Valley fever and monsoons (house, allergies, live)

[Voebe]

Did you know that there's a connection between valley fever and monsoon season?

Am I the only one who didn't know this?

[go09]

Some do, some don't. All that dust blowing around is not good, as the spores that cause Valley Fever come from the dirt.

[grmi66]

My Valley Fever showed up in January after digging around my backyard. It's a year round opportunist.

[locolobo13]

Heard that back in the 70s. It's in the dust. Was told that if you lived in the valley for 4-5 yrs the probability of getting Valley Fever was almost 100%. For most of us it's just a fever/virus similar to the flu and is gone in a couple of days.

[kell490]

I ask my doctor for a valley fever test annually I have some lung issues and I know someone who died from untreated valley fever. He was in his 60's and he thought it was a flu which turned to pneumonia by the time we got to the ER they found he had late stage valley fever too much lung damage he lasted about a month on a ventilator.

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Heard that back in the 70s. It's in the dust. Was told that if you lived in the valley for 4-5 yrs the probability of getting Valley Fever was almost 100%. For most of us it's just a fever/virus similar to the flu and is gone in a couple of days.

I've lived here in the desert (worked in the horticulture field) since 1963 and never had valley fever nor any of my family members.

[grmi66]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Heard that back in the 70s. It's in the dust. Was told that if you lived in the valley for 4-5 yrs the probability of getting Valley Fever was almost 100%. For most of us it's just a fever/virus similar to the flu and is gone in a couple of days.

I had a serious case of Valley Fever and narrowly avoided going to the hospital. Despite being in shape enough to have completed a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim a few weeks before. According to my pulmonologist almost everyone that has lived in Arizona for an extended period of time will be exposed to Valley Fever. Roughly 60% will never know they have it, feels like bad allergies or an annoying cough for a few days and that's it.

I'm in the 30% that developed a high fever and ended up with a couple of quarter sized spots on my lungs and it took me about four months to bounce back enough to return to work full-time. After that it was about a year to almost full recovery, my lung functions are down and it appears they always will be.

For 10% of people that get Valley Fever they are hospitalized and in many cases need a lobectomy. For people with pre-existing morbidities Valley Fever can be a death sentence.

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by kell490

I ask my doctor for a valley fever test annually I have some lung issues and I know someone who died from untreated valley fever. He was in his 60's and he thought it was a flu which turned to pneumonia by the time we got to the ER they found he had late stage valley fever too much lung damage he lasted about a month on a ventilator.

I had a very similar situation in 2020. Initially thought it was flu or Covid. It went untreated for a while and got to the point where I had to be hospitalized and have fluid drained from my stomach. It was a dire situation. Once they finally figured out what it was, I was put on a very high dose of medication for an entire year. I'm sure it could have been much worse, but it helped that I am young(ish), healthy, and pretty fit.

[Voebe]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Heard that back in the 70s. It's in the dust. Was told that if you lived in the valley for 4-5 yrs the probability of getting Valley Fever was almost 100%. For most of us it's just a fever/virus similar to the flu and is gone in a couple of days.

Wow, I had no idea the odds were that bad.

Originally Posted by kell490

I ask my doctor for a valley fever test annually I have some lung issues and I know someone who died from untreated valley fever. He was in his 60's and he thought it was a flu which turned to pneumonia by the time we got to the ER they found he had late stage valley fever too much lung damage he lasted about a month on a ventilator.

I never even gave any thought to annual testing. Thanks. That's what I consider useful information.

[fluffythewondercat]

I went to the Stanford Hospital ER last night with chest pain. They did a CT scan with contrast and guess what? I've got Valley Fever.

This amazes me. I spend about 98% of the time indoors and when outdoors I wear an N95. Though I suppose with the spouse coming in and out of the house constantly, dust probably comes in with him. I know it comes in on his clothes.

I'm concerned about this. I do have underlying conditions.

My ex-pulmonologist assured me Valley Fever wouldn't be a problem as long as I wasn't outside in dust storms. But there were a couple of other reasons I fired him, so I shouldn't be surprised that he got that wrong, too.