Why I was Sent for a Covid-19 Test

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling that great most of last week (I’m writing this on Wednesday morning 8th of July.) But it wasn’t anything specific.

Toward the end of the week, I did start having “discomfort” in my stomach. A discomfort that escalated over Shabbat and that has only slowly abated in the last twenty-four hours.

Head Ache

I also suffered from pain in the Occipatel or Parietal lobe area - the top rear section of my head. Nothing to complain about, I have frequent headaches for long periods of time, sometimes weeks. But definitely yet another contributing factor.

Diarrhea 

Then, Friday night my Shabbat meal entered and left within the hour. Diarrhea had plagued me off and on for over a week, treated with occasional Imodium and daily doses of fiber. But yet another contributing factor.

Muscle Pain

The real clincher that made me pay attention was the muscle pains. You know that fluish feeling when every muscle in your back and shoulders hurts. 

Fever

Add to the above a low-grade fever hovering around 38 degrees Celcius and I was officially sick.

Swollen Glands

A secondary symptom, masked by the others which captured all my attention, was a touch of sore throat. Perhaps better described as slightly swollen glands on the sides of my neck. A symptom that has not gotten worse, but remains constant even a week later.

Gradually, over Sunday and Monday, the muscle pain disappeared and the fever more or less followed it. (37.5 and 37.8 at different times of the day.) Even stomach pain eventually disappeared and diarrhea.

Dry Cough

What started to cause me concern was a dry cough. A cough that has escalated from day to day and is especially apparent when I lie down at night or sit up in the morning. The rest of the day, if I don’t move around too much, I can minimize it to a muffled choked down bark that no one but myself can hear. But it is there, constantly reminding me things have not yet returned to normal.

So now you know why I called my family physician and why he referred me to Israel’s Ministry of Health Corona Virus Testing facility. Now I simply wait for the text message that will determine what awaits me in the coming days or weeks.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Most common Covid-19 symptoms

Common:
	Fever
	Dry Cough
	Tiredness
Less common:
	Aches and Pains
	Sore Throat
	Diarrhea
	Conjunctivitis
	Headache
	Loss of Taste or Smell
	Rash on Skin
	Discoloration of Fingers or Toes
Serious:
	Difficulty Breathing or Shortness of Breath
	Chest Pain or Pressure
	Loss of Speech or Movement

If any number of the above symptoms describe your current distress and you live within the United States visit the CDC's Online Self Checker or contact your local Corona Virus Crisis center to receive instructions for your locality.