Cat rash infection headache runny nose

Hi all, 23f here
This is kind of long but please read it all if you would like to offer your insights
On April 26th I hooked up with a guy after a party. Vibes were right, he was very nice. We talked beforehand and made sure we were both clean. We had protected intercourse and unprotected oral (both ways)
I developed a yeast infection about a week and a half later. Not a big problem. I went to a sexual health clinic on 5/9 for it and the doctor diagnosed me with herpes as well due to swollen lymph nodes at the groin. I think it’s a reach, the ones by my neck were even more swollen and who knows it could’ve been my body fighting off the yeast infection or another STD. I was prescribed topical cream for the yeast and something called Valaciclovir for the possible herpes. The swollen lymph noses on my neck lasted for about 2 days.
I have not had any sores or anything like that. No headache or sensitivity to light. For about 2 nights in a row around 5/11 I had a SLIGHTLY elevated body temperature (can’t be called a fever) for about 30-60 minutes only. That was it. Then after that, a day where I felt fatigued. Then after that, my left tonsil was inflamed all the way down to my chest, but it didn’t hurt much. I talked with my one night stand and he said he was being treated for tonsillitis so I thought, maybe all these symptoms are just tonsillitis?
Nope, no tonsillitis. I woke up with a swollen left tonsil, spent the day with it, and by the time I was ready for bed all the symptoms were gone. And the weird part is , it didn’t hurt to swallow, eat, or drink whatsoever. It only hurt when I moved, such as looking up or down.
I haven’t really felt anything since. I developed oral thrush in my mouth from the yeast infection in my body, so maybe that caused the swollen tonsil? But when I checked my mouth that day, my tonsils looked normal. I’ve been dehydrated for a couple days now due to the oral thrush. That’s it
I also discussed this with the guy and based on past STD test results I can rule out the following: HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea. HIV is 0% chance
Could be herpes or mono. Or nothing. I can’t get tested until 3 months when all my (hypothetical) antibodies will be ready. Insights and advice welcome but please be nice. Questions welcome

Hello,
im from Germany, 24 years old, male, and have NDPH since March 2020, so more than 4 years now.
For me it began with a long time of sickness, was constant sick with infections, sinusitis, maybe EBV and maybe covid for 5 Month, before the headache started. Are there other people, who also connect their begin of headache to a long time of infections. Had also some stress in that time, but nothing extreme. In the last time I did some research, and at the end NDPH is suggested to be something with the immune system/Nervous system, like a persistent activation/inflammation. Maybe it isn't NDPH at all, but Headache following an infection, which is not a primary but secondary headache type. And if it secondary, the solution would be only a clearance of the initiating event. My pain is moderate mostly (5-6) sometimes with no reason up to 9 for some days. I can live with it, I got used to it. But still I think there MUST be an answer and resolution for that problem. Nothing can happen "just to of the blue". Have also photophobia, it makes me tired and I can't breathe through my right nose wing because of the pain. It blocks something there, a doctor said. Have no mental issues or something in that direction.
Tried some medications, like Amitripylin, Doxepin, Paroxetin, Amineurin and some others. with no effect. Acupuncture, food changes, etc. also didn't helped. Now I take no medicine for 2 years.
I write that here because I search for people who also want to solve that problem and who are interested in an exchange. So if here are other people from Germany or elsewhere, who also have kind of the same begin and suggest their root of headache in infection, I would be happy if we would connect.
i want to try soon some treatments, which have helped some people in papers.
Venlafaxine 3 month
Doxycycline 3 month
Nerve Block
Botox
IV Methylprednisolone 1 week
Ketamin Infusion
famciclovir
CGRP
Has anyone maybe tried some of them out and can tell if something has helped?
Can someone recommend a good headache doctor in Germany?
Has someone other tipps or ideas, what is your story, how long do you have your headache?
Im happy to hear your story, thoughts and ideas...:)
Have a nice day everybody and never lose the hope!

My 18 year old daughter had a round of antibiotics to prevent a non existing infection after having her wisdom teeth out. A few weeks later the whole family got sick with a bad cold (runny noses, sneezing, cough, laryngitis). She ended up being the worse out of all of us: fever for several days throwing up, horrible constant cough, sore throat, crying, chills, ear pressure, and generally feeling horrible. Covid test negative. Urgent clinic looked at her ears and saw evidence of the pressure, said probably secondary infection. (I wonder if she got this when the rest of us didn’t because of her recently impaired microbiome from the antibiotics?) Anyway, the urgent care dr gave her amoxicillin. She took the first pill last night. This morning she seems to be doing better and fever broke. I’m thinking it happened on its own, not from the one pill. Does she really need to take the rest of the amoxicillin pills? Or can she save the attack on her microbiome and just not take the remaining pills?

I am always fatigued, cannot focus and have poor memory since my early teens. I consistently aim for about 9.5 - 10 hours sleep a night to feel OK the next day, but I never feel fully rested. Apparently an adult sleeping over 9 hours counts as oversleeping. Does anyone else have this problem?
My other symptoms that may be related: * Chronic nasal congestion and runny nose my whole life * There is a constant feeling of pressure in my head but I never have headaches * Ear issues - they crackle when I move my jaw muscles or neck and I seem to struggle hearing * I seem to pee more often than other people but idk if it's because I drink more water than the average person. I wake up to pee 2-3 times a night. Again, this may be due to how much I drink.

Think I have something. Sore throat, fatigue, headache, runny nose and 2 small sores on my penis that are a bit sensitive to touch.
No other symptoms.
Where can I get tested and for the cheapest price?
I just went to the Red Cross Health Station No.3, but they only tested me for:
Anti-HCV. (Negative)
Syphilis (non reactive)
HBsAg. (Negative)
Was thinking I had syphilis as I have most symptoms, but negative… need to get tested for everything.. advice?
Also heading to Phuket in about 5-6 days, better places to test there?
Thank you!

This is the longest, slowest and most exhausting illness I think I’ve ever encountered. I’m convinced it’s Covid despite five negative tests. I may have contracted it at a very crowded concert last week or at an unrelated doctors appointment (where they were also treating actively sick patients).
Had a sore throat on Sunday, but really didn’t think too much of it. Then on Monday (2 days ago) I woke up for work extremely fatigued and nauseous. I went about my daily routine until I got incredibly lightheaded and passed out on the bathroom floor. Chalked it up to not eating enough, but the problem persisted throughout the day and I have been incredibly weak and lethargic since.
1 day ago, sore throat became much more intense and runny nose started. Barely able to make it through the work day due to exhaustion and nausea.
Today I woke up feeling like shit. Pain in my face and ears and whole body aches, stuffy sinuses and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. I noticed a familiar painful burning sensation in my inner nostrils and absolutely zero sense of smell. Like can’t even tell the cat just took a huge dump in the litter box. I’ve been Covid positive twice before and the feeling was unmistakable.
Called off work and took two (expired) at home Covid tests which were negative. Made an appointment at the clinic to get tested there, also negative. Begged them for a PCR test but they don’t do that “because the rapid tests are so reliable now, PCR is not necessary”. I should mention the last time I had Covid (January) I also had two negative rapid tests before testing positive, so I don’t really trust them.
Tonight I have developed a dry cough and low grade fever. Wheezing sound when I breathe. Still have persistent and debilitating fatigue along with all of the previous symptoms. Bought two more at-home tests, both negative.
I’m still like 99% sure I have it. I realize I sound insane but I’ve had my fair share of flus and colds and nothing feels at all like Covid sick does. It’s also irritating that work is now expecting me to come back since I’m not positive, even though this illness (even if it isn’t Covid) is absolutely kicking my ass. Ugh.

Feline herpes or something else?
I’m not sure what to do. 3 months ago I took my indoor cat to the vet for you annual where she was completely fine and healthy. 3-4 days later she started getting these dots on her nose and the sniffles/runny nose. A couple weeks later the runny eyes. So bad that she has hair loss where her eyes run. She has to breath out of her mouth because her nose is so stuff up. Also she started developing lumps on her ears with hairless there as well. She’s not really coughing or wheezing but she frequently sneezes.
About 3 weeks later I took her into the vet and told me it was feline herpes and prescribed her lysine. The lysine didn’t change anything and once I finished that I started her on oral nose relief drops for cats, also allergy immune boost oral oil. I told my vet that she wasn’t getting any better but I didn’t want to take her in because of how much that stresses her out and it’s not going to help her recovery. Not to mention, it’s expensive as fuck for them not to do anything that will actually help. Anyways the vet told me to give her a low dose of Zyrtec. I tried that for a while and she seemed to be doing better for a week or two but now I see it getting worse again.
I don’t know what to do or how to help her. She’s miserable and I can feel her fever is back! There is no change in her food except now she doesn’t want to eat so I started giving her wet food, same formula. We moved but that was back in October, to my moms. I thought my mom’s dogs may have triggered it so I moved in with my bf. She was doing better at first but now it’s all back. She’s been in a nice big peaceful house with us so I’m not sure what is causing this, there are also no other animals or plants in the house. I’ve had her for 3 years now and she is 4. She has never had ANY of these symptoms before march. Is this even feline herpes? Do flare ups last 3 months?? Please any advice would be great. My poor baby is miserable.

Feline herpes or something else?
I’m not sure what to do. 3 months ago I took my indoor cat to the vet for you annual where she was completely fine and healthy. 3-4 days later she started getting these dots on her nose and the sniffles/runny nose. A couple weeks later the runny eyes. So bad that she has hair loss where her eyes run. She has to breath out of her mouth because her nose is so stuff up. Also she started developing hard lumps on her ears with hairloss there as well. She’s not really coughing or wheezing but she frequently sneezes.
About 3 weeks later I took her into the vet and told me it was feline herpes and prescribed her lysine. The lysine didn’t change anything and once I finished that I started her on oral nose relief drops for cats, also allergy immune boost oral oil. I told my vet that she wasn’t getting any better but I didn’t want to take her in because of how much that stresses her out and it’s not going to help her recovery. Not to mention, it’s expensive as fuck for them not to do anything that will actually help. Anyways the vet told me to give her a low dose of Zyrtec. I tried that for a while and she seemed to be doing better for a week or two but now I see it getting worse again.
I don’t know what to do or how to help her. She’s miserable and I can feel her fever is back! There is no change in her food except now she doesn’t want to eat so I started giving her wet food, same formula. We moved but that was back in October, to my moms. I thought my mom’s dogs may have triggered it so I moved in with my bf. She was doing better at first but now it’s all back. She’s been in a nice big peaceful house with us so I’m not sure what is causing this, there are also no other animals or plants in the house. I’ve had her for 3 years now and she is 4. She has never had ANY of these symptoms before march. Is this even feline herpes? Do flare ups last 3 months?? Please any advice would be great. My poor baby is miserable.

I’ve been struggling with acne ever since grade 9. It was never really really bad where I considered taking Accutane however it was always there and my parents were always telling me to take it. I exhausted every other option and medication throughout all those years (I just finished my 1st year of uni). I spend thousands of dollars on skin care products and while my face never fully cleared it would go through stages where it cleared enough for me to be okay with it. Fast forward to grade 12, my face really broke out in result to threading it , and it took a big toll on me so I decided to see a dermatologist to ask for tretinoin, which would be my last resort before Accutane.
When I started tret it did clear up my face but not how I wanted. So after about 6 months or more on tret I finally decided to just suck it up and go on Accutane. My brother went on it as well and it cleared his face great and he never noticed any side effects.
It’s been since February 1st 2024 and I’m on my 2 weeks into my fourth month. While Accutane has absolutely cleared my skin amazingly I have been dealing with sooo many effects. My doctor started me on 40mg off the bat (she said the 20mg is kinda pointless derms are saying to just start off 40 to speed up the process).
Month one (40mg): my lips were dry but it wasn’t horrible, I was getting weird chest pains every now and then, my lower back pain was definitely there but wasn’t debilitating, my hair line was slightly thinning, my nose was constantly bloody but not runny it was just like chunks of blood, and my excema flared up majorly. My face is also always flushed and red lol.
Month two (40mg) : same same, my nose started hurting to like touch and push up, it’s started getting stuffy allll the time, back pain was still prominent, excema still really bad, skin very sensitive, my mood went crazy. I started getting less motivated and way more agitated, my patience lowered more than it usually is and I found I was getting angry quicker. I was already depressed lol so i dont know if it made it worse or not cause it’s normal. My hips were extremely tight and sore. And i dont know if this correlated but my nose started to always be moist. Like always wet for no reason. And a lot of farting to be honest.
I also don’t know if this has any correlation but I’m a very active person and Accutane has made me excessively sweaty. I could just be sitting in my bed and my hands will be drenched in sweat which is so out of the ordinary
Pros: Lips were not too dry, face was glowing, I didn’t get much of a purge at all, nose got smaller and eyelashes a little longer, back and chest acne cleared.
Month three and 2 weeks into four is when it got pretty rough. I got started on 60mg and I noticed:
-my lips significantly dryer it’s killing me -my back pain has been absolutely horrible I can barley do anything - major headaches - my hair is so much thinner and fragile in comparison to my usual thick curly hair -my nose is always wet, stuffy, and bloody - my excema is horrible -my skin cut so much easier it was so sensitive and thin - sweaty - same nose shit -my eyes burn a lot and get heavy quicker
Now how I battled these side effects

• dry lips = aquaphor and Vaseline layered -nose nothing -back pain = pills and heating pad and rest
• hair thinning= less heat, fable and mane hair oil every hair day shower, less slick backs, less shampoo, hair masks. It still hasn’t helped much to be honest but I’m hoping it will go back to normal when I’m off it. -excema= prescribed meds and excema relief euricine cream

Stretching hydrating resting and gaslighting myself to believe that it’s not that deep and it’s all a mind game. The side effects will only come if you think of them.
My skin care routine is my holy grail. My face is sooo hydrated and glowy and I honestly give credit to my routine. It’s plain and simple.
Morning - rinse with water and dr.jart moisturizer and clarins sun screen
Night- la Roche pose cleanser, first aid beauty moisturizer, sometimes I put on Mederma scar cream but the absolute must is the la Roche pose c3 balm. That shit Is amazing and I’ve been using it for monthssss.
My predicament is that I’m going back gone to leb in July (their hottest month) and that would also be my last month on this cycle. I really wanna tan and stuff so how bad is the sun on Accutane? Also I’m also considering maybe stopping a month early? Do you guys think that’s a bad idea and will get rid of all my progress?
My doctors said a cycle is 6 months but the derms are saying to do an additional 2 to cement the process. But I don’t want to because if so harsh.
What do you guys think?

So on Saturday I went on a long-ish car ride, and it gave me a nauseous, car sick type of migraine, which is pretty typical for me. What is not typical is that I am still feeling it 5 days later with headache meds not helping.
It comes and goes, and gets worse when i get up and move around. It's also worse upon waking up, and I've been having very surreal fever dreams. It is a pressure migraine, ranging from barely noticeable dull pain that I can ignore, to feeling like someone is literally standing on my skull where it hurts to even open my eyes. Usually I get them if my blood sugar is too low from not eating, or they can be triggered by car rides or fumes like nail polish. And usually all I need to do is eat some peanut butter crackers, turn all the lights off, take ibuprofen with some water, and sleep.
On day 3 I puked multiple times, and since then my chest and back muscles hurt when i breathe too deeply (i assume that's just from straining them while throwing up?) My whole body is kinda sore to be honest, but the chest discomfort when I take a deep breath is obviously the most concerning.
When I tilt my head forward or bend over, after a few seconds I get the sensation of water getting up my nose, and my eyes start to water. The pain and pressure spreads throughout my whole skull if I lean over too long. I feel better when laying down on my side, but laying flat on my back leads to the same water in my nose feeling.
The other issues like nausea and light sensitivity are things I've had before, even puking every once in awhile if i don't eat soon enough, but this awful pressure in my head like I went underwater without blocking my nose is new. Is it just sinuses? My nose isn't blocked or runny at all, I can breathe perfectly fine (not counting muscle soreness), and have not been coughing. I did spend a couple hours on Saturday under a tree that was covered in blossoms, but there's no way any pollen I breathed in would still be affecting me right? Allergy pills have not helped either. Plus I have not been outside for more than a few minutes in the past few days, as I've been in bed hoping this will go away if I just rest enough.
I have an appointment on Friday with my PCP to discuss this, but is there any chance it sounds like a more serious issue that warrants an ER visit? I've discovered what a cranial leak (CSF) is and am now paranoid about that. I'm only 23 but had multiple blood clots 2 years ago (that seem to have gone away now that i switched birth controls), and during that time I had an Atrial septal defect closed in my heart. So I am young but do have some history with physical health issues. Plus the years of chronic migraines, but this one has definitely been the worst from how long it's lasted and the various other symptoms it has caused.
Please let me know if anyone has experienced something similar or if it sounds more serious than just a bad migraine. Thank you!

So last night I was just so irritable, I had many angry thoughts coming from nowhere it felt like since I don’t get them as often anymore, specifically I was having hatred thoughts towards my ex which I thought I had already overcame and was at peace with. I used to run from thoughts like these but been practicing on facing them so I did
During prayer this one was really intense, I was so angry and I wasn’t understanding why really because of how sudden it was, I thought I just had buried emotions or something but by the end of the night aside from the puffy eyes, a headache and runny nose I felt so much better letting it all out and felt at peace again.
Well later today come to find out it’s now that time of the month for me 😐
I know I’m emotional when it comes around that time and it’s a challenge I’m trying to face but this hatred felt so out of control, I tried remembering Bible verses, I tried remembering everything god has said and promised but that anger just threw it out the window and was screaming nothing but hatred and I knew I didn’t want this but I didn’t know what else to do in the moment until I was able to let it out.
Today I feel completely fine and like myself again but is this common? If so is there a way to control it? Because I know if I didn’t have my time to let it out it would’ve just waited until I let it out on someone who provoked me and I’m afraid of that happening since no one deserves that

I want to start by saying I am aware everyone's case is different. I'm not stating this is the ultimate cure for everyone since long covid is a unique case for each individual.
So I started experiencing long covid since Jan 2022 after an infection that passed fairly quickly, i got the vaccine a few weeks after. By July 2022 I starting experiencing strange symptoms which I know now to be long covid. I had two symptoms: A pressure throbbing facial pain 24/7 behind my nose, eyes and forehead and an elevated temperature 99.5-100F. I did the initial rounds like we all have and everything kept coming back normal, got on nerve medications but they failed. They told me I had atypical facial pain trigeminal neuralgia type 2. I was pretty much left in the dark. I didn't know what I had could possibly be long covid until March 2024. After finding people similar to my case, I talked to my doctor about it and started researching.
March 2024 I was put on Nurtec ODT this helped me manage my pain to some level, its used for migraines
April 2024: I started targeting the viral load and spike protein degeneration via supplementation and prescriptions.
Prescriptions:

1. Ivermectin - every other day for 6 days, now once a week. I will keep doing this for many more months regardless, and if i get infected again it will be first thing i take for 3 days straight. I saw this work first hand on my dad in 2021 but I didn't take it when i got infected.
2. Clarithromycin - Currently finishing up my 2 week course i got this for SIBO overgrowth from covid immune suppression. Its showing up on long haulers, overgrowth can cause brain fog and headaches. You can ask your provider for a test.

Supplements:

1. NAC - 500mg 2x a day for spike protein denaturation
2. Vit C - 1500-2000mg a day
3. Glutathione 250 mg once a day for spike protein denaturation
4. Nicotine gum - 2mg 2x a day (To bind to the acetylcholine receptors covid binds to, so it can be released and broken down with supplements)
5. Quercetin - 1x a day
6. Antihistamine - Allegra D 1x a day with a low histamine diet.
7. Vitamin B complex (therapeutic doses for nerve regeneration) - Brand: Nuphoria.com
8. Oregano oil - Antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral 2x a day for 3 weeks with a one week break in between.
9. Gut repai recover supplement - Brand: Mybrainco.com
10. Licorice root tea - Natural blood thinner that got recommended to me for possible covid microclotting
11. ashwagandha - 1x a day at bedtime, helps with covid.

Honorable mentions I didn't try: Nattokinase (for spike protein denaturation)
****IMPORTANT: STOPPED TAKING MAGNESIUM. I see people reacting to food even on low histamine diets. I had to even stop my multivitamin. Why cut magnesium off? My provider told me that mRNA strand was cut using an enzyme that is activated with magnesium, and deactivated with NAC, EDTA, high doses of vitamin C or glutathione. IF anyone knows how enzymes work, they help chemical reactions by catalyzing them to completion. I suspect this is why I still was reacting to food even on a low histamine diet.
Also could be why carnivore diet helps long haulers bc there is less magnesium in red meat, higher concentrations are in fruits and even higher in vegetables. Still some amount of magnesium will enter your body its in most foods and impossible to get 100% around it, but lowering it as much as you can could really help in your recovery.
Through out this whole process i started developing other covid symptoms I didn't have the past 2 years, I knew this was a good sign because they would only last 24hrs max. For example: Chest tightness, shortness of breath going up steps, fatigue. Recently I developed strange rotten smells and a metallic taste in my mouth. ALL of these were signs I was well on my way to recovery because my atypical facial pain and elevated temperature was 95% gone. Now I don't have ANY symptoms at all.

Hi, as stated above, I have some physical & mental impairments that affect my every day life, and have caused me to lose multiple jobs. 1st, I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid & still as an adult which causes abnormal behavior in me, that's my main mental disorder. & my main physical disorder is a severe nasal septal perforation that causes me a lot of problems, severe pain daily, & I was diagnosed with Somatic Symptom Disorder, and labeled Seriously Mentally ill due to the severity of symptoms they cause me. Deviated Septum. Atrophic rhinitis due to a doctor tearing out my inferior turbinates, & Chronic recurring Rhinosinusitus. ,I'm also diagnosed with major depression, severe anxiety, recurring panic attacks, sleep apnea. These things cause me a lot of symptoms that are also noted alongside my diagnosis, which are severe pain/constant headaches, insomnia, sleep deprivation, non-restorative sleep, daytime fatigue, occasional dizziness. What's also noted along with the disorders is that get constant recurring nasal infections due to the septal perforation making me more susceptible to Infectious diseases, and I've been constantly on different medications every few months like antibiotics, antifungals, & antivirals. The infections all confirmed by Otolaryngologists, Infectious Disease Specialists, & Labwork. It has become so unmanageable that no matter what I do, I just end up getting another infection, over & over again because of the septal perforation. My doctor also has noted that I have to rinse 4-5x daily because of blood crust forming & pain & to keep infections low, along with taking multiple medications. This long standing nasal disordeinfections has even caused me pituitary disfunction and I have to do hormone replacement therapy for the rest of my life because of it. My sphenoid sinus was so infected & inflamed & spread to my pituitary gland with inflammation that impacted it. My testosterone levels were under 100, and my pituitary wasn't functioning. My doctor even has wrote all of this on accommodation paperwork for my employers, and has suggested different accommodations. My disorders get so unmanageable, that I haven't even been able to adhere to the accommodations. I've been written up at jobs for yawning while talking with clients, have been written for sounding extremely lethargic, for being late/tardy, missing days. In 2021a doctor tried to do septoplasty to fix deviation, but he ended up burning a hole through my septum. & no lawyer I reach out to cares. They have all refused the case saying it won't pay them enough lol. Since then, I've lost multiple jobs because of it. I've been at work and my nose start uncontrollably bleeding. Even tried office work for a few years & still end up getting in trouble and fired for missing work, or for sounding like shit. My doctor even wrote that I have permanent impairments that are unmanageable and that I require surgery to fix the septal perforation. And that his full belief is that I'm unable to sustain employment due to my septal perforation & other disorders i have, and that if I tried to procure even another job, that no matter how simple and mundane it is, I would most definitely end up losing that job again. And that my septal perforation must be repaired in order to start improving my health to make things manageable. And also wrote that I've seem dozens of specialist doctors who say it's too difficult for them to repair, and that I need to see the doctors at the Mayo Clinic, but the Mayo clinic refuses to see me because they don't take medicaid. And that my Somatic Symptom disorder is a result of my septal perforation that exacerbates my mental disorders. My doc wrote up a descriptive letter of all this and said I need to be on SSDI until I can get this septal perforation repaired, and that until it's repaired, I'm living with a permanent unmanageable impairment. & that employment cant be sustained until uts repaired, and that this has even caused me homelessness. & last year SSA STILL DENIED ME. So I'm trying to figure out how to get these jerks to stop playing games with me, and approve me. Any idea? I rather be able to be self sufficient and keep a job than to need disability income, but it's been hard keeping employment. If I could post a picture on here of my nasal cavity, you could see my septal perforation, & the deteriorating/decaying tissue around it, this shit hurts so bad 😓

I had never had a cat in my life (54M) and one year ago my son rescued this beautiful 2yo female calico cat, and named her Ellie. She's the light of my life, and everyone in my home adores her. However, in this first year with her sometimes I felt like she was bored, and many articles and videos recommended having a second cat to accompany each other.
That's why, in the first anniversary with my lovely girl Ellie, I decided to stop by the shelter "just to look".
And there she was, this sweet and adorable 4yo calico female. I asked to meet her and she came to me without fear or hesitations, and allowed me to lift her and pet her. I immediately fell in love with and adopted her. I named her Abby.
While checking Abby's history in the paperwork from the shelter, I found out she was brought in by her previous owner to be euthanized because she was too "bitey and scratchy". The vet at the shelter determined she didn't show any bad behaviors, and on the contrary she was so sweet and demanding of attention, that denied putting her to sleep. And 3 days later I found her.
I brought her home and Ellie didn’t approve Abby at all, hissing and growling to her, but never physically attacking her. Abby hid under the sofa and I laid down next to her to confort her, and that first night she came out from hiding and slept in my bed.
Things started to look promising with Ellie, who despite still growling and hissing, allowed Abby to get closer.
But on the third day, a Saturday, Abby started sneezing sporadically. On Sunday the sneezing became more frequent and violent, specially every time she moved.
Comes Monday and I took her to the vet clinic. They ran blood analysis, x-rays and a PCR test. Abby had fever so they put her on IV hydration and gave her pain medicine. The blood analysis and the x-rays didn’t show anything bad, but they told me the PCR test's results would take 2 days. They injected her antibiotics and steroids, and released her for me to take home. This visit to the vet ended up costing me over $800. They told to keep an eye on her and check her temp.
She's been having outbursts of sneezing at all times, and the poor thing rubs her legs on her nose, like if it's itching. I've done all my best to keep her as comfortable as possible, without forgetting Ellie.
Then today I got a call from the vet's office telling me that the PCR test threw out that Abby had a Feline Herpevirus infection. They told me I had to keep both cats separated for 2 weeks, and stop by tomorrow to get a medicine to give her. Now I fear for Ellie, because I googled it and FHV is highly contagious and, not knowing it, I've been a bit careless in keeping Ellie and Abby separated. In fact, we had made great progress because Ellie is no longer hissing and growling and now lets Abby to get closer, within a 2 feet distance.
A friend told me that I should return Abby to the shelter, but I love her and I don't have the heart to do it. When they finally gave her to me at the shelter, I promised her that she'll be at her forever home, that I'd love her, and I'd never give up on her.
I feel guilt because Ellie may get infected and sick too, but I can't break my promise to Abby of loving and caring her for the rest of her life.
I've read a lot about FHV, and it's said that it is incurable. Cats with the virus can have sporadic flare-ups, but it's said that by managing stressors, and remaining current on vaccines, a pet infected with feline herpes can live a normal lifespan.
So that's why I'm asking you my fellow cat parent, did I make the right decision of keeping Abby despite she could make Ellie sick?
Please give me your advice. As I said above, these two are the first pets I have ever had in my life, and I don't know what to do.
Tl;dr;: rescued a second cat as companion to my first rescued cat, but a few days later she was diagnosed FHV and now I fear for the health of my first. Did I make the right decision by keeping her regarless?

About six months ago my mom's cat Bucky started licking off a patch of fur on his back. It started as a small patch and just kept growing. She's taken him to the vet multiple times and he's been on steroids for months but he just keeps getting worse. When she first took him to the vet in December the vet thought maybe it was an allergic reaction to flea bites. A visual inspection found some small scabs in his side outside the area of hair loss but no fleas or other parasites were found. Still he was given flea and tick preventative medicine, a convenia injection, and a Depo-Medrol injection. After a few weeks he still wasn't getting better so she took him back to the vet and the vet did a fungal test that was negative and some blood work that came back fine. The vet prescribed prednisolone after that. It started off as 1 ml per day for a week and then transitioned to 0.5 ml every other day. He's been on the steroids for months and just keeps getting worse. What started off as a small patch on his back now covers almost his entire back. There are patches of fur missing on his legs and somehow his neck under his head. There seems to be some fur loss on his nose, ears, and next to his eye. There are sometimes sores in areas of new hair loss but it's unclear if they were there before he pulled his fur out or are a result of it. He's clearly uncomfortable all the time and just keeps licking, scratching, biting, and grooming. Other than these issues he seems energetic and healthy. The vet's only remaining idea seems to be to do a skin biopsy to send to a dermatology specialist to check for skin diseases, but he didn't sound optimistic it would be helpful which isn't encouraging. Any other avenues we could explore?
Species: Felis catus Age: 11 years Sex/neuter status: male/neutered Breed: Short haired domestic Body weight: 8 lbs History: He is an outdoor cat that occasionally gets in fights with other animals and has sometimes needed antibiotics for infections but he has otherwise been healthy. Clinical signs: Excessive grooming leading to hair loss and sores. Duration: 6 months General location: Southeastern Wisconsin

hey all!
my diagnosis background: got my Lymes diagnosis in March of this year & started seeing my LLMD shortly after. we aren’t 100% on the circumstances of infection as i had IGG and IGM positive at the time of my blood work. i did have a bullseye rash (but never found a tick bite) in July of 2023 that i took Doxy for, but then i had a huge symptom flare up in late January that mostly consisted of SEVERE joint + bone pain, extreme fatigue, and mental health symptoms. i also found out at the time of my blood work i’m positive for the HLA-B27 gene which (along w some of my long term symptoms) indicates ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but i haven’t been to a rheum yet for an official diagnosis on that. currently on month 2 of 1000mg amoxicillin 4 times per day + other supplements to help with gut health and the lingering symptoms
my question / reason for posting: have any of you experienced an increase in nighttime bruxism with Lymes? i never experienced any issues with grinding my teeth at night until right before my symptom flare up in January. oddly enough though, it’s only gotten worse since i started my antibiotics. early Jan - late March i only knew about it because my boyfriend is often up later than me and would comment on it the following mornings. it wasn’t every night at first but increased in regularity until it became nightly. now it’s so bad that i’m regularly waking myself up through the night, having tooth / jaw pain all day every day, and headaches at least 3x per week.
i’m already scheduled to see my dentist to discuss all of this and get a night guard, but i wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience (and could maybe share a light at the end of the tunnel) OR if this is totally unrelated to my lymes / antibiotics. thanks for any and all insight :)

Hello mold subreddit. First time reddit poster here. Thank you in advance for any insight you can offer to my case. In what follows, I'm going to first describe the health journey that led to my mold discoveries and questions, so please bear with me through the health stuff. I have included excessive detail in the hopes that my case might help others navigate possible mold problems.
If you don't feel like reading all the below, the tl:dr version: After struggling with unknown health issues for 15 months, I eventually linked my symptoms to my new home and subsequently discovered very high volatile organic chemical levels. I linked the VOCs to mold. I also had a mold inspection done, and the results are at the bottom of this post. The levels of mold were high in my kitchen and bathroom. However, oddly, the mold levels in the outside control group were much higher than inside. Can anyone help me understand how high my indoor mold levels are? Does anyone know whether the outdoor levels are reasonably normal? Is my specific blend of mold types implicated in neurological symptoms for others? And if anyone has dealt with mold before, do my possible mold symptoms described below seem similar to ones that you've had?
I bought my townhome in late 2022. Within four months, I started having new neurological symptoms. These symptoms started with a postural tremor in my left index finger and thumb. The same hand eventually began to appear smaller and shriveled, especially around my thumb. I also started having extremely frequent muscle twitches and jerks. These twitches take three general forms:

1. The most common is an odd sensation of something wiggling under my skin. These primarily happen in my face, around my mouth, my butt/legs, and ribs.
2. A pulsing regular beat in a muscle that lasts for several seconds and in some cases longer. These usually happen near joints, especially just above my elbows and knees. These are almost always visible to the naked eye.
3. A sensation of rapid vibrating underneath the skin that lasts briefly. These vibrations are usually not visible but you can feel them if you press a hand over the area.

The twitches and apparent change to my hand have lasted for 16 months. At this point, the tissue loss in my thumb is also apparent in my forearm and upper left arm. My leg on the same side arm appears different and feels as if it has lost some muscle. I also have frequent trembling with specific muscles when I flex them. For example, sometimes when I try to hold a smile my face muscles will shake or give out. My neck tissues are especially liable to shake and vibrate when flexed, such as when doing tasks like flossing where I need to hold my lips back. On a few separate occasions, I have felt slight paralysis on one side of my face for an evening or so that then mysteriously goes away.
Aside from these neurological symptoms, I also have had frequent hoarseness, sneezing, jaw pain, and headaches. My joints often feel like they are more bony and poppy, especially in my left knee and knuckles. In addition, I've had a lot of issues with one ear on the same side as the shriveled hand. The ear had an apparent infection or cloudiness 12 months ago that went away, it then had recurrent pulsatile tinnitus, and now it just occasionally hurts at random times. There have been many other symptoms.
I have seen two neurologists, an endocrinologist, an ear-nose-throat doctor, and an orthopedic doctor. I've had countless tests done including two electromyographies (EMGs) over my whole body several months apart, an MRI, and a lyme disease blood panel. Every test has been normal, although the orthopedic doctor suggested possible thoracic outlet syndrome. The neurologist said my nerves are quite robust. My borrelia blood panel came back negative, although as a side note I did have a tick bite in early 2022 that caused a rash. I was treated for Lyme with 10 days of doxycycline. The tick bite itself still occasionally flares up red and its timing might be correlated with my symptoms.
Back to the house-- I was on a two week vacation out of state and noticed my twitches go away. Then I saw my arm become more normal sized again and the veins start to come back. I didn't feel the same joint issues, had no hoarseness, lost the headaches. All the symptoms came back as soon as I returned home, but nevertheless after that vacation and subsequent extended trips, I was able to conclude with a reasonable level of confidence that these symptoms are linked to the house. I bought an air filter and an air quality monitor that shows volatile organic chemicals, PM, formaldehyde, and C02.
Using the air quality monitor, I discovered that volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and formaldehyde were usually abnormally high and sometimes extremely high. VOCs are usually above safety thresholds at >0.5 mg/m3 and formaldehyde >0.1 mg/m3. Sometimes, the VOC levels will stay consistently above 1.8mg/m3. I witnessed them reach a peak level of 5mg/3 in one bedroom late at night when I was woken up by a feeling of shortness of breath. I tried but failed to correlate these high VOCs to electronics, chemical sources in the home, cooking sources, heaters, and cleaning supplies. The way the VOCs would spike all over the house for no apparent reason in the evening helped me rule out some of these other possibilities. I also actively removed other sources.
Eventually, I realized that the VOCs were likely caused by mold, so-called microbial VOCs. The formaldehyde could also be explained by mold. The levels of VOCs would spike on rainy days, when the humidity was high inside, and in the evening. I don't think any other chemical source near the house would display this pattern. It took me a while to reach this conclusion because the mold issue in my house isn't too obvious. The house has always had a slight musty smell, especially if the air is stagnant for a while. The bathroom also has recurring mold growth on a tiles, in the shower, and on the various shower liners. A couple cabinets in the kitchen have always smelled musty. I didn't think these obvious signs of mold growth were that big of a deal, but given the extremely high levels of VOCs I now believe the mold has always been the issue.
Once I realized it was likely mold, I started noticing all the signs. The house is about 100 years old. The prior two owners of this house each moved out within five months. The house is not ventilated except from windows. It sits in a damp area near where water puddles up in the yard. It's mostly solid brick, so the house frame has a way of trapping hot air and releasing a lot of moisture onto the floors each evening. There's also a cheap layer of vinyl flooring throughout that could easily cover up a massive mold problem underneath. Finally, the townhome sits on top of an old shared crawl space that was used as a furnace. It has had known water puddling issues for which reason a vapor guard was installed underneath my first floor.
So, I had a mold inspection done. The results are at the bottom of this post. The bathroom results might be diluted because I left the window open the night before. Nevertheless, both my kitchen and bathroom had mold detected at levels between 6480 - 12,300 spores/m3. Oddly, the outdoor levels of all of the molds were often much higher, 3-6 fold higher than the levels indoors. It was a humid day, but it still seems odd for me that an outdoor space could have higher levels than indoors.
On later reading about my specific mold spores and neurological symptoms, I noticed that the two most elevated groups of spores in my house, ascospores and basidiospores, are the same class as all of the funguses known to have colonized the nervous system of ALS patients according to this published article. Those specific types of fungus found in the nerves of ALS patients are Candida, Malassezia, Fusarium, Botrytis, Trichoderma, and Cryptococcus. It naturally led me to wonder if my chronic als-type neurological symptoms could be caused by some latent fungal infection in my body that gradually improves when I'm away from the home.
Wrapping up this thread, I have a bunch of questions.

• Does anyone have the same kinds of molds (see below) in their home and have the ability to speak to how problematic my levels are from their own experience?
• Why would the outdoor control be so high? I do compost and garden, but all of the compost is buried underground.
• Is my specific blend of mold types implicated in neurological symptoms?
• Do my symptoms seem similar to mold-related symptoms that you might have had? I'm trying to figure out if mold is a likely culprit or if I should keep seeking help for possible tickborne illness or other issues.
• Should my mold levels be a cause to stay away from this house as much as possible? Should I ever return?
• Do I need to throw away all my belongings like books clothes and sheets?
• Would a very high quality HEPA air purifier make any difference?
• Is there some kind of public health representative that could help me navigate this or a type of mold doctor who could help me investigate the causes of my symptoms and seek the right kinds of medication?
• Do you have any other advice for someone in my situation?

My mold inspection results

Basically, the title. I was diagnosed in 2018 with an autoimmune disease based on blood markers but my rheumatologist couldn’t tell me exactly which one I had. He said there were some markers for Lupus but not enough to diagnose me.
I can always tell when I’m having a flare because I get these sores in my mouth. They’re ulcers. They’re so insanely painful. When my stress was at its worst in my life, I was also getting these ulcers in my nose and I got one in my eye right under my eyelid. It was unimaginably painful and I went to my primary care physician to have it looked at when it happened. But she said she couldn’t see anything and basically seemed to imply I was over exaggerating, which honestly deterred me from continuing to see a doctor about these issues. I figured I had HSV 1 and it was particularly bad because I was so stressed.
I have had a myriad of other symptoms. Swollen joints, osteoarthritis, constant headaches, bleeding from random organs (ie. coughing up blood clots, constantly having blood in urine tests despite no infection, bleeding a lot when I pass stool). I have a lot of skin problem. I get those pimple blister things and am super sensitive to sunlight.
I’ve been having a flare recently, likely due to poor sleep and stress and I have gotten these terrible sores in my mouth again. So freaking painful. They were healing up after I slept a lot and then a few days later some new ones started popping. It was bothering me so much I googled mouth sores related to autoimmune diseases and found a description of Behçets. This is the first time I’ve ever found out about an autoimmune disease that seems to describe what I’ve been experiencing for so many years.
I found this sub and have been exploring it to see what the experiences of others are. And I feel like I have read some horror stories on here already. I know this place is not to be used for a diagnosis, and I already plan to have this conversation with my rheumatologist. I was just wondering if some people are just constantly uncomfortable and not always in searing pain?
I say this as I’m laying here with swollen muscles I am literally trying to tenderize like a steak because they’re so tense and painful and causing me the worst headache ever.
Basically just looking for stories about peoples’ personal experiences to see what Behçets is really like on an average day.

I have had fairly bad hay fever since I was about 16 (now 20). My symptoms are generally a runny nose, itchy throat/ears, and my left eye becomes irritated. Just my left eye. Every time. Even if I don’t put my hands anywhere near my face, my left eye, without fail, will become itchy, red, swollen, and teary.
All I can find online is that it’s an infection, but surely then my symptoms would be constant? It only happens coinciding with my other allergy symptoms, but my right eye is never affected.
Any ideas??

It started with my 4.5 year old daughter the week before mother’s day. Stomach cramps, vomiting, followed by a few days of diarrhea. She gets better the friday before mother’s day and my 1 year old son projectile vomits over me twice and my husband twice that same day . His has been a real kicker. he was lethargic all weekend and saturday night got a fever. Took him to urgent care on mother’s day and they said he has an ear infection. Because he just had amoxicillin for a different infection a few weeks back they prescribed cfedinir. This medication has its own issues - runny stools. He has been fussy and now has a runny nose andd cough and popping a tooth! I get the illness monday. Felt like I was on my death bed with vomiting and diarrhea. my in laws came to help. Next day i was better but trying to recover so my mom helped out. now my mom and mil are throwing up and my son is STILL fussy and his daycare provider required 100% symptom free. what is this virus from hell??? How long till the next one?? I’m worried about my son, the illnesses he gets from his sister kick his ass. I don’t think he’s been to a full week of daycare since february.