Hantavirus panic

[ervpfox]

Hello, first post to the group, kind of concerned

Here goes; so, a couple of weeks ago I was out of town with some friends in Western Mass, and during the second day I was hanging out with some friends and chatting. I was going to change something on my vape pen and had to put the mouthpiece down for a moment and it fell off the tray I was using and onto the shelf the tray was on top of, I didn’t think anything of it to be honest, and as a result I kept using my vape pen as I normally do. Later that night my girlfriend and I were back in the same room making some food for everyone, and I noticed that on the shelf I had put the mouthpiece on there were a couple of mouse droppings, and I can only assume they were there earlier when my pen’s mouthpiece fell on the shelf. And here we are two weeks later, I have a runny nose and a really itchy throat, and am absolutely terrified that I contracted Hantavorus. This is something I’ve had major anxiety over in the past, andhave read about countless times, so I know it’s rare, extremely rare, but I’m still very concerned. As of today it’s been two weeks since we went on this trip and I have read that symptoms show within 2-4 weeks. So I am extremelynworr Ed. Has anyone else had a “close call” like this? Am I just being paranoid? I am super worried.

Thanks for reading

---------- Post added at 12:57 ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 ----------

Western Mass<<< Western Massachusetts for those outside the U.S.

[NervUs]

Your symptoms are not hantavirus symptoms.

[OutOfExile]

Once when I was in high school, my biology teacher made us watch a documentary on hantavirus - then a week after that I was working on an old car and found a giant pile of mouse droppings in the car and spent a month convinced hantavirus was coming for me next. But I'm still here, and you will be too!

Not only is hantavirus extraordinarily rare, but it's basically unheard of east of the Mississippi river. In fact, there are 0 reported cases (ever!) in Massachusetts, and 0 reported ever in any state that touches western Mass (so 0 in VT, CT, and RI as well). You're trying to make a connection to something and it's just not there.

My doctor said something to me once that stuck with me, that I think is worth health anxiety folks repeating - "Common symptoms happen for common reasons". What you have is a cold or seasonal allergies. A runny nose doesn't happen with hantavirus - hantavirus pulmonary syndrome by the way. It gets into your chest, not your throat and sinuses. (For the record, if you said you were feeling wheezy, my answer would be exactly the same. You still wouldn't have it.) Enjoy your weekend!

[ervpfox]

Once when I was in high school, my biology teacher made us watch a documentary on hantavirus - then a week after that I was working on an old car and found a giant pile of mouse droppings in the car and spent a month convinced hantavirus was coming for me next. But I'm still here, and you will be too!

Not only is hantavirus extraordinarily rare, but it's basically unheard of east of the Mississippi river. In fact, there are 0 reported cases (ever!) in Massachusetts, and 0 reported ever in any state that touches western Mass (so 0 in VT, CT, and RI as well). You're trying to make a connection to something and it's just not there.

My doctor said something to me once that stuck with me, that I think is worth health anxiety folks repeating - "Common symptoms happen for common reasons". What you have is a cold or seasonal allergies. A runny nose doesn't happen with hantavirus - hantavirus pulmonary syndrome by the way. It gets into your chest, not your throat and sinuses. (For the record, if you said you were feeling wheezy, my answer would be exactly the same. You still wouldn't have it.) Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks! This was a very help, insightful reply. Much appreciated!