An American woman has recently recovered from coronavirus, which is affecting thousands every day and claiming many lives. She gave out a message on how she tackled the viral infection and got fully recovered. The thumb rule as per Elizabeth Schneider, who lives in Seattle, is simple; 'Don't Panic'.
Seattle has reported the maximum deaths due to coronavirus in the United States. She said that if someone is tested positive for coronavirus or even if someone is not feeling well; he or she should simply stay indoors and avoid human contact apart from getting tested.
On the directions of President Donald Trump, a ban on flights from Europe into the US was announced with an exception of the UK.
In the US, 80 per cent of cases have been mild and the remaining 20 per cent had to be hospitalised because they were mainly elders or people who had an underlying medical condition like heart diseases, diabetes etc.
Elizabeth Schneider's Covid-19 experience
According to Elizabeth, it was on February 25 when she first started having flu-like symptoms. She had gone to a party and about five people from that party were infected. She had woken up feeling tired that day and started having a headache with body ache and fever by afternoon. She got back home as she wasn't feeling well. She decided to take a nap and when she got up, she had a high fever.
She started shivering and this is when she thought of taking medical help. She took over-the-counter medication and her fever started to come down. She was following the coronavirus cases being reported in the US. Initially, she thought that because she wasn't experiencing shortness of breath and cough; so wasn't expecting coronavirus infection.
A few days later, she realised that many people who had attended that party were experiencing similar symptoms and this made her think again. Several of these people went to their doctors, where they were found to be negative for the flu, but they were not offered coronavirus tests because they too were not coughing or having breathing trouble.
Thinking that she would not be offered a coronavirus test; she got herself enrolled in a research program called the Seattle Flu Study. The team carrying out the study sent her a nasal swab kit which she mailed back with her swab.
She finally got a call after a few days stating that she was tested positive for COVID-19. Her symptoms by now had subsided and local health authorities told Elizabeth to remain home for seven days after the onset of symptoms or 72 hours after they subsided.
'The message is don't panic'
She completely quarantined herself at her home and it's been a week since she has started feeling better. She said, "The message is don't panic. If you think that you have it, you probably do; you should probably get tested."
Elizabeth is 37-years-old and has completed a PhD in bioengineering. She stated that she wanted to share her experience to help people become hopeful that coronavirus can be treated if precautions are taken well.
She, however, added that elderly people normally have underlying health conditions and they take more time to recover in case they get infected. Such people should take extra care when it comes to seeking medical care while the treatment is on.
