Day 1 of COVID: Facial Swelling, a Rare, Weird COVID Side Effect
On day 1, I did not know I had COVID yet. I mark the day my face swoll up like a balloon as day 1, but I may have had the virus before this date. I did have knee and hip pain two days before the facial swelling. Joint pain, another random COVID side effect. On the day of my facial swelling, I woke up and initially thought, “Wow, I slept hard! My eyes feel swollen.” Then reality set in, as I realized my face hurt. It hurt to move my cheeks to talk, it hurt to smile. Even a slight brush of fabric against my cheek made me grimace in discomfort.
Then as I looked at my reflection in the hotel mirror, I felt shocked and disbelief. I looked like me, but 50 pounds heavier. On a positive note, now I know what I would look like if I was overweight, and that will keep me motivated to stay active 100%! Contrary to what you would think, I did not panic and want to go to a hospital. I panicked and thought, “How do I make this swelling go down before anyone else sees me looking like this?” Vanity! Forgive me, but no one needed to see my face at this moment.
The hotel clerk tried to assist me in finding a Walgreens, when she saw me, she gasped and looked horrified at what was hidden underneath my mask. The pictures do not do it justice. The swelling underneath my eyes and on my lip looked like it was filled with fluid. It looked more like a blister than swelling in those areas. Nothing glamorous about it!
When this happened, I was visiting my “favorite person”. He was extremely supportive and did not panic. He offered to take me to a hospital, but he never made me feel like I was anything less than beautiful despite the swelling. A true gentleman. Well, at this point I did not know I had COVID. I was still attributing my swelling to an allergic reaction secondary to a food allergy.
If you get COVID, it is challenging to pinpoint where you contracted the virus. I made sure everyone I was in contact with for over a week knew I had COVID as soon as I was aware. How did I get the virus? Was it during my travel on an airplane? American Airlines is not socially distancing, filling every single seat, and they cram everyone into the plane like sardines …. but I wore an N95 mask, surgical mask, and a face shield during my flight. Even though there is close contact during a flight, it is more likely for me to be exposed when I was in contact with someone without a mask.
Was it when my “favorite person” ever visited me for Christmas? Was it the birthday party I attended with other healthcare workers? These were all times where I interacted with others without a mask before I had COVID symptoms.
My “favorite person” already had a dry cough they were fighting for over 3 weeks and about a week after being in close contact with me (during the New Years weekend) he developed chest burning (No worries! 11 days after being in contact with me, they are doing great). I took a huge sigh of relief when their chest burning was relieved by Pepcid and I knew they were improving. I would feel responsible for their illness. Close call ?! Either they had mild symptoms, or they never caught the virus from me at all. COVID is strange. I know people who had the virus, but their spouse never contracted it even though they lived in the same household while they were sick. Weird!
My best guess for where I got the virus, hmmmm?! I predict I was exposed from one of my close friends who also works in healthcare. Their girlfriend started to not feel well and lost her sense of taste and smell recently. It does not matter where I was exposed. I just want everyone who has the virus to do well.
When I look back on the days before my facial swelling, I had unexplained joint pain for 2 days leading up to my overactive immune response. I joked about it, saying, “I am becoming old. I am going to be one of those women who tells everyone it is going to rain because my knees are hurting.” ? The morning when I woke up to facial swelling, I was confused. I have never had a shellfish allergy. If this was a shellfish allergy, why did it take so long for the symptoms to present? How did my face swell, but my airways were not affected at all?
I kept a positive attitude and found humor in the situation. I made jokes about Moderna vaccine side effects, huge smile! The Moderna vaccine is causing facial swelling in people who have facial fillers. As a 36-year-old woman, this kept things light for me and those around me. No, I did not get the vaccine, but it did keep me, my family, and my friends laughing ?. If I can not control my circumstances, I will keep a positive attitude and laugh at the uncontrollable events.
To learn how I treated COVID along the journey, you can link to day 1 home treatment here.
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