Valley Fever: Why a Cough That Will Not Go Away Matters Here

If you are struggling to breathe, call 911. Nothing about a slow-moving infection changes what a breathing emergency needs.

Living in Arizona changes what a three-week cough probably is.

Most lingering coughs anywhere are the tail end of a virus. Here there is an additional possibility that a physician in Ohio would rarely think of, and it is the reason the same symptom deserves a different amount of attention in this state.

What it actually is

Valley fever is an infection caused by **breathing in spores from a fungus called Coccidioides, which the CDC describes as living in soil** in parts of the southwestern United States, including here.

That is the entire mechanism, and two things follow from it.

It is not contagious. You did not catch it from anybody and you cannot give it to your family. It came from the air.

And anything that lifts soil into the air is a route of exposure — construction, digging, groundwork, agricultural work, off-road driving, high wind moving dust around. That is not a reason to stop going outside. It is a reason to mention what you have been doing when you describe a cough that will not clear.

What it looks like

The CDC names these symptoms:

• Fatigue — and for many people this is the loudest one
• Cough
• Fever and headache
• Shortness of breath
• Night sweats
• Muscle aches or joint pain
• A rash on the upper body or legs

Which is, read as a list, almost exactly what a bad respiratory virus looks like. That is why it gets missed, and it is the single most useful thing to understand about it.

The number that actually helps: one week

The CDC’s guidance is specific — if your symptoms last more than a week, contact your healthcare provider.

That is a usefully low bar, and it is the sentence to take away from this page. You are not waiting for something dramatic. A cough, a deep fatigue and night sweats that are still there after a week is a reason to be checked, in this state, by somebody who will think of this.

And the CDC notes the duration can be long: symptoms usually last a few weeks to a few months, and longer where the infection becomes severe. Which means “it has gone on too long to still be a virus” is exactly the right instinct.

How often it turns serious

Two figures from the CDC, and they are worth having in proportion:

Approximately 5 to 10% of people who get Valley fever develop serious or long-term problems in their lungs. And about 1% have the infection spread beyond the lungs to other parts of the body.

So the overwhelming majority of cases are not the frightening version. The reason to act on a week-long cough is not that this is usually dangerous — it is that the dangerous minority is only identifiable by somebody testing for it, and the test does not happen if nobody thinks of it.

The CDC also notes that certain groups are at increased risk of more severe illness. It does not enumerate them on the pages cited here, so neither does this page — if you have a weakened immune system, that is worth raising specifically when you are seen.

Why this belongs on a clinic visit rather than an emergency room

Because it is a diagnosis that needs testing and follow-up rather than an intervention tonight. A lingering cough with fatigue and night sweats is a primary care question, and being seen by somebody who has your history makes it a better one.

With the exception that always applies: if you are struggling to breathe, if you have chest pain, if you have a high fever with confusion, or if something is getting worse while you watch it — that is an emergency room, tonight, regardless of what the underlying cause turns out to be.

And if you are unsure which of those describes you, come in. You are not expected to work out your own diagnosis before deciding you are allowed to be seen.

Questions people actually ask

Can I catch it from somebody? No. It comes from spores in soil, not from people.

I have only lived here a few months. Am I more likely to get it? People who have not lived in the area before have not been exposed before, which is worth mentioning when you are seen. But the useful action is the same: a week of symptoms, get checked.

Will it show up on a chest X-ray? Imaging can be part of the picture, and a specific diagnosis generally needs a blood test. That is a conversation with whoever sees you rather than something to arrange yourself.

Should I wear a mask on a windy day? Reducing how much dust you breathe is sensible, particularly around digging or construction. This page is not going to tell you to stop living outdoors in Arizona.

It has been ten days and I feel dreadful but not dangerous. That is precisely the situation the one-week guidance is written for. Get seen.

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For a cough, fatigue or night sweats lasting more than a week, get checked. Our clinics are open Monday to Thursday and Friday mornings — appointments by phone. And if you are struggling to breathe, call 911. See our locations →

Related reading: primary care across our network · which door do you need

Sources

14. Symptoms of Valley Fever — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/valley-fever/signs-symptoms/index.html
15. About Valley Fever — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/valley-fever/about/index.html

This article is general information, not a diagnosis, and it cannot account for your history or your medications. If you are unsure, come in — this list is not exhaustive and you are not expected to diagnose yourself. If it might be an emergency, treat it as one and call 911.