I’ve been feeling increasingly under the weather this week with a sensation like the chills and aching muscle/joint pain. I thought I was stiff from taking the girls to school/study group on the moto everyday (they’re not small anymore) but yesterday afternoon I broke out in a fever and very quickly a rash spread across my body that looks a lot like Chikungunya rash. You might remember that Crystal had this back in January.

It’s a very strange kind of muscle pain/ache, the best way I can describe the feeling is severe sunburn but in the muscles instead of the skin. The joint pain and headache are more normal. The clinic we usually got to is closed today because of the Water Festival holiday but I’m planning to go tomorrow and get officially diagnosed. (In an emergency I could go to one of the hospitals but, based on Crystal’s experience, we’re already doing most of what can be done anyway.)

Symptoms

Most people infected with chikungunya virus will develop some symptoms. Symptoms usually begin 3–7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The most common symptoms are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.

Chikungunya disease does not often result in death, but the symptoms can be severe and disabling. Most patients feel better within a week. In some people, the joint pain may persist for months.

People at risk for more severe disease include newborns infected around the time of birth, older adults (≥65 years), and people with medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

Diagnosis

The symptoms of chikungunya are similar to those of dengue and Zika, diseases spread by the same mosquitoes that transmit chikungunya. See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where chikungunya is found.

If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled. Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for chikungunya or other similar viruses like dengue and Zika.

https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/symptoms/index.html

It’s possible that I might have Dengue, not Chikungunya, but either way I guess a mosquito got me at some point earlier this week.