moved to LA years ago after my FIL passed away, she came down
with cocciomycosis (also called Valley Fever) from the inhaled dust.

Fungal infections can affect the eye....Daniella ..did they ever consider this?

I had a patient with a fungal eye infection here, who went to a corneal
specialist who finally diagnosed the fungal thing missed by other doctors.

Thanks. In addition to the many eye docs I went to an internist and a derm who gave me some face cream and special shampoo. I have not heard of that infection Mrs D. The last eye doc said and the derm about the weather so why I am ? it. Wing the thing is it is very dry and windy here. Even on a high humidity day it is lower then Mi low humidity days I guess. Thanks again. I was wondering about humidifiers which I have been searching for all day. Do I get a cool mist or a warm mist?

I think the stress of moving to a place so far and so different from where you lived, and something else besides our climate is at the root of your problems. We've had many Santa Ana events this winter compared to most. They are very dry and windy. I've lived here most of my life and find them very irritating. That being said, they don't typically cause health problems. The air during San Ana events tends to be crystalline clean. At your age it should have no health effect.

With our wonderful internet, it's easy to learn about any topic, like "Valley Fever". Simply type www.google.com into the address line of your internet browser. When Google comes up, type "valley fever" (with or without the quote marks) in the search box. You should get a screen something like this: http://www.google.com/search?source=...=Google+Search . Put more credence on sites affiliated with medical institutions or pure information services less on sites trying to sell you something. A convenient source for quick information is www.wikipedia.com . The valley fever page for Wikipedia is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_fever . The distribution map (click on it to make it larger) is interesting in that valley fever is found in Ventura.

You might be having a bad reaction to either flea bites or bedbugs. Both are easy to get. Bed bugs in particular can be picked up at any motel or hotel if they crawl into your luggage at night. My son got bitten up something fierce in a hostel in Rome and reacted strongly to the bites with symptoms similar to what you describe. You can see pictures of bedbug bites at http://hotels.about.com/od/hotelsecrets/ig/Bedbug-Bites/ . Click on the line that says "Gallery Index" to see a bunch of pictures. Click on any picture to make it large. Bedbugs are small, light brown, flat, and hide during the day so they're almost impossible to see. If you have or suspect bedbugs, you'll need a professional extermination service, or burn down the house.

Fleas can live off of you even if you have no pets, if the people before you did. Fleas are easy to get rid of. Use Frontline on your pets, and vacuum daily. Even a bad infestation will be cleared up within a few weeks. Southern California is the center of the known universe for fleas because of our mild winters and moderate climate. Fleas thrive in San Diego to Santa Barbara but they can't survive where the humidity is very low, like the desert. Snow, ice, and heavy rain gets their numbers way down during the winter in places like the Pacific Northwest or the Great Plains and North East.

Please stay in touch with us as you get to the bottom of the problem and clear it up. I'm sure this will just be a fading bad memory before you know it.

Ah, I can answer the humidifier question.

Get a cool mist. I had purchased a Vicks Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. I had used them years before. This one cost $70.00 at my local CVS. We figured $70.00, hey it must be good.

Now what happened when I got my cool mist humidifier?. Well, it leaked.

I called the company and they replaced it. It still leaked.

I called them again. All they made me do was cut off the plug and put it in an envelope and mail it back to them. Why they did this, I have no idea.

They then sent me another humidifer. So we are talking about 3 to 4 humidifiers. This is the top of the line, with some kind of charcoal thingee, and a square thing that fits into the bottom (when you take off the plastic top part of the humidifier). It prevents white dust from coming on your furniture.

So what happened the first night I used it?

I had water all over my floor.

So I now have it in the closet.

No more humidifier. I'm afraid to get another one. I've had 4 total in my life time and they all leaked.

I don't know why they told me to get a Cool Mist. When I went to the drugstore earlier today, I saw a Vicks Warm Mist thing and it's cheap, but I really think that cool mist is healthier.

I most certainly wish you better luck than I had with my humidifiers.

I do remember, that when I first got one (years and years ago), I breathed better during the night. And I always had it running if I had a cold or a stuffy nose.

Best of luck

P.S. When I read the bedbug story, I wanted to throw up. And after seeing the photos I really thought I would. That is the single most disgusting thing I ever saw. I would't stay in a hotel or a motel now, if you paid me a million dollars.
With my OCD, I know I'm going to be checking my mattress immediately.

good god!!!

overuse of humidifiers can lead to MOLD growth in your house.

That will be worse by far than dry air! (happened to us)

We leave open pans of water around during the worst of winter.

Using humidifiers can lead to Mold???

Well, thank goodness mine is in the closet then.

Mrs. D. Was I given the wrong advice on COOL MIST humidifiers??

Should I go and buy the $19.99 warm mist Vicks vaporizer?

Are they any good. The ones where you add the liquid vicks in them??

Hi. Yuck! That is why I hate hotels. I saw that on some 20/20 show. Wouldn't I notice fleas or bed bugs though at all? I know you said during the day they are hard to see but what about during night I am not going to look at the picture cause I tend to freak.Also would not one of the 20 doc apts I have had here noticed that? I am not sure if it is the weather but both the derm and eye doc said it could be since so dry here and my body is not used to it. See if you lived here your whole life then you are used to it I would think. Just like people in Ca think it is cold when 50 ndand in MI you would see convertibles down. I will keep you updated and oh god I hope no bugs are causing any of my issues. That will totally drive me out of here. Why are they often heard in hotels is it from so many people coming in and out?I don't deal well with bugs.
Thanks Mrs D. So how much is too much to have it going cause I was planiing all day and night and I am thinking that is too much.
Melody I asked the pharmacist and he said that both the warm and cool are the same because once it hits the air it turns cool. If you have young kids then you want a cool in case of burns. I got mine at cvs too.

...I know you said during the day they are hard to see but what about during night. No they are the size of a grain of rice and a neutral brown so you probably wouldn't see them at night either. They do most of their feeding just before sunup, and scurry away silently if you make any disturbance or if a light is turned on.

Also, the problem could be flea bites if you or the people before you had animals.

I am not going to look at the picture cause I tend to freak. Too bad. If your skin and eyes looks like the pictures, then you'll have a good idea what the problem is.

You freak out? Like the two girls in LA who hugged in panic on a train track until the train hit them, killing one, instead of just stepping off the track? You are stronger and more sensible than that. You need to take care of yourself and deal with this. You do have the strength to do that.

Also would not one of the 20 doc apts I have had here noticed that? Not necessarily. Anything unusual is usually off their radar. They're most likely too busy and see too many patients to spend time thinking about non-life threatened patients.

I will keep you updated and oh god I hope no bugs are causing any of my issues. That will totally drive me out of here...I don't deal well with bugs. If you are being bitten, it's just another problem to solve, no better or worse than an infection or allergy. Actually, it's better because it can be dealt with. You can change "don't deal well with" to "I'm strong and deal well with" for the sake of your health and happiness.

Strong emotions will only make things much worse, and stop you from healing. So, please look at the pictures and see if they look like what you see in yourself. Then you can calmly deal with it with the help of your doctors.

If the pictures don't look like you, than you've narrowed the search for a diagnosis down. There is no cause for panic either way.

I'm sorry if I missed it - but have you seen an allergist? I had absolutely no idea of how many allergies I had until I saw one - and at least I can fight back somewhat now that I know with allergy meds (my allergies are about 80% of every pollen, dust, mold, etc tested for)...... today here is brutal with very strong dry winds and even with meds I'm really feeling lousy from them - I'm in the "valley", you are further up the coast and out of this nasty place - but still - could be something to look at (also found out I was allergic to dust mites and my allergist had me buy mega covers for all my mattresses (that encase them) comforters, pillows, etc..... (and got a new bed at the same time) that dust mites cant penetrate.... may be worth a shot?

Daniella:

I was sitting in my son's ear nose and throat doctor's office MANY years ago, while my son was being examined.

There was a Newsweek magazaine in the waiting room. I picked it up and it said "Dustmites, what do they really look like when they are magnified".

Then they showed someone's eyelashes. (under some kind of Spectron Microscope).

WELL, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN ME RUN TO THE BATHROOM,and wash my eyes.

My husband never laughed so hard in all his life. He thought "oh my god, what is she afraid of now"?

I showed him the photos. He started wiping his eyes.

Know what I think? We better stop looking at pictures of bacterium, molds, spores, bed bugs, whatever.

Our minds will then tell us "these things are crawling all over us".

I know that we have bacteria. We have to learn to live with it.

I try not to panic over the stupid things.

But I better not see a waterbug in my bathroom. You might hear me all the way in New Jersey!! lol