About those "mild" symptoms

[Sympthsical]

Well, everyone in my household and beyond has it. One thing I've noticed in the media is, "Oh, if you get symptoms, it's mild."

102 fever, great reluctance to get out of bed (I rolled off the thing the first morning), feeling like someone shot your head with a snot cannon, and the sensation your lungs are being gently flayed from the inside out aren't really a "mild" experience.

Day One was totally and utterly miserable.

Here's the trick though. We're boosted, so those really heavy symptoms have only lasted a day or two. I'm at Day Three, and really just feel like I have mild bronchitis. That rawness in the chest with a very occasional sharp, painful cough. No difficulty breathing at all.

But Day One was not mild for me. Nor my partner. Nor his friends. Nor his family. Everyone's been miserable. The symptoms are incredibly varied. I basically had an experience like bad bronchitis without the chronic cough. Partner and nephews have coughed like crazy. His best friend felt like he had a bad sinus infection. His father feels like the flu.

What I'm saying is, the vaccine really helps. But despite the, "Oh, it's so mild if you're vaccinated," drum pounding, you still want to do everything to avoid it.

It's no fun. (Unless you're asymptomatic, in which case, enjoy)

Has been allowing me to play a lot of video games though.

[Wounded Bear]

1. Basically, if you don't need a hospital bed, your symptoms are 'mild'...

Best of luck going forward to all of you.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. "Mild" means "you won't need hospitalization," which is not a nuance the media has been great at

communicating. There's a lot of ground between "not sick at all" and "hospitalized," all of which is considered "mild."

[Alexander Of Assyria]

6. If it don't fit Twitter then you must blither.

[Sympthsical]

7. Yeah, that was my purpose in posting this

You hear "mild" constantly and think, oh, it must not be so bad.

But yeah, none of us are anywhere close to feeling like we have to go to the hospital. Tea and advil have been doing it for me.

[TheFarseer]

3. As with most things

Your mileage may vary, so to speak. I see the press release from the local health department every day and it notes that vaccinated people die nearly everyday from Covid. The sad thing is, I know plenty of people who are not getting the vaccine or a booster because of the one day of sickness some people get as their immune system reacts to the vaccine.

[luvs2sing]

4. My neighbors had breakthrough infections with "mild" symptoms.

After a month, they finally feel like they are over it.

[ismnotwasm]

5. Yeah my Daughter and SIL both got it. Fully vaxxed.

My daughter has MS, so her neurologist ordered Monoclonal antibodies. They both were sick for about two to three days, then recovered

We all spent Christmas Eve together. Four adults, two kids.

My husband, who also has MS, has mild head cold symptoms. We don’t know if it’s Covid, because we couldn’t find a testing site with open spots. Fortunately my job has widened testing so we are going in today.

All in all, I am so grateful we are vaccinated. I have zero symptoms of anything.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

8. For the mass media...if you not dead or on ventilator you got mild symptoms...and ofc

in the world outside Twitter virologists and physicians, it’s a spectrum of symptoms, individualized…that all fit in a tweet?

Don’t Look Up.

[dewsgirl]

9. I hate to sound alarmist here or like a conspiracy freak,

but I wonder, why do they keep saying mild symptoms, yet their hair is on fire at the moment from Omicron. Even for the vaccinated people, it makes me think that they have less knowledge about these viruses than they are admitting.
Just a theory one of millions out there.

I am so very sorry for your family.

[leftstreet]

15. "mild" is media speak for "go to work, go shopping" n/t

[karynnj]

20. It makes sense because it is much more transmissable

When you have over 500,000 cases a day, even if the percent needing hospitalization is 1 one thousand, that is 500 people a day! The hospitals in many areas are already nearly or at full capacity. There is a time lag between when a case is found and when many need hospitalization. It is extremely scary that the hospitals could become overloaded as happened in places like NYC is early 2020. This even with many having vaccines and boosters and better medical treatments being available.

That said, I also can see more people realizing that they can improve their own chances - through vaccines and boosters, masks, social distancing etc. That and testing if they are exposed or feel ill might help control spread to others. Having at least some ability to control your own health is good. On the other hand, where last year, the light at the end of the tunnel was the thought that I can get the vaccine shots and then have relatively low risk a getting covid. It was wonderful seeing things loosen up last summer, but by August, it was clear that covid was still a pretty big threat.

What I see from people around me, is that there are more people out doing things - with masks here in VT - than there was in December 2020. I suspect is that more people are accepting that this is not something that will go away. It may be that - just as for flu - we will get regular vaccinations which will provide at least some protection.

Just in these thoughts, you can see two opposite sides. One seeing that there is a big risk to health right now given the hospitals. The other is the feeling - different than 2020 - that this is something that will be with us for a very long time and we need to find a way to live life while making choices on how to personally reduce the risks.

[ismnotwasm]

32. Omicron is insanely contagious

My hospital just had to limit visitors again. We try to limit Covid patients because we are a big surgical center and don’t want to shut down elective surgeries again. Breakthroughs are happening left and right, I’ll find out tomorrow if my husband and I are part of that—testing results are delayed because so many are getting tested


Deaths are down, infections are up. It’s not a good time to be a nurse.

[karynnj]

34. Best wishes to your husband and you

I have been shocked by the recent numbers in Vermont. They are much higher than at any point in the past. Fortunately the vaccination rate is very high so the hospitals are not overwhelmed at this point - though with the lag, I really wonder if they will be in January.

[XanaDUer2]

10. Get better soon nt

[48656c6c6f20]

11. Mild is very good compared to the alternative

Although death would end the severity its kind of final.

[Rebl2]

12. I really

don’t think they have done a good job at explaining what the vaccinated who have breakthrough infections with omicron might experience.

[brewens]

13. Okay. You got to me. I'll just sit here and play NHL22 and stay safe. :) n/t

[Tomconroy]

14. The evidence indicates that for the fully vaccinated Covid is

equivalent to the flu in terms of becoming hospitalized or dying. But it's important to remember just how sick you can be with a case of the flu. You can feel really, really sick.

[stopdiggin]

22. and THAT is something that people

consistently pass over and underestimate as well. The 'flu' can and does really kick people's butts.

Wanna' opt for only a week to 10 days of 'weak as a kitten', 'lay here and die' and 'hit by a dump truck?' It's just the flu!

And, as a buddy at work reminded me the other day - "How's that next paycheck looking there, bub?" "How's the boss feeling about you being gone for a week or so?"

[liberal_mama]

16. I was told mild Covid means you aren't on a ventilator

Even Covid pneumonia is considered mild.

[mcar]

17. The fatigue is the kicker

I'm in day 4 of symptoms; hubby day 6. My sore throat and head cold symptoms are greatly reduced. Cough is lingering, but the fatigue!

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good, made breakfast, read the paper, etc. Now I'm ready for a nap. Hubby is still coughing a lot - his "mild" symptoms were worse than mine.

Yeah, it's not great. But without the booster, it would have been way worse.

[underpants]

18. My wife was worried because she wasn't feeling well. I found at home tests yesterday

totally by accident. Test was negative.

Hope you and yours feel better.

[Quakerfriend]

19. Thanks for sharing- hope u feel better soon!

[ananda]

21. I think it's just mild when compared to being on a ventilator.

Actually, it's still very nasty.

[MyMission]

23. MildER, in relation to symptoms if one isn't vaccinated

That's really what they mean to convey, in my opinion. And what you've described.

So, for the vaxed who catch covid, some to many are asymptomatic or really do have mild symptoms that they perceive as a cold or allergies. They're out (spreading it) not isolating because they don't know they've been exposed, or they are isolating waiting for symptoms or test results.

But for many who get symptoms, they have them for a shorter time, and are less severe.
And many are able to recover at home rather than being hospitalized.
And for many who are hospitalized, they do recover and don't need a ventilator.
MildER isn't the best word either. Less severe? Abbreviated symptoms? Shorter duration?

I realized this when breakthrough infections were first reported here on DU, some people still get sick but not as severe as if they hadn't been vaccinated. One can still feel like crap, and I really don't want that. I've continued to mask because I don't want even milder symptoms, let alone getting exposed to colds or flus. I've been double masking for several weeks due to the surge.
I've seen several articles and headlines about the importance of wearing a good quality mask, but I think this needs more publicizing.

Glad you're feeling better.

[Captain Zero]

24. Unfortunately the antI-vax brigades

Are using the 'mild' break through cases as continued rationalization to not get the vaccine. See? They were right along....

No understanding that if we had been 90 percent vaxxed by last July things would be so much better. Their hesitancy has just continued to make not only them, but all of us, into human petri dishes.

Who knows where the virus variants and strengths will go from here. It will probably end up making us into a shit hole country, if we weren't already.

[uncle ray]

25. oh, FFS, there really can be mild symptoms.

yes, it's real, and it's killing people.

my wife and i both came down with very minor symptoms this week. mine much more mild than hers. for me it was about like the lightest cold possible...so far, but i'm already feeling much better. i was still at probably 70% function on the worst day. honestly, the booster kicked my ass worse than the virus(because i had the booster!).

we got tested and are still quarantining to protect others.

[hurple]

26. And it is so easy to get...

My daughter is GM in a car dealership. December 23 one of their partner banks delivered cookies. Otherwise they had very little traffic. On December 25 we did a nice family Xmas.

My daughter cracks a whip at the dealership over COVID protocols. Absolutely nobody inside without a mask and they wipe everything down obsessively. The owner is a Howie Mandel level germaphobe, so he is a taskmaster about it. But, that day, everyone grabbed a cookie or two, and ate them around the salesfloor. Then, masks went right back on.

Every person at the dealership tested positive on December 27. And every member of my family is down with it right now. Me, my wife, all 4 of our kids, their spouses and our grandkids.

And all it took was long enough to eat a cookie.

Be careful, and be safe everyone.

[AllyCat]

28. Oh no!

[AllyCat]

27. Ugh. Thanks for the reminder. What VG are you playing?

Console? PC?

Hope you feel better soon!

[Sympthsical]

31. I'm all over the map

I have a raiding guild in World of Warcraft, but we're on holiday break and waiting for the new patch. Age of Empires 4 and Destiny 2 on PC are the big ones I've been noodling with, and I'm still working through Metroid Dread on the Switch.

I haven't had the time to finish it, but apparently I do now ^^

[AllyCat]

36. There are so many games!

My favorites have been Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn. I am averse to guns so the one and only shooting game I played (Fallout 4) got me into gaming, but I don’t like shooting people. Detroit Become Human is a good story game and I liked Little Nightmares. Right now playing The Long Dark, which is a survival in a cold snowy Canada. My kid built a gaming PC and the graphics card he got off a “friend” was bunk. Waiting for prices to go down so we can finish the build and try some PC games!

Have fun. As much as you can at least.

[paleotn]

29. No hospital, much less an ICU. That's called mild.

[LizBeth]

30. I thought I had Bronchitis for a solid couple weeks. I had a little bit of cold

symptoms with stuffy nose and slight sore throat for a day or so, but not a lot to bring on the Bronchitis. But the coughing was horrible, consistent and constant and harsh for a good couple weeks. Especially night. I was checked for fever like the second day of symptoms and none, and really figured bronchitis. I have had it before. I wonder now. This was a couple weeks ago.

[Marthe48]

33. Thanks for the description of symptoms

I'm vaccinated and got the booster, still masking, avoiding going out, or going in sanitizing if I do, but I feel like it is inevitable that I'll get Covid. I worry I won't be able to identify the symptoms if I do catch it. I have mild asthma, sinus and allergy issues. Here in Marietta, Ohio, we can get the Marietta Crud, which is an upper respiratory ailment that goes around in the winter, or fall, or spring. I guess if I get something that's odd, I'll stay home until it goes away.

Hope you all feel better, with no lingering symptoms.

[BlackSkimmer]

35. I had it in August 2020. Yes, a "mild" case.

Nightly 104 fevers, drenching sweats, shivering chills, deep body aches.

I feel your pain. I want nothing more to do with that virus.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

37. I know omicron is a serious matter

But the phase "got hit in the head with a snot cannon" made me
laugh.

I'm gonna steal that one.

[Iggo]

38. Milder than hospitalized and intubated, I think they mean.