Everyone has a different experience of COVID-19. While most people will recover completely and return to normal health, this could take days or weeks.

Now that more than 100,000 people in the greater Wellington region have had COVID-19, there is a huge amount of collective experience that can help people currently isolating recover safely. We asked our communities to share their experiences of having COVID-19 and their top tips for recovering.

Remember:

• Check out this info on managing your symptoms and getting support in your recovery
• If your symptoms worsen or last longer then get advice from a health professional. 
• If at any time you have difficulty breathing, feel severely unwell or unsafe then call 111 immediately.

Let us know your best tips so that we can include them on our material. We can use your first name or use them anonymously, up to you.

• Email: 2DHBCOVIDVaxComms@ccdhb.org.nz
• Comment on our Facebook page @protectgreaterwellington
• Send us a selfie video.

Sarah and her family caught COVID-19 this winter

Don’t try and work through – I tried to do this at the very beginning and it soon became unmanageable.  I had sick children who needed their Mum and a partner who needed help, so I had to make the decision that work had to come second.

Get outside and go for a daily walk, it doesn’t have to be strenuous (and it probably shouldn’t be – take it easy!). Fresh air is good, the children get to expend a bit of energy and it makes the days go a little quicker.

Some boredom busters we tried with my 4-year-old were: Puzzles, baking cupcakes, writing letters to family members. We also received a lovely ‘care package’ from my sister that had lots of things for him to do in it to keep him busy – it was really appreciated!

Take the time to talk to your children about what’s going on.  It can be scary for them, so explaining that you are here to look after them, talking about what the symptoms are and how they’re feeling, as well as talking about what isolation means (what the family can and can’t do) means there is less of the ‘unknown’.

Caring for young children while you’re sick yourself is one of the hardest thing you’ll do as a parent – don’t underestimate that. Take it easy, don’t beat yourself up if you rely on screens and serve up baked beans on toast for dinner 3 nights in a row (there is nothing wrong with baked beans, they are easy and nutritious!)

Don’t go back to work too early – ease back in if you can, work from home for a bit if you can.

Kelly and her flatmate caught COVID-19 this winter

While isolating with COVID-19 I developed very bad nausea and vomiting which I didn’t realise could be a part of COVID-19 symptoms. I called Healthline at 2am in the morning and they were amazing. A Healthline nurse called me back within 5 minutes and was very reassuring. My advice is don’t hesitate to call Healthline if you have any concerns – they are amazing and are available 24/7 to help you.

My advice to those isolating with COVID-19 is to drink lots of fluids and rest, rest, rest! Don’t try to fight the way you are feeling but just go with the flow – take naps when you are tired and spend as much time resting as possible. By resting your body has the best chance of recovering and helps you avoid getting a relapse or long COVID. By the end of the 7 days I had signed up to Neon, Prime Video and Disney Plus!

When returning to ‘normal’ life at the end of isolation, my advice is to take it slowly. I tried to go back to life as normal by jumping straight back into gym workouts and full days at work but it was too much too soon - I felt wiped out. Take it easy and slowly work your way up to what you used to do in a day. My employer let me do half days at work to begin with which really helped me ease back into things.