5 ms·

This is pretty interesting. I've been taking Plaquenil (hydroxochloroquine) regularly for 6 months now to control an auto-immune disease, and I came down with p

This is pretty interesting. I've been taking Plaquenil (hydroxochloroquine) regularly for 6 months now to control an auto-immune disease, and I came down with potential symptoms of covid-19 2 weeks ago, but it was very mild - just a sore throat and cough that lasted 4 days, and I had a slight fever the first night. I self quarantined just in case, but after recovering thought I must have just caught a cold, since my symptoms were so mild. But I wonder now if I got it and if taking Plaquenil helped me recover quickly. Too bad I can't get tested to know for sure :-( When I started Plaquenil, the doctor told me it takes about a month or two to really build up in the blood stream to help control my condition. I wonder if the need to take it for a while also applies for Covid-19.

adrr 7y ago
You can get an antibodies test that you can do at home with a finger prick. Need to google it. I am about to one since I had symptoms couple weeks ago after being in the same room with someone with an uncontrollable cough.
- ignoramous 7y ago
  > You can get an antibodies test that you can do at home with a finger prick. Here's a recent discussion on $15 kit for SARS-CoV-2 serological test: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22641946 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22641946 iirc, Singapore announced a plan to do these tests to find total infections.
axaxs 7y ago
Please remember that greater than 90 percent of people who have covid like symptoms test negative. So while there's a chance you had it and recovered, it's very small. Stay safe and assume you're still vulnerable.
- jennyyang 7y ago
  90% of tests reported negative. If someone is tested, they need to take 2 tests. If someone is tested positive, they need to be tested until they get 2 negative tests in a row. So the numbers are very skewed.
  - axaxs 7y ago
    This is good info. Are you suggesting that most people would get 3 tests...a confirmation, then after x weeks 2 negatives, skewing the number potentially up to max ~66% testing negative even for people with the virus?
- paulmd 7y ago
  Moreover, please assume you're still shedding. You may still be contagious.
kadoban 7y ago
Many Covid-19 cases are mild even without any medication. That is an interesting anecdote though.
Arnt 7y ago
That's like me, and I haven't taken plaquenil or anything at all. Just got a weirdly sore throat yesterday, a very slight fever, a bit of a woozy head. Ten hours of sleep later and the fever went away, but I'm not stepping outside. There's a word for it, and the word is anecdata. You can trust anecdata about as far as you can throw them.

adrr 7y ago

You can get an antibodies test that you can do at home with a finger prick. Need to google it. I am about to one since I had symptoms couple weeks ago after being in the same room with someone with an uncontrollable cough.

ignoramous 7y ago
> You can get an antibodies test that you can do at home with a finger prick. Here's a recent discussion on $15 kit for SARS-CoV-2 serological test: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22641946 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22641946 iirc, Singapore announced a plan to do these tests to find total infections.

axaxs 7y ago

Please remember that greater than 90 percent of people who have covid like symptoms test negative. So while there's a chance you had it and recovered, it's very small. Stay safe and assume you're still vulnerable.

jennyyang 7y ago
90% of tests reported negative. If someone is tested, they need to take 2 tests. If someone is tested positive, they need to be tested until they get 2 negative tests in a row. So the numbers are very skewed.
- axaxs 7y ago
  This is good info. Are you suggesting that most people would get 3 tests...a confirmation, then after x weeks 2 negatives, skewing the number potentially up to max ~66% testing negative even for people with the virus?
paulmd 7y ago
Moreover, please assume you're still shedding. You may still be contagious.

kadoban 7y ago

Many Covid-19 cases are mild even without any medication. That is an interesting anecdote though.

Arnt 7y ago

That's like me, and I haven't taken plaquenil or anything at all. Just got a weirdly sore throat yesterday, a very slight fever, a bit of a woozy head. Ten hours of sleep later and the fever went away, but I'm not stepping outside. There's a word for it, and the word is anecdata. You can trust anecdata about as far as you can throw them.