Hey y’all,
I am currently living in the Phoenix area. If you live in the south- or north-west, you are probably familiar with Valley Fever. For those that are not, it is a fungal disease found in in dusty, dry climates; fungal spores lay dormant in the soil, and if disturbed by high winds, construction, ATVs, Mountain Bikes… can be kicked up into the air. When inhaled, they can cause some gnarly pneumonia-like symptoms and complications, and if it disseminates to other parts of the body, can get pretty progressive.
Anywho, I was wondering if anybody here has every dealt with this personally and what the ramifications were on cycling?
Recent chest x-rays and symptoms have led the doc to give me a differential of either Valley Fever or pneumonia; I am awaiting blood work, but I have some very specific symptoms that seems to align more with VF, and I also live right on the trails here (where there is also a ton of residential construction) and MTB 3-5x/week, so it seems plausible given high exposure.
Thanks!
Ryan