My parents went on a two week vacation to Switzerland and have been back in the United States for around a week. In the last few days they’ve gotten very sick. The symptoms seem like covid or the flu, but my dad said their doctor ruled those out as well as strep throat. I’m sure they ran additional tests as well. Has anyone heard about something like this going around? Should I be concerned? FWIW I’ve been around them the entire time they’ve been sick and I haven’t caught anything.
I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Key symptoms are flu like symptoms after overexertion. So if they recover in a few days/weeks but get it again after doing something strenuous like sports, work or maybe even intense emotions, that might be it.
It is usually obtained after a viral infection. Epstein Barr Virus and Corona are especially known to do it. It is the mostliest (words escape me, loss of intelligence is also a symptom) thingy of Long Covid.
There isn’t a test available yet to reliably diagnose it. But scientists are working on it. Every other month a new study is released showing significant differences between patients and healthy people. Until then it is usually diagnosed by excluding other illnesses and seeing the flu like symptoms after exertion.
No known cure yet. Best treatment is aggressive pacing, ie resting after doing something strenuous. The insidious thing is that you usually don’t know when it’s too much because the symptoms manifest with a few hours to days delay.
Hope we won’t have to greet you in [email protected] and [email protected] one day. This thing is a bitch.
if both parents are very sick it’s extremely unlikely to be ME/CFS. ME is a rare consequence of viral illness.