A doctor who caught coronavirus while treating other patients with the illness is sharing the daily symptoms he is experiencing to help others understand what it’s like to have the virus.
Yale Tung Chen contracted coronavirus while working as an emergency physician at Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid.
The 35-year-old was diagnosed on Sunday, when he was put into quarantine.
On Monday he began tweeting his experience with coronavirus and the symptoms he was getting day-by-day during the first week.
He included ultrasound footage of his lungs, which have been shown to be severely affected in others with the illness.
Day one: ” Sore throat , headache (strong!), Dry cough but not shortness of breath. No lung US (ultrasound) abnormalities.”
Dr Chen told LBC that the involvement of the lungs was the most ‘worrisome part of the disease’ so he was relieved to see they were ‘completely normal’.
Day two: “ Less sore throat, cough & headache (thank God!), still no shortness of breath or pleuritic chest pain.”
He said: “I am on ibuprofen and Tylenol [paracetamol], drinking lots of water and doing some push ups every day. I’m doing fine.”
Day three: “No sore throat/headache. Yesterday was cough day, still no shortness of breath/chest pain. Diarrhea started, lucky cough got better.”
He said he expected his symptoms to ‘completely resolve by tomorrow or the day after’.
Day four: “More cough & tiredness (very badly), still no dyspnea/chest pain.”
The doctor added he was feeling ‘awfully tired’ by Thursday – four days after his diagnosis.
Day five: In his latest update, he wrote: “Less cough & tired, still no dyspnea/chest pain.”
Dr Chen said the ‘most anxious part’ of the illness was being unable to be with his children and his family.
His updates have received thousands of likes as others thanked him for sharing the experience of what it is like to be dealing with coronavirus.
He told NBC that he intended for his posts to be educational, but hadn’t expected the outpouring of well-wishes he had recieved. He said: “It meant the whole world to me to receive support from people all around the world.”
