human
My dad had an upper respiratory infection and now I am nervous from being around him.Age: 44Sex: MHeight: 6'3Weight: 202lbsRace: WhiteDuration of complaint: NALocation: TennesseeAny existing relevant medical issues: NoCurrent medications: NAMy dad and sister went on a vacation trip to Peru roughly two weeks ago. About a week after returning from the trip he developed runny nose, chest congestion, probably a fever (never took his temp), and a bad cough. He is in his late 60s and already has a weakened immune system from a bone marrow transplant he had a few years ago, so he just chalked it up to the common rhinovirus cold that he seems to get every year. I went to visit him this past weekend (about a week after his symptoms started). He didn't have a fever or anything, but had a pretty bad cough the entire time I was there. All in all, he was healthy and out doing stuff the entire weekend. However, with so much coronavirus in the news, now I find myself contemplating whether or not its POSSIBLE he had it (I havent seen Peru in the news, but ya never know) and if I now possibly have it (I am currently observing no symptoms and was at his house from Friday to Sunday morning). He was not observing very good hygiene protocol with his coughs, and I had to chastise him numerous times for coughing into his hands or not covering up at all. Again, he had zero symptoms at time of visit other than a lingering cough. I guess my question is, should I be dedicating any real estate in my mind right now to worrying about this corona virus? It should be noted that my sister was in close proximity with my dad the entirety of the trip as well as a week after the trip when he started getting symptoms, and she has shown zero signs of anything. With all this panic in the news, I just find myself silently listening or observing my body for the onset of symptoms and its interfering with my daily life.
gpt
You do not need to worry about 2019-nCov at all. There have only been 2 imported cases in Brazil and 1 imported case in Ecuador in all of Latin America. Even if there had been cases in Peru, the odds of him coming into contact with it would be very slim, and the Futher odds of you being at any sort of risk would be neglegible.Stop panicking about this, and get your flu shot every year.
How severe is the neck pain? Look up Kernigs sign. Its a maneuver you can do to test for meningitis. Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord and meninges in the brain. It can be caused by both virus or bacteria. Shed be positive if she has extreme pain and cant extend past 90. If thats positive, you need to call the doctor/ED. Also, meningitis can cause a pinpoint rash. If shes darker skinned, you could see it more easily on the palms and soles of the feet. Rashes May also appear with prolonged fever. You can do the tumbler test where you take a clear glass and press it against the rash. If redness goes away when pressed, then its negative. If you can see the rash still through the glass, then its positive. Its sounding more like Mono. If possible, see if the doctor can test. Mono needs to run its course, but it can have some complications. One of them in enlarged spleen, so no sports and if she has sudden upper left abdominal pain go straight to the ER. It also can cause liver issues, so watch out for jaundice which is yellowing if the skin. I hope she starts feeling better soon OP!
I'd be careful about posting medical advice like you are without fact checking.Kernig's is actually a pretty bad test for meningitis. It has a sensitivity of only 5% and a PPV of 27%. That's pretty awful. I also wouldn't recommend for untrained people to test it on themselves or their loved ones.Not all types of meningitis causes a rash. I believe you're referring to meningococcemia. I think this diagnosis is extremely unlikely as she has been having symptoms for 19 days. She would be dead by now. Symptoms of meningococcemia progress very rapidly. Also, the tumbler test is also a pretty bad test and all it does it to be able to differentiate petechiae from other blanchable rashes. It's not specific to meningococcemia and can also just be done with a finger."Prolonged fever" do not cause rash. I am not sure what you are referring to here. Yes, a lot of diseases that can cause fever are also associated with rashes but it's not the fever itself that leads to a rash.I don't think Mono is likely here. While some of the symptoms would match, it would be unlikely to have persistent fevers for 19 days with simple mono.OP, I believe that at this point a visit to the hospital is warranted if your wife is as impaired as you are describing it.