Valley fever

[mgh122]

Read this article scared the******out of me, is it that bad?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/20/140120fa_fact_goodyear?currentPage=all

[Budster]

EPenney wrote:
What you said in the documentary about sitting in front of the computer and not knowing what to do really hit home. On some of my really bad days, the "Brain Fog" caused me stare at my screen wondering what I was supposed to do.

This LINK is for a newspaper article about my VF experience.

I hope today finds you having a great day.

Hi Eric, that was a great article, glad that you were able to 'get the word out'. The more folks made aware the better. Those of us with the disease all suffer in some way or another. I have OK days then I have good days and the good days I am thankful for.

Hope you are having a 'good day'.

[rocmoc]

Live in AZ full-time and play/work in the dirt nearly every day. Have known a couple of people who have had Valley Fever and they all were older with weaker health. Not saying this is the only group but would be interesting if someone has data broke down by age group and/or health condition. If you look at the raw numbers above, it is a small percentage of the population. BUT we do take precautions. We avoid activity outside in dust storms and fortunately we live in an area that does not get many (one in the last 10 years). Most of the big dust storms are in an area between North of Marana to Phoenix and around Willcox. Our winds normally are from the South to the North. Also pets can catch Valley Fever so watch your 4 legged buddies. Valley fever is not just in AZ but is in all of SouthWest, California, Texas, Mexico and Central & South America.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[EPenney]

Hi Jerry,

My wife and I went to KVIE for the special screening of the Deadly Dust documentary. I had never been around other VF survivors before, and got a chance to chat with a few fellow survivors.

What you said in the documentary about sitting in front of the computer and not knowing what to do really hit home. On some of my really bad days, the "Brain Fog" caused me stare at my screen wondering what I was supposed to do.

This LINK is for a newspaper article about my VF experience.

I hope today finds you having a great day.

[Budster]

AL49er wrote:
What is valley fever? and what duz it do? Alby

it's a fungus that gets airborne and when inhaled you get sick. Watch this video: clicky here

[AL49er]

What is valley fever? and what duz it do? Alby

[Budster]

For those of you that would like to know what Valley Fever is Checkout this Documentary

I was interviewed for this and was proud to be a part of it. As you have read on this thread VF can be a deadly disease and the worst part is that it is almost always mis-diagnosed giving the disease time to get a hold of your body.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

old guy wrote:
I just was taking about this in another post earlier tonight

And here's the thread you started..;).......

thread with lots of personal experiences, info and various links!

~

[Budster]

I have had Valley Fever since June of 2000. I contracted while living in Simi Valley, CA. being of Filipino decent it hit me hard. I was in and out of the emergency room with improper diagnosis of pneumonia. When they finally tested me for VF I had it bad. after a few years of heavy medication (anti-fungal) the Drs. Told me I was ‘cured’. NOT, you are never ‘cured’ from VF. It stays in your system forever and only your immune system (and the help of anti-fungal medications) keep it ‘dormant’. In my case when my immune system is low (when I get a cold or some other ailment) I increase my medications so I don’t have a flare up. At one point the Drs. Took me off medication and three weeks later the VF showed up in my skin as a pus laden lesion. There is a Face Book page where you can read the horror stories of those afflicted. Please be cautious when travelling in a dusty southwestern area. If you get home and feel sick and nothing seems to make you better, ask for a VF test. If you have a specific question PM me and I will try to answer it.

[down_home]

Son In Law was a Ground Fault Locator Supervisor out of Phoenix. They think he got Valley Fever early last year.
He was out in the open most of the time. Was in a lot of dust.
Caused him to develop symptoms similar to Narcoelpsy, headaches and hs right eye dilate, like a stroke.
I had no idea how serious Valley Fever was until then.
When we were out near Tucson we bought developed coughs and so forth.
The dust is often so fine you can see it but it's everywhere, even in winter or maybe especially in winter.

[leaddog]

A friend here in Tucson died from Valley Fever 4 years ago. She was in great health otherwise, but loved to garden and contacted the spores that way. Yes, it can be very serious and fatal.

Statistics
The Valley Fever Center for Excellence estimates there are about 150,000 cocci infections a year in people, with one-third resulting in a possibly lengthy respiratory illness (i.e., an illness requiring medical attention). Yet only a fraction of those cases are correctly diagnosed and reported.
In 2012, there were 12,958 confirmed cases of Coccidioidomycosis in Arizona. It is second only to Chlamydia (a sexually transmitted disease) as the most reported infectious disease in the state, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Infectious Disease Services.
In Pima County there were about 1500 laboratory-confirmed cases of cocci in 2012, according to Michael Acoba, Pima County Health Department Epidemiology Program Manager.
“We think about 400 people a year in Arizona get a serious illness due to cocci,” says John Galgiani, M.D.

[rockhillmanor]

It is even a bigger more serious problem for pets. They are low to the ground and dig in the dirt having more direct contact than humans. Thousands of dogs go undiagnosed and die from it.

It is THE reason I chose not to RV and/or buy property there after I hit the road full time.

[WyoTraveler]

DW & I picked up a light case of it last year while dry camping in Q. The biggest problem is that drs in northern states have never had any cases so are pretty much clueless. I still have a cough and some breathing problems from it. A friend got it in AZ and northern dr said it was lung cancer. He went to Phoenix where he found out it was valley fever.

[TOOBOLD]

I'm a healthcare worker and have seen some really bad cases of Valley Fever. There are misconceptions out there, but this can really be nasty! You'll have to take my word for it.

[Executive45]

The biggest problem in Central California is they are bulldozing thousands of acres of land for solar farms. This disturbs the soil and when the wind blows there's more of the spores floating about. Having live 70 years in Az and Ca I have not seen one case of it. My take is it's media hype..especially since the article comes from New York...Then again, I've never been bitten by a scorpion or been struck by lightning either...:W....Dennis