Thomas, a Parisian, contracted “monkeypox” at the beginning of July. The young man’s fever and swelling testify to his pain with La Dépêche du Midi.
Thomas, 26, contracted monkeypox during the Pride March on June 25 in Paris. “I think I kissed a sick person,” he says. “I certainly didn’t catch him sexually.” Indeed, after a week of pride, a large knot appeared in the neck of the young man, accompanied by severe fatigue. Then he thinks he caught a cold. “I went to see my doctor, who told me it looked like angina.” However, fatigue soon turns into a fever. “I was swinging between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius, my temperature was changing all the time, and I was having a hard time sleeping,” he says.
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“My mouth is completely inflamed”
Worse, Thomas’ symptoms worsened within hours. “My throat started burning, and my lymph nodes swelled.” “My throat was so sore that I couldn’t swallow, eat or drink without feeling like I was swallowing the knives,” he says. At the same time, an unusually large pimple appeared on her arm.
The next day the young man wakes up with blisters on his arms, pelvis, and thighs. “Cela emblait à des crises d’urticaire. Pas à des boutons de variole du singe comme on peut en voir sur Internet. En tout cas, j’ai commencé à me dire que c’était peut-être un peu plus grave qu’ angina”. Then the Parisian calls Samo, who advises him to go to the hospital. “On site, they were overwhelmed with work and I couldn’t make an appointment right away.”
Pimples on Thomas’ arm
Later, the young man managed to pass the tests, “but in the hospital, they did not look very worried,” he admits. However, the situation is getting worse. “Hives escalated and became more ferocious, and the blisters spread to my chest. My mouth became completely inflamed, and I had lesions all over the inside. My lips, neck, cheeks and tongue doubled in size.”
Thomas could no longer open his mouth, speak or eat. “I was really in a very critical vulnerability.” He ended up in the emergency room. “I needed the pain to calm down, everything you prescribed to me so far hasn’t worked.” Then he is prescribed strong painkillers. “I didn’t feel anything anymore and had absences. I no longer had a fever but instead became a big veggie.” Three days later, on D+9 after the first symptoms appeared, Thomas received his results: he had monkeypox…
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“I haven’t heard from the hospital…”
Today, over a week later, Thomas is doing even better. He summarizes: “I have been very, very ill for about eight days.” The blisters are almost healed from it. However, in hindsight, he regrets not following up and explains that he has “fallen a bit into the unknown”. “After my positive test, I had no news from the hospital nor from my GP, who I went to again.” He just knows that he has no right to leave his house. “I’m supposed to be confined for three weeks, but I don’t really know since when.” The hospital just gave him a telecommuting certificate until the end of July and a sheet with some indications. “I’m only going out when I don’t have pimples, and the crust has healed and is flaking. In the meantime I’d rather isolate myself and protect everyone.”
The young man also deplores the lack of prevention. “I’ve heard about monkeypox before from people talking about it on social media. So many partners, and we ended up in hospital in unbearable pain. If I had had more prevention I might not have kissed anyone, or I would have Have a good reaction to get tested as soon as symptoms appear.
Thomas also stresses the importance of vaccination. “I really hope that people will be vaccinated as often as possible, at least the population at risk. However, there is no more information than that, and there are no time slots available in Paris,” he lamented.
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