Surviving COVID-19: Self-isolation, losing my smell, fatigue and personal diet.

It’s exactly a year since the COVID-19 virus broke out in Nigeria and to a lot of our surprises, we are still in it. This is my story on how I contracted the virus and overcame it in three weeks…enjoy!

What seemed like a beautiful weekend with my girls had me conflicted on whether I really should’ve gone out to have fun or stayed my ass home.

Editor’s Pick: Traveling To Ghana In A Pandemic: All You Should Know- https://goldgerry.com/2021/02/22/travelling-to-ghana-in-a-pandemic-all-you-should-know/

I noticed I had lost my sense of smell when I arrived in Lagos and was going through the gift package sent over by my partner. It had a scented candle and perfume oil in it…which I was unable to perceive.

I raced over to my wardrobe to use the perfume and scents that I’m used to and that’s when it hit me, I had gotten COVID-19 at a friend’s introduction. My first thought was to call my friends and let them know, so they could check for symptoms seeing as we had been together all weekend.

Watch me take my fourth COVID-19 test in Lagos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3r1s0oJr3k

Immediately I dropped the call, panic kicked in. I thought, ‘oh my god, I’m going to die’. You know you never realise the depth of your fear till you start thinking about it, and this was the case for me.

The previous weeks, I was taking medication for malaria and here goes my ass dealing with COVID just when I was recovering. During the three weeks, I stayed at home isolating, I dealt with, dry cough, night sweats and terrible fatigue. I also have to point out that I am/was asymptomatic and these are the methods that helped me recover, yours might be different.

Some common COVID-19 symptoms include:

1. Loss of smell
2. Loss of taste
3. Fatigue
4. Dry cough
5. Aches and pains

There was no strength or zeal in me to do anything and I kept sleeping for hours and hours. I remember it got worse during the week we experienced harmattan in Lagos. This makes me believe the speculation that COVID-19 isn’t as predominant in Africa as expected because of how hot our weather is.

In order for me to recover and do so quickly, I had to change and add some things to my diet to boost my immune system. So here are the foods/vitamins I ate and drank that helped me regain my smell.

Food/Fruits You Should Take To Fight COVID-19

1. Zinc
2. Vitamin C
3. Pineapples
4. Oranges
5. Garlic
6. Ginger
7. Lemon
8. Cucumber

The Hot Drink You Should Take To Fight COVID-19

-Dice some garlic, ginger and cucumber.
-Put them in a pot
-Pour enough water to fill a teacup and leave to boil

I’d advise you take this while it’s still hot and eat up all of the ingredients. It also helps if you breathe in the hot water, especially if you have a cough or loss of smell as one of your symptoms.

PS: This drink should be taken at least three times every day.

Surviving COVID-19: Self-isolation, losing my smell, fatigue and personal diet.

Aside from dealing with the fatigue and being unproductive, I lost my appetite. I could go a whole day without eating anything, but I had to try, so you should as well. I struggled with breathing especially at night, as I felt my chest tightening and had lots of sweat.

I also noticed that each time I took the hot drink, my chest and nose would clear up and I had to keep a tissue beside me for clean up.

For information on COVID-19 status in Nigeria, visit the NCDC website here: http://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/

FAQs

How long did it take before you regained your smell?

I started perceiving things on day 3, but I had to put the items really close to my nose and inhale hard. By the end of the week, I had gotten my full sense of smell back, so give it 7 days.

Are you scared of contracting the virus again?

Yes, I am. I mean I was asymptomatic but I feel like contracting it in the first place has left me vulnerable as to how my immune system could deal with it if it happens again.

How were you able to get food items and other necessities during isolation?

My friends! I have the best of friends and they were super helpful. I would send them a list of things I wanted to be restocked and they brought it to my gate, the gateman then left them in front of my apartment. My partner also made sure I had food delivered to me every 2-3 days, I thought that was sweet.

Was it difficult adjusting to being at home all the time?

Not at all, as a matter of fact, I loved it so much that I miss it. It just wasn’t far-fetched from what my life is like most of the time, so it was easy for me.

What does it feel like losing your sense of smell?

It put me in awe of the human ability to breathe without perceiving- I hope this makes sense. This is a great mystery to me.

What lessons did you learn during this time?

COVID-19 is a bitch.

If you read to this point, just know that I am COVID free and still at home.

With all that said, I hope you found this story helpful in some way and please wear your mask!!

Thank you so much for reading.

Love,

Gold.