Moving to AZ? Research on Valley Fever First

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

My own experience with VF is typical. I had a blood test one time and they told me I had been exposed to VF. I never knew it. Yes, there are a few who get seriously ill for a time (for some reason they seem to be disproportionately represented on this forum ), but most people do not. In fact most people do not even get it at all. Same for dogs. Dogs born here are said to be much more resistant.

I'm glad we are disproportionately represented, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm glad I wasn't the norm.

[sunsets1]

Originally Posted by Azrider

Its is not as bad as everyone has made it out to be on this forum in the past. Not saying it is good, but it is much less common then made out to be. Something like 1-2% of the patients that have it ever get symptoms. Cant remember how many people in the Phoenix area that become carriers or whatever, but its something like 5,000. Its the Southwest's influenza if you will. It not only affects AZ, but Utah, California, New Mexico, parts of Texas, basically any of the desert areas in the SW.

I have not had any symptoms at all living here 5 years. I have never been tested either. Both my pets have been tested and are ok.

[/quote]
I have lived here my whole life, most of it in PHX where Valley Fever tends to be the most prominent and have honestly only known one person to have an active case of it. When I was little we did lose a dog to it though.
I agree with the poster that said that its not as bad as people make it out to be as far as the number of people who get it. I also agree that most people who spend a significant amount of time in the southwest will be exposed to it but rarely even know they have it.[/quote]


Well my husband has been working in the Mesa area since April of this year. (08) He is always been in exellent health, is a marathon/ultra marathon runner. He just got diagnosed today. He has been sick for over a month. He went to a doctor here in Utah, but we didn't know about Valley Fever. When he got back to Arizona, his co-worker mentioned that he hoped he didn't have Valley Fever, but didn't say what it was. I looked it up on the internet and found that he had every symptom. He had horrific headaches, extreme fatique, a rash, chest pain, and he has lost alot of weight because he didn't have an appetite. He has pnemonia right now, has been on anti-biotics for that. They are watching him to see if his own immune system will kick the fungus, if not they will be starting him on an anti-fungal medication. I wish we were aware of it when he went out there. It can be serious and i don't think people should say don't worry about it, because the ones that say that haven't had it or don't know anyone who has had it....that doesn't mean it is to be taken lightly. He won't be doing any marathons for a while, which really bums him out, but he realizes that he needs to build up his immune system. Watching how sick he was when we were out there makes me want to tell everyone to be aware if they have the symptoms to go get checked. It took a while to get my husband to realize how sick he was because he usually gets over things pretty quick, so I know he must have been feeling pretty crappy to finally go. He should be done with the project the end of Aug or middle of Sept. Then he'll be back home...pretty crappy to get this being there for such a short time. THOSE THAT SAY IT'S NOT THAT BAD I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU THIS SICK FOR OVER A MONTH WITH IT AND THEN SEE HOW BAD YOU THINK IT IS.......Now he's dealing with some Killer bees............not sure I wanna be moving to Arizona anytime soon....