okay. this might not be what you expected to hear from me rn, but in this thread, I'm going to be talking about what it's like to live with someone who has covid.

I'm not a doctor, but I just want to share my experiences. I want y'all to be informed.

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my mom (53) developed symptoms 9 days ago. she said she didn't feel so good and had a low-grade fever (37.8°C). she started coughing later that same day. otherwise, she had no other symptoms. I asked to self-isolate asap. she took paracetamol every 4 hours for the fever.

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she was told to keep monitoring her temperature, and if it didn't go away in 3 days, that she should get tested immediately. she got tested the following morning bc her fever went from a 38 to a 38.5. all we had left to do was wait for the results.

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I kept asking her to self-isolate, but she would still leave her room sometimes, which was very frustrating. I had to disinfect whatever I could around the house. but bc her symptoms were so mild, even I was starting to hope that maybe it was just an ordinary little fever.

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I was ALWAYS cautious though, even if no one else in my family seemed to be. I kept trying to enforce safety measures so no one would be in danger. my mom got her results 4 days after getting tested, but /I/ didn't find out until the morning after.

it came back positive.

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I'd already been treating her as if she had it even before I knew. I asked her to eat in her room. I took over cooking and chores and disinfected high-touch surfaces every night before going to bed. when we were sure she was positive, I only increased my safety measures.

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1) she can't leave her room. if she does, she needs to have a mask on or her face covered.

2) I deliver all her meals to her door and leave them there for her to take. when she's finished, she leaves them there for me to collect.

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3) I wash her dishes by soaking them in hot water for 5-10 minutes, rinsing them out, and washing again with soap and water. she has a separate sponge, and we keep her dishes separately too.

4) before I managed to purchase rubber kitchen gloves, I washed my hands before

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and after handling her dishes. now that I HAVE gloves, after handling anything she touches, I wash my hands with the gloves on, then wash them again when I take them off.

5) she once went down to put her laundry in the wash herself (very bad idea) so I disinfected all the

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dials on the washing machine and I put her laundry through another couple of extra cycles to be safe. I handle all her laundry with a different pair of rubber gloves. I delivered them to her door in large paper bags.

6) I wear a mask every time I leave my room to do chores

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or get my food (I eat in my room now too, and I have my own thermos and mug with me).

7) I touch as little as possible with my hands. I use my elbows for light switches. If I absolutely have to touch anything, I wash my hands rigorously before and after.

8) I wrote notes

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for my family and taped them all over the house, reminding them to use their elbows for light switches and to wash their hands. I labeled the sponges. I made a little legend so they can tell which rubber gloves are for which

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(one pair for mom's dishes, one pair for mom's laundry, one pair for OUR laundry).

9) every night, I disinfect high-touch surfaces. I miss a few sometimes, but I try to remember them all: light switches, appliances, remote controls, door handles or locks, and faucet handles

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10) I take 500mg of vitamin c one a day.

11) our dog stayed with my mom for abt a week, but I realized that was a bad idea because she kept leaving the "quarantine room" to eat and go into the yard to do her business. I gave her a thorough bath to make her safe to pet

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and she isn't allowed into the quarantine room anymore.

12) we got our groceries delivered. if I had to physically pay for something, I spritzed alcohol onto my hands and even on the bills multiple times before handing them over. I always wore my mask during transactions.

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so that's that. my mom's symptoms are super mild and she seems to be recovering well. she is now following the safety measures I set for her. she'd been taking vitamin c daily for about 4 days before she started showing symptoms, which might have helped her recovery too.

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the bottom line is, please please PLEASE take this seriously. wear a mask. wash your hands. use alcohol regularly when you're out. ONLY go out for essential reasons. when you come home, take off your clothes and put them straight in the wash, then take a shower.

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I had to go out last week to run an essential errand and buy medicine for the house (my brother drove me and stayed in the car the whole time), but I tried to make as little contact with the people around me as possible. I used alcohol too. I haven't left the house since.

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eat healthy!!! get enough rest!!!! beef up that immune system!!!!! a lot of folks out there are immunocompromised or are at higher risk than you might be. healthcare isn't accessible or affordable to all of us. please do whatever you can to protect the people around you.

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taking care of someone with covid is stressful and tiring. I barely get enough rest or sleep. sometimes I'm so busy with chores that I don't get to have my first meal until 1PM. most of all, I'm scared of getting sick.

STAY SAFE.

I love you guys. look after yourselves.

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also adding to this! my mom's quarantine room has an en-suite bathroom so she doesn't have to share with the rest of the family. my dad has been rooming with my brother in the meantime.

however, if your household only has one bathroom, have the sick person wear a mask

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at all times when they're in there, and keep their personal items (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc) separate. if they're strong enough, have them disinfect high-touch areas in the bathroom after using it.

if possible, wait as long as you can before

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going in after the sick person has been there. you should disinfect whatever you can before using the bathroom as well.

as always, do your best to social distance and wear your masks if you absolutely have to be around each other. assign one healthy person to tend to the

sick person.

even if you're healthy, since you've been exposed to someone with the virus, you could be a carrier. self-quarantine for 14 days before going out again, and only do so if it's necessary.

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sorry to keep adding to this lmao but full disclosure I broke down multiple times these last 9 days. it was frustrating to be the only healthy person in the house to take covid seriously, and to be the only one with the initiative to do housework. ALL the housework.

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my relationships with my mom, dad, and brother have been so incredibly strained. I felt so alone. I need support more than ever, bc every day that this goes on I feel more and more like my resolve is wavering. so I'm proud that I've managed to do all this for us.

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my mental health is in a pretty bad state.

if this ever happens to you or someone you know (and I hope beyond hope that it doesn't), please be there for each other. help. do your part. be encouraging. offer to take over certain tasks. just...............be compassionate.

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please note that the specific kind of paracetamol my mother took is biogesic! which should be taken every 4-6 hours. please double-check the dosage instructions for any kind of medication AND speak to your healthcare provider or a medical professional. again, I'm not a doctor!!

if you test positive, please follow your doctor's instructions and prescriptions! I wrote this thread just to chronicle my experiences with taking care of a covid-positive relative and hopefully provide some useful tips for others who are going through something similar.