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"I'm imprisoning myself at home": traumatized by the Covid-19, they fear a second wave

2020-09-30T10:14:45.982Z


Some patients, who still suffer from the effects of the infection several months after contracting the virus, are particularly


“Next to the Covid, the 2009 H1N1 flu was cat pee.

In the spring, Virginie, 40, "thought she was dying of the coronavirus", alone, in her house in Corsica.

It is therefore with concern that she is currently examining the evolution of the epidemic.

And the signals are not good.

The prospect of a second wave, "I saw it very badly, I know this virus all too well", she sighs.

As with many “long Covid” patients, these patients caught up with the disease when they thought they were cured, the trauma is such that Virginie no longer wants to leave her home for fear of falling ill again.

“People who don't wear masks scare me.

Because of them, I imprison myself, ”regrets the Corsican forty-something.

The Covid-19 has severely weakened it.

Six months after the infection, she still suffers from headaches "which sting like needles in the skull", the sensation of "a contracted heart" and fatigue which has become chronic.

"I feel like an old lady, I don't know if I would bear a second contamination", she laments.

The fear of further contamination

Can you catch Covid-19 more than once?

And if so, will a second infection be milder?

These questions about acquired or not acquired immunity to SARS-CoV-2 particularly torment the “long Covid”.

Several cases of apparent "recontamination" have been identified.

But specialists call for caution: these phenomena are very rare and other hypotheses can explain them, such as that of a long-term infection.

“At first, an individual has a lot of viruses.

And after a while, it secretes much less, but enough to be tested positive by PCR, ”explained Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the infectious diseases department at Mondor hospital, in Créteil (Val-de -Marl).

How long do the antibodies stay in the body and therefore protect us from the virus?

Here too, uncertainty remains.

“The duration of protection, objectively, we do not know.

In addition, some patients hardly develop antibodies.

The immune system does not respond in the same way in everyone, ”explained virologist Yves Gaudin, from the Institute for Integrative Cell Biology (I2BC) in Paris-Saclay.

"We can't go back that way"

"In short, we do not know yet, so when in doubt, I remain cautious, asserts Cécilia (

the first name has been changed

).

We were told that the symptoms would be over in a fortnight ... I've been sick for six months.

"

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This 39-year-old Breton mother, a great sportswoman and accustomed to marathons, above all does not want to "go through this steamroller" which "destroyed her life" and affected her even in her work.

Communication officer, Cécilia explains to us that she lost "her job" because her bosses accused her of "not obtaining enough results", while she was in pain.

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One million deaths from Covid-19 around the world: story of lives disrupted by the epidemic


“The trauma is physical, our body has changed.

But it is also psychic: it is something to see “cosmonauts” transporting you in a Covid unit to the hospital.

Or to have to fight to be followed correctly over time.

"

To allay her fear of a new infection, she took up meditation and adapted her life to the virus.

“I don't put my daughter in the canteen or daycare.

With my partner, we no longer take the train.

We have our groceries delivered and we avoid restaurants… Maybe our measures are more drastic than average, but we can't go back that way, it was hell.

"

"I hope that citizens will be responsible"

Anne, a 49-year-old soldier, contracted the virus during a mission to Spain in March.

She says “she is lucky to be still alive” and “never wants to relive that experience again”.

After months of disabling symptoms, this resident of the Paris region did not return to work until Monday, September 28, in scrupulous respect for barrier gestures.

“I don't understand people who take it over their heads.

It may be difficult to imagine what we experienced when we have not suffered it ourselves, but all the same… There are testimonies from young people who are still sick months after being infected. !

"

At a time when some Marseille restaurateurs doubt the usefulness of the drastic measures imposed on them by the government and refuse to close, Anne is annoyed: “We cannot expect everything from the State.

I can imagine that it is difficult to close your business, but I hope the citizens will be responsible.

Otherwise, I'm afraid we're headed for total reconfinement.

"

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2020-09-30

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