The many symptoms of Covid-19 and its negative effects
At this stage in the pandemic, many South Africans have already caught Covid-19 once, if not twice or three times. Despite this, there is little consistency when it comes to the duration and nature of the illness. For some, it is a paltry sniffle. For others, it is an ongoing ordeal.
Sanelisiwe Ntabeni, a 32-year-old mother living in Cape Town, tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-December. She was plagued with constant flu-like symptoms for two weeks, including a phlegmy cough and a blocked nose. “I was very, very tired. I relied on energy drinks just to survive the day,” she said. Even now, a month later, she has intermittent bouts of coughing.
Ntabeni is fully vaccinated – a factor her doctor said mitigated the severity of her symptoms. Her mother, who also caught Covid-19 over Christmas, has not yet had the vaccine. “I was able to do everything while at home, get up and work and do all that stuff. My mom, on the other hand, was bedridden,” she said.
In contrast to Ntabeni’s experience, Alex Kedian, another local, has not had any lingering tiredness or effects since his bout of Covid-19. He picked up the infection at a New Year’s Eve “celebration-slash-braai” and displayed symptoms for about five days.
“It was really hot on Monday, but I was still feeling cold,” said Kedian. Other symptoms included a sore throat and a “headache from hell”, he added.
Kedian received his first vaccine dose in December 2021. “I had not had Covid before, this was the first time, and boy-oh-boy would I not recommend it,” he said.
At first, Emily Robertson, a Cape Townbased chef, didn’t realise that her symptoms were Covid-related. After taking leave from work because she was feeling ill, she was contacted by a family member who had tested positive just after Christmas.
“So, I went for a test considering I was feeling ill – and yes, the test came out positive,” she said, adding that, during the first week, her symptoms were quite severe.
“Towards the end of that first day, ... I thought I was having a severe allergy attack because I’m quite allergic to pollen and stuff, and I was working with a lot of vegetables from the garden,” said Robertson. “So, terrible sneezing and coughing and headaches, ... and then those kinds of symptoms continued for the next seven days.”
Another Capetonian, who chose to remain anonymous, saw her whole family contracted Covid-19 over the festive season. “In our family – family in the States, Netherlands, and Germany, and in South Africa – we all were sick at the same time,” she said.
“I remember last year, this time also, just within my work environment, the [number] of people that all got ill exactly from Christmas onwards was terrible.
“I was hearing nearly every day of another case,” she said.