Infectious disease specialist Dr. Kim Woo-joo of Korea University Hospital in Guro, southern Seoul, said in a phone interview that one of his patients had to undergo testing six times, complaining of coronavirus symptoms despite repeated negative results.
All her tests and chest scans, which came back normal, failed to reassure the patient, he said.
“She still panicked about the possibility that she or her family were coming down with the virus infection,” he said, adding that he advised her to take psychological help.
Psychiatrist Dr. Koo Ja-hyun at a mental health center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, said patients with anxiety were more prone to experience such imagined or exaggerated symptoms that their physical examination does not reflect.
“This condition is known as the somatic symptoms disorder, which is where patients are preoccupied with falling gravely ill,” he said. “Getting tested and having the results confirm they are OK can help ease the fear.”
The pandemic has prompted many to attempt self-diagnosis, as reported symptoms of the virus share similarities with other common illnesses such as allergy.
Half whack-a-mole comment and half SAR-casm