your close ones!!

Govt vs Private Dilemma:

It’s a tough call to decide whether to go to Government hospitals or Private hospitals. Below points will
help, but in any case, it is better to stick to the same entity (if you are getting treated privately, get
tested in private lab).
Covid Testing:

- Private hospitals/labs deliver results within 24 hrs, while Govt labs take 2 days. It could be a
crucial day if you are elderly or having severe symptoms
- Private labs charge between 4-6k and government is free as long as you have a prescription
based on symptoms or contact tracing
- Given the high number of infected people coming for testing in your center, you are increasing
your exposure/chances while visiting the test labs. Private labs take less time to do testing but
are mostly in air-conditioned setup which is not ideal. In all probability, I may have contracted
Covid while visiting the Covid area for some other purpose. Govt ones that I visited were in open
space and patients were separated, making it less likely to spread amongst people
- If you test in govt lab, there is a significant follow-up from govt agencies, from asking you to go
to central covid ward for assessment to ongoing health checked telephonically (2-3 calls/day).
Restrictions on your society also seems to vary based on whether the test was done by
govt/private. Though this varies from city to city as well as from ward to ward within a city.
- Whenever you are testing for Covid in Private labs, do a CT-Scan/X-ray as well. Severity of your
infection and way forward treatment is determined only by looking at CT reports. Infact most
people determine existence of Covid with CT itself. In Govt labs, this happens as a separate step
after becoming positive in Covid test.

If you can get home testing (some labs come home to collect sample), go with it. If you are pretty sure
that you have covid, you can go for Private lab. Otherwise I would recommend Govt lab testing.

Treatment:

We followed the below treatment plan:

- Sleeping on stomach for 4 hrs/day. This is one of the most significant steps, needed to improve
O2 levels. Whenever it goes < 90%, lying down for 30-min increases it almost by 10 points.
- Azithral 500 once a day for some of the family members who had symptoms. My wife and son
didn’t take any medication
- Relent tablet twice a day for some of the members who had symptoms
- 30 mins of Sunlight daily
- Hydration through the day by way of soup, kanji, warm water, gargling etc..
- Vit C and Zinc supplement

Other Points

One of the biggest variables in Covid treatment is, when to seek emergency medical advice/help.
Oxygen level measurement is the single most important parameter to determine this. Get a pulse
oximeter and keep measuring the levels once every 4 hrs, esp in the initial days. Our family observed
that many of the symptoms and oxygen level shows up lot more severely in the mornings.

Plan out how each of your family members are protected. More than the physical issues of Covid, care-
related issues (apartment/society interaction, doctor consultation etc) need someone in the household
to be healthy. This means that, at the first sight of symptoms, you should self-isolate within the
household, which is very hard to do.

Be prepared for significant backlash from your society, irrespective of how well educated they are.
Across 3 different communities, we had to use everything from Cajoling to Police threat to seeking help
from close friends, just to get consent to stay in our own houses!! That is unfortunately the state of
affairs. But most of the fear dies down after the first 2-3 days.This virus also seems to be messing with
your mind, making one more irritable, more prone to fights on matters of no relevance. So,
communicate with a calm mind.

Don’t blindly shun the govt facilities. I experienced one of the best govt services ever, across sectors.
Yes, it was not well coordinated, it was impersonal, lot of duplication and forms. On multiple instances,
govt facilities provided faster service against top rung private hospitals- this is more because private
folks don’t have dedicated Covid personnel to move patients, to do separate billing etc, so you lose most
of the advantages that one expects from a private facility. Govt facilities have lots of manpower, govt
hospitals have much more advanced treatment options esp for critical care. Most importantly it is
impossible to get a bed in a good private hospital. So, if you are in critical state, better to get admitted in
govt Covid facility. Do note that they will ask for Covid certificate, so if you are awaiting results or
suspecting Covid, you can’t get admitted in govt facility.

Final piece of advice: Do Pranayamam, Wear masks, Keep Calm and Stay Safe.