D: What brings you in?

P: Um I just uh I have, I have a cough that I've had for a couple of days and like normally if I had a cough or cold, I would just like stay home and rest, but just because you know there's like Covid I I wanted to make sure, like I wanted to get checked out.

D: Yeah, of course that that was a great idea. Thanks for coming in. Um how long have you had this cough for?

P: Uh it's like 2 days. Like maybe three days ago, I started to feel like my throat was dry and I was like, oh, maybe I need to drink more water or something and then the next day I started like actually coughing.

D: OK, is it a dry cough or a wet cough?

P: Yeah it's really dry.

D: Really dry, OK. So no sputum, no blood that you're bringing up?

P: No, nothing like that. It's just kind of annoying.

D: Yeah, um do you have any wheeziness associated with your coughing?

P: I don't think so.

D: No, OK. No shortness of breath?

P: No, no, I've been, I feel like I've been tired, but I don't think it's been actually hard to breathe. I just feel overall like really tired.

D: OK, OK, and have you tried anything for the cough, like um over the counter cough syrup or anything like that?

P: Uh like I have, I've just been drinking tea and just like tea with honey just to like make it feel better. I I didn't like take any medicine.

D: OK, and do you, have you noticed that there are any triggers for your cough, like the cold, or dust, or any like environmental triggers?

P: I mean, I've been, just because of Covid and stuff, I've been staying home ever since I had it.
Uh so, I don't, I can't think of anything, but I don't think so.

D: OK, and do you find that it's constantly there or um is it worse during a particular time of day, like morning, afternoon, or evening?

P: It's kind of just been there
all the time right now.

D: OK, and um is it getting worse, do you think? 

P: I think so. I think like today is worse than yesterday, and the day before that, it just felt like dry and then and then like the next day I started coughing, so yeah.

D: OK, and have you ever experienced anything like this in the past?

P: I mean, I've had coughs before, um this one feels like particularly dry, but uh like it, it's not too different than like when I'm just like, like had a cough in other years.

D: OK, OK. Um and you mentioned that your throat was also dry. Do you have a sore throat?

P: Maybe a little bit this morning, yeah, like at first it just felt dry like I was thinking like, oh it's like you know I need to take a sip of water or something and now it just feels, now it's starting to think, I feel a little bit sore, I think.

D: OK, um is it hard for you to swallow foods or fluids?

P: Oh sorry, could you repeat that? I just missed the last part.

D: Oh no worries. Is it hard for you to swallow food or fluids?

P: Uh no, it's not hard. It's not hard to swallow things.

D: OK um, and then have you had a runny nose or a stuffy nose?

P: No, not particularly.

D: No, OK. How about any changes to your hearing or vision?

P: No.

D: No, how about changes in smell or taste?

P: Uh, no, that's like a Covid thing, right? Like I was hoping because I could still, I could still like taste my coffee this morning, I was hoping that that means I don't have Covid, but yeah, I don't really know.

D: I mean yeah, some people have it, some people don't. Um I guess people with Covid present in different ways, yeah yeah, do you have a fever at all?

P: Um like when I came in here, when the nurse took my temperature, she said I had um, like she said I had a fever. Uh I don't have a thermometer at home, um but like I've been feeling really hot so would probably, I've probably been having it for a couple of days.

D: OK, OK, we can take, yeah we can take your temperature. Sorry, did you say you already took your temperature today and?

P: The nurse took it, yeah, I don't know what it was, but the nurse kept coming in and she said it was a
little high like I don't know if it was like a fever but I've been feeling hot, so.

D: OK OK yeah so yeah we'll double check to make sure that um you either do or don't have a fever. Um have you experienced any chills or night sweats over the past few days?

P: Uh, no. 

D: No, OK. OK, how about um any weight loss?

P: No, like I don't weigh myself regularly, but I don't think so.

D: OK, um any changes to your hair or uh nails or skin, like rashes?

P: Uh no. 

D: No, OK. How about um chest pain?

P: Uh, no. 

D: No chest pain, OK. Um swelling in your limbs?

P: Uh, no.

D: No, do you ever feel like your heart's racing?

P: Uh, no. 

D: No, OK. Um how about um, how about any dizziness or or fainting spells?

P: Um, no, like I've been just tired.

D: Just tired, OK.

P: Yeah I don't, I don't, I haven't fainted or anything.

D: OK, any headaches? 

P: No. 

D: No, OK. Uh how about confusion or memory loss?

P: Um, no, I don't think so. 

D: OK, um any changes to your bowel habits?

P: Um, no. 

D: No, OK. So no constipation or diarrhea or blood in your stool?

P: Yeah, exactly.

D: OK, any changes to your urine?

P: No. 

D: OK. Any nausea or vomiting?

P: No.

D: No, OK. And um no abdominal aches?

P: No. 

D: No, OK. Um are you otherwise healthy?

P: Um like I have um, I have uh Like some um Like digestive problems generally, like I haven't had any changes to that, but they think it might be like Crohn's or something. Um but other than that, no.

D: Um you said you had digestive problems. Did you say it might be Crohn's?

P: Yeah, like I, I've been seeing my family doctor and they they said they thought it might be, um but we don't really know, just like in general, I guess they've been calling it IBS.

D: Oh, I see, OK. Um, OK.

P: I wish I knew exactly, but they just said, yeah, they don't really know. 

D: OK.

P: But there haven't been any changes right now.

D: Oh yeah, I see, OK. Um have you ever had any hospitalizations or surgeries?

P: No.

D: No, OK. Um are you on any medications?

P: No. 

D: OK, and how about um any allergies?

P: Um, just uh pineapple, like not any medications or anything.

D: Pineapple, OK. Um are you up to date with all your immunizations?

P: Uh yeah yeah. 

D: OK. Um any family history of lung conditions or heart conditions?

P: Um, like my my uncle had a heart attack.

D: OK. 

P: I don't, like, not my parents. 

D: OK, I see. Um any cancers in the family?

P: Uh, no. 

D: OK. Um and do you smoke?

P: No.

D: No, OK. How about marijuana? 

P: No.

D: No, OK, um any other recreational drugs?

P: Um no, no

D: OK, how about alcohol?

P: Uh, like I drink, I don't know maybe I'll drink like a bottle of wine on like a weekend, like over a whole weekend or something so like, I don't know maybe like 3 or 4 drinks over the weekend.

D: Three or four drinks a weekend, OK.

P: Yeah, something like that.

D: Sure, OK.

P: I'm not at all like.

D: OK, so occasionally?

P: Yeah.

D: OK. And where do you live?

P: Uh I live in town here.

D: OK, do you live in a house, in an apartment?

P: Um my fiancé and I live in a townhouse.

D: In a townhouse, OK, um, any um concerns for like old carpets or mold or asbestos, anything like that?

P: Uh no, it's like a new a new building.

D: OK, OK, and do you think you may have been in contact with anyone who's been sick recently?

P: Well, so um, I work uh in like, I work in an office that's attached to a factory um and I, so like I have to actually be there, I haven't been able to work from home. Um and there was someone else in my office that I think was coughing in that, like last week and I I don't know, I questioned it but I I didn't actually get to talk to them and ask them, or like I don't know if they were actually sick or something. So, I might have been, and we wear masks and everything, like we're really good, but I don't know, I feel like the offices aren't like super, like the air flow's not that great.

D: Yeah.

P: So yeah, I think that's another reason I was concerned, that I I feel like some people might have been sick and I didn't really know the whole story.

D: Right, OK, so potentially, from from the workplace then, OK.

P: Yeah.

D: And, OK, um have you traveled anywhere recently?

P: No.

D: No, OK. Well those were all the questions that I had for you today, was there um anything that I missed that you wanted to discuss today?

P: Uh not that I can think of.

D: No, OK. So right now it seems like, if I'm going through my differential diagnosis list for you, at the top is, the thing that we have to rule out is Covid, so we'll take a swab and send it off for those PCR results and you'll hear back either tomorrow or the day after, about the results. But in the mean time, and I guess even if the test is negative, um and you're still having symptoms, please do isolate for 14 days. Um and if your symptoms get worse, um like you know, you're having trouble breathing, uh your fever, your temperature is off the charts, um or you're having any sort of neurological symptom, please do um go to the ER and seek out help. Um if it's not Covid, it could be another viral illness that's going around at, during this time of year, um, and usually the treatment for that kind of stuff is supportive, so make sure you're staying well hydrated, you're eating nutritious foods, uh you're getting good sleep. Um and if not, and your symptoms, you know you're having a productive cough, um you're really short of breath, uh we can test you to see if you have some sort of bacterial pneumonia, and those are usually treated with antibiotics, so that's kind of the plan right now. Um so we'll just start with that Covid swab for now. How does that sound?

P: Yeah, that that sounds great. That's really what it, like, I I don't feel super sick, I just really wanna know if I have Covid or not.

D: Yeah for sure and I, and I think it's good that you came in.

P: Awesome.

D: Alright, thank you.

P: OK thanks.