What Is Valley Fever?

By james

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No one likes having a fever and a persistent cough. If you are suffering from unpleasant respiratory symptoms, it’s important to get a proper diagnosis. When your doctor knows exactly what’s causing the problem, he or she is more likely to be able to treat it correctly. Without a clear diagnosis, any treatment you receive is simply placating the symptoms and may not be getting to the actual root of the problem.

Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, presents similar symptoms to many other respiratory illnesses. The cough that you initially think is just a cold could be a symptom of a more serious issue. Here are ten specific things you should know about valley fever.

1. What Is Valley Fever?

Valley fever is a fungal infection. At its initial onset, the illness seems like a bad cold. You feel congested and tend to cough a lot, and you will likely run a fever. In mild cases, symptoms go away after a week or two. If this is how your case progresses, you may never know you had valley fever.

Sometimes, however, valley fever progresses into a more dangerous version. Most people diagnosed with this infection have a more persistent illness that won’t go away on its own. When nothing they try to get rid of it seems to work, they go to the doctor.