Editing 2279: Symptoms

{{comic
| number    = 2279
| date      = March 11, 2020
| title     = Symptoms
| image     = symptoms.png
| titletext = This medicine says it may cause lightheadedness, dry mouth, and blurred vision, but my head feels incredibly heavy, water is pouring from my mouth, and I can see individual hummingbird wingbeats, so I think I'm fine.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the fifth comic in a row in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] about the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus disease 2019}}, COVID-19 for short.

The comic states that the symptoms of a disease are {{w|shortness of breath}}, {{w|fever}}, {{w|fatigue}} and {{w|dry cough}}. These are the top 3 and 5th most {{w|Coronavirus_disease_2019#Signs_and_symptoms|common symptoms}} reported for COVID-19. This is thus the fifth comic in a row about this disease, released on the day that the {{w|World Health Organization}} declared the COVID-19 outbreak a {{w|pandemic}}.

Looking these symptoms up on his phone, [[Cueball]] reads them to [[Megan]] who expresses relief.  The experiences of hers she claims as normal are so extremely opposite to the symptoms of the disease, that getting it might even be a boon rather than a harm. If a person has powerful lungs, shortness of breath wouldn't be very noticeable. She references icy skin, normally not a fever symptom, although heavy sweating caused by fever can lower temperature. She describes having frenzied energy, the opposite of fatigue.

The last symptom is an "incredibly wet cough", and although that is the opposite of a dry cough, it still sounds quite bad. The description she gives opposes COVID-19, but may be indicative of something else.

The focus on how symptoms play out differently for people with different normal experiences distantly touches on, but deftly evades, the harsh reality that people who, unlike the comic's characters, already have severe respiratory issues, may die in large quantities unless our response to the virus improves.  This is because the impact of a disease relates to how bad its symptoms are for the carriers.

Megan's optimistic reaction is ironic, considering these could be symptoms of a whole host of medical situations, including any kind of flu.

The title text expands on this joke. Cueball reads up on the side effects from some medicine. Here again they don't have the common side effects of the medicine but the exact opposite, so they think they must be fine, even though those "anti-symptoms" are themselves cause for concern.

It also reflects on the whole concept of symptom/side effect warnings themselves as often people have no good frame of reference for when a particular symptom is actually abnormal.  It is often easy for one to believe they match some or all of a list of symptoms because for someone to be absolutely sure they do not have a specific symptom, they would need an almost comic level of "normality".

The medicine is supposed to make the user:
#{{w|Lightheaded}}, but Megan's head feels heavy.
#Have a {{w|dry mouth}}, but water is pouring out of Megan's mouth.
#Have {{w|blurred vision}}, but Megan sees so clearly that she can spot individual {{w|hummingbird}} wingbeats.

Having a heavy head is not a good sign, even though the opposite is also not good. Dry mouth can be annoying but her condition sounds dangerous. And although blurred vision is a bad thing, it is impossible for a human eye to follow the 12-80 beats a second of a hummingbird; this suggests that Megan might be hallucinating, which is arguably even worse.

Much later in [[2580: Rest and Fluids]], the joke is again on symptoms or rather getting them again. The pandemic was still going almost two years later.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing each other, with Cueball looking down at his smartphone held up in one hand.]
:Cueball: It says here common symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, fatigue, and a dry cough.
:Megan: That's reassuring to me, a person with powerful lungs, icy skin, frenzied energy, and an '''''incredibly''''' wet cough.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]