How to treat yourself at home if you get COVID-19

With the Omicron variant spreading like wildfire, more people than ever are getting COVID-19 — even those who are vaccinated.

And while there are still cases of severe illness in some people who are infected with the virus, the majority of Canadians who have at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will experience typical flu-like symptoms that can be treated with rest and lots of fluids, according to doctors who spoke to CBC News. 

Below, we outline what those experts and a couple of people with first-hand experience said you can expect to feel if you come down with COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, along with tips on how to treat your symptoms at home.  

If you get COVID-19 after being double-vaccinated with a third shot as a booster, "the chances are you're going to have a mild or moderate course of illness," said Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical Association and a pediatrician in Whitehorse. 

"Very, very few people are requiring hospitalization if they're fully vaccinated — which is encouraging."

While COVID-19 is spreading so fast that testing facilities across the country can't keep up, most vaccinated people who get it should be able to treat symptoms while recovering at home, Smart said.

Common symptoms of the Omicron variant include runny nose, sore throat, cough and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting and general feelings of fatigue and muscle aches, she said. They tend to last between two and 10 days — on the shorter side if you have vaccine protection.

"I assumed I would never get it," said Donnie Macphee of Johnston's River, P.E.I., who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Macphee is double-vaccinated, has been wearing N95 masks for weeks, and works in the service industry. A few days before testing positive, he woke up feeling nauseated, but dismissed it as a hangover from New Year's Eve. Then came fever and chills. Then the positive test.

His wife, Rosie Shaw, originally tested negative, but she is immunocompromised and left their home to isolate at a rental. Still, days later, she too tested positive.

"I am absolutely exhausted — sleeping all the time," Shaw said. "My nose is raw from being so runny and me blowing it constantly. My throat is very sore, and I have a fever [and] chills for the fourth day in a row.

"I have chronic pain normally, but with COVID, there are noticeable body aches that are different than my regular pain."

In contrast, Macphee's symptoms were reduced to a runny nose within a few days.

"Aside from that, I feel fine," he said.