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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My JMU kid who lives off-campus got sick on this week after he and his housemates tried their best to avoid it. DS is the sickest of the 3, exhaustion, body aches, chills and night sweats, and now he's sounding congested. I told him to get tested but the waits are hours long and he wasn't feeling up to that. He says everyone they know off campus either has gotten sick or lives with someone who's sick so they assume they have it.[/quote]

This sounds like my son’s roommate!  Four of them share a house and one got really sick last week - same exact symptoms.  He was the only sick one, but they all went to get tests and ALL were negative - even the boy who had been so sick (he’s fine now).  We thought for sure they would all be positive, but nope.  So now we’re wondering what he had!  Strange.[/quote]

So I'm the PP and our kid just got his test back and it's positive. He went to Med Express where they do the test for you. He said at CVS the test is self-administered and a lot of people who are sure they have it get a negative result. Just FYI. He's been sick for a week now and still feels exhausted although he has no fever. He says he's keeping up with his classes but every time I call he's sleeping. [/quote]

DP. Please find a way to get a blood oxygen monitor to your son right away. These are inexpensive "fingertip" monitors called pulse oximeters and they can be ordered from almost any drugstore chain, Walmart, etc. and one big maker, Zacurate, sells them directly online too. They are very, very easy to use and can save lives. They were hard to get early on but should be easier to get now. If a roommate can get him one at a drugstore and he has it the same day, that's even better.

The problem with covid is that it sucks the oxygen from blood BEFORE one has any symptoms like "shortness of breath." In fact, waiting until someone is short of breath before seeking medical help is often waiting too late, as many victims found back in the spring. This is a very sneaky virus. Your son needs a pulse oximeter yesterday, and needs his roomates or someone to MAKE him use it several times a day and to ensure he gets help if the oxygen level gets too low. You can look up online how to know when the blood oxygen is getting low. When that happens: ER, immediately. Please don't think, "But he's young and otherwise healthy, he'll be fine." Likely he will, but don't gamble on a college roommate realizing your son is suddenly not able to breathe.

Please read this: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.html

Look up "silent hypoxia" re: covid.

Like I said, maybe not likely, but the above article is very sobering about how quickly covid can take otherwise healthy seeming people and deplete oxygen without apparent breathing issues even turning up. Our friend who is an ER nurse who has worked throughout the pandemic says she has seen people walk into the ER under their own power, talking on their phones, and withiin minutes those same patients had to be intubated because their oxygen was so low. She says she's never before seen patients who could talk and walk yet their oxygen was dangerously low. Yet it's a feature with this virus. [/quote]

I just talked to him and on Sunday when they did his Covid test, his oxygen level was 95%. I ordered one from Amazon to be delivered by tonight. He sounded MUCH better today, more energetic, and not breathless like he sounded last weekend. He's lost his sense of taste and smell now though. He's just getting the full experience I guess - and his roommates got nothing. So strange.[/quote]

I'm the PP and I"m so glad he's doing better and very glad you are getting him the pulse oximeter! Please be sure he knows to use it twice daily even now when he feels better; he needs to know his baseline oxygen and to get used to using it. He should hold still, rest his hand next to him or just on his thigh, and not try to talk etc, just breathe. The blood ox level usualy goes up a bit if you are still and breathe. He should keep taking readings for weeks to come because he may not feel any oxygen dip when it's actually happening. He also can feel a sense of control if he's monitoring himself, which is good mentally!

He could have problems for many weeks to come, based on what's known about the virus, and could get worse before he gets truly better. I really hope he continues on an upswing, though, OP.

My DC is at college now too but at a small college where they all live on campus and can control things really carefully, and I am still very concerned about the scenario if DC actively gets ill. DC is using a pulse oximeter regularly to ensure it's working when DC needs it. So glad you got your son one--now nag him to let you know what his readiings are! ;-)
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Thanks so much! Hope your DC stays healthy. I made the mistake of thinking that because DS was a very healthy 20-year-old that he'd be asymptomatic or have a mild case. [/quote]

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