sick in Yuma
Just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is in Yuma and he said a lot of people are sick with valley fever , the hospital is full and they won't let you visit for fear you will get sick too.
Forum Discussion
- And did this make the news?
- Excuse my not knowing...what is valley fever?
- Having spent years in "valley fever" prone areas, I doubt it.....Good luck to your friend. A simple don't come message would been sufficient......
- Valley Fever is not contagious so hospital not allowing visitor's does not make sense.
- Having been to the ENT in the past for suspected Valley Fever, I found out that it's not only extremely hard to identify, BUT one of the only labs equipped to identify it is in Bakersfield, California in the San Jouquin Valley. THAT is the valley that this thing apparently got its name from because it's so common up there.
So hopefully he didn't travel thorough there and pick something up. SCVJeff wrote:
Having been to the ENT in the past for suspected Valley Fever, I found out that it's not only extremely hard to identify, BUT one of the only labs equipped to identify it is in Bakersfield, California in the San Jouquin Valley. THAT is the valley that this thing apparently got its name from because it's so common up there.
So hopefully he didn't travel thorough there and pick something up.
Yes, the San Joaquin Valley is a hot bed for Valley Fever but so is Arizona. Valley Fever is not contagious, so I don't understand. Valley Fever is a fungus that is found in the soil and when the soil is disturbed by a dust storm, wind or gardening the fungus is inhaled into the lungs. The leading MD for Valley Fever is in Bakersfield, but any lab can run a Cocci Titer. Valley Fever gets really nasty when it disseminates(spreads) in can cause meningitis, can enter the spinal canal and cause fractures. It resembles the flu, but the cough and the fever persist and usually with substantial weight loss.
There is no cure for Valley Fever the fungus remains in the body and requires a lifetime of monitoring the fungus level in the body.- I've always heard that any of us who've lived in AZ for very long have changes in our lungs as a result of cocci exposure that will show up on chest x-ray. Not everyone gets symptoms and correct it's not contagious. I've known a lot of folks who spent a lot of money treating their pets for valley fever too.
- I was sick for over 4 months with it. On an X-ray it looks just like lung cancer, and many people visiting AZ. have gone back home, and been misdiagnosed to the point of having a lung biopsy. There is a blood test, but only works for about 50% of the people.
There is no vaccine yet, and all animals can get it. How sick you get depends on the amount of spores inhaled, and your immune system. Masks don't work, and the spores can be tracked into your house. Pets are very susceptible to it, as they are always sniffing the ground.
Phoenix, is a hot bed right now because of the dust storms.
If visiting AZ, or CA. Valley's, please make yourself aware of the symptoms.
One plus is, once you get it your usually "immune" but it can't be reactivated in some people with weakened immune systems.
Valley Fever, CDC
Valley Fever - It sounds to me like the flu. Flu has hit hard here in WA this winter with a lot of younger, otherwise healthy people contracting the virus, some fatally.
