A coronavirus sufferer recalled how he battled to catch his breath after contracting the deadly bug.
Calum Wishart was struck down with the virus 11 days ago.
Despite him having no underlying health conditions, Calum's family feared that he was dying when he began gasping for air, The Daily Record reported.
The 25-year-old was admitted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary during what he has described as 'the worst week of his life'.
"The coughing is so aggressive that it causes severe pain all over your chest and can induce vomiting and diarrhoea," he said.
"I still can't breathe in for more than a second."
The call centre worker began self isolating at his parents' Edinburgh home after showing signs of a fever on March 19.
He said: "I started to feel a slight fever at night.
"I didn't think much of it until the next morning my temperature started increasing.
"By the Saturday I was vomiting, coughing, and began suffering from diarrhoea.
"My temperature had started to affect my whole body - some parts of me were red hot and other parts of me were freezing."
He began to fear that he had caught the virus three days later.
His lung began to feel as if they weren't expanding and he struggled to breath.
Calum's sister Rachel, 27, said her panic stricken mum called the ambulance because she thought her son was dying.
She added: "My mum said he looked dead. She said it was the worst night of her life. He was gasping for breathe and really struggling.
"The paramedics were at the house within five minutes and took him straight to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
"It was shortly after that he was tested for coronavirus and it came back positive. It's so scary and has terrified all of us.
"It's horrible that we're not allowed into see him and he's alone in there."
Calum is recovering and remains in the Covid-19 ward of the Edinburgh hospital.
Speaking from his hospital bed he continued: "Most of my symptoms are gone now.
"I still can't breathe in for more than a second. It's been horrific.
"Whenever I sit or stand up I have a massive coughing fit.
"The problem is you get so wrapped up in fear in your own head.
"You breathe so rapidly and you're just desperately trying to catch a breath back, you end up panicking and it makes everything worse."
He is now warning others about the disease and urging people to be safe and sensible during the lockdown.
He added: "I want everyone to take this seriously and understand the severity of it.
"When this all started I literally remember thinking 'oh two weeks off work with a bit of the flu. I hope I get it', I could not have been more wrong.
"People need to stay indoors, it's not worth the risk to put yourself through what I've been through.
"No business or reason for going out other than for food or medical reason is more important than not going through this experience.
"So all of this nonsense about going out for exercise has to be ignored.
"There's a reason that every other country has done a full lock down. Don't be stupid. Protect yourself and your families."
