Oxford doctor shares coronavirus experience on Twitter

Team Udayavani, Mar 19, 2020, 11:11 AM IST

A doctor from Oxford has given insight into what it is like to have Covid-19, after he contracted the virus himself.

Chris Gough took to Twitter on March 16 to reveal that he was recovering from coronavirus, and to explain the symptoms of the disease.

More than 3.6 lakh people have ‘liked’ his initial tweet and tens of thousands have interacted with the thread.

Now that I am recovering from Covid-19, I want to share my symptoms, and my experience, in case it is of help to anyone else. I’ve felt pretty rotten the last few days, but am finally improving.

I am only talking about my own experiences – as a patient, not a doctor. (1/n)

— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020

Chris Gough, who is an anesthetist and works in intensive care, documented his own experience with a day-by-day breakdown.

In a series of tweets, he said, “Now that I am recovering from Covid-19, I want to share my symptoms, and my experience, in case it is of help to anyone else.

“I’ve felt pretty rotten the last few days, but I am finally improving. I am only talking about my own experiences – as a patient, not a doctor.”

Equipment that we purchased through #smallgrants has allowed us to do over 500 education episodes for staff @OUH_CritCare – helping transform the way that staff are always learning and enhancing their skills whilst still delivering the best care to patients #TeaTrolleyTeaching pic.twitter.com/zcxVCCJbIK

— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) February 3, 2020

Symptoms and the seriousness of Covid-19 vary from person to person, but a high fever and persistent cough are the main signs.

Mr. Gough said that day one started with fever, exhaustion, and loss of appetite, adding: “Shivers and sweats were the stories of the day. That and being utterly exhausted, with whole-body ache.”

He said he then developed a cough and headache and had to take daytime naps to cope with fatigue.

He is currently on day seven of recovery and said he was starting to feel better yesterday.

That is as far as I have made it (so far).

If you meet the criteria (temp [>37.8] or a new cough), please follow the advice and self-isolate.

Protect your patients.
Protect your colleagues.
Protect your friends and family.
Protect yourself. (10/10).

— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020

He said his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend, also presented with symptoms.

Mr. Gough also called for a better testing system to protect healthcare staff.

He tweeted: “We must stop the ridiculous imbalance where politicians and sports stars can apparently get tested, but frontline health workers cannot.”

Oxford Mail