It started with a bad headache in mid-June. Bumps then began appearing on her face and chest.
“I had a big zit on my forehead and a bunch on my nose bridge as well as my cheek. Which I thought was weird because I don't usually have breakouts like this,” said the woman, who goes by the name Kyrie Fluffins on TikTok. She requested to remain anonymous for this article.
Speaking to CNA on Wednesday (Jul 27), Kyrie, who is based in California, said she initially suspected that she had COVID-19 as some of her friends tested positive for the virus recently. But her tests came back negative.
The bumps continued to spread to other parts of her body including her back, legs and scalp. Then her eyes started to itch.
Alarmed, she went to see a doctor, who said that she might have monkeypox and told her to get tested.
“I just shut down, it was like getting delivered really bad news. It was really depressing and scary especially because they told me there's no cure,” she said. “They said since it’s a viral infection, all I can do is to let my system ride it out, do its thing and fight it off naturally.
“It was so disheartening to hear that there's no medicine that you can take to make it go away.”
While waiting for test results to confirm she had the disease, she also developed a secondary infection of cellulitis – a common bacterial skin infection that causes redness, swelling and pain – on her left elbow.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), other complications include bronchopneumonia, sepsis, pneumonia, encephalitis, confusion and infection of the cornea with ensuing loss of vision.
Kyrie is still not sure how she contracted monkeypox, though she suspects she could have caught it during a massage at a spa or by sharing food with her friends.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/monkeypox-patients-symptoms-treatment-lesions-2844326
