What are the symptoms of valley fever (coccidioidomycosis)?
About 60% of all infected people (without immunosuppression) have no symptoms and do not seek medical care. About 30%-35% of people who develop symptoms have flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, malaise, and chills) that resolve over about two to six weeks without treatment. Some may develop additional symptoms such as shortness of breath, night sweats, headaches, sputum production, and joint and muscle pains (symptoms resembling pneumonia). Women, more often than men, may develop erythema nodosum (reddish, painful, tender lumps, usually on the legs) or erythema multiforme (an allergic reaction similar to erythema nodosum in multiple body sites with rash). Usually these symptoms resolve in about two to six weeks. Chronic coccidioidomycosis occurs in about 8% of patients and is characterized by the above symptoms but may spread from the lungs to other parts of the body. People develop lung cavities that may disappear in about two years or become calcified. Progressive pulmonary coccidioidom
