HEALTH: An Inside Look at What It’s Like to Have Monkeypox

Headlines for a healthier you

Claire Bugos, Staff Writer

How a Monkeypox Patient Navigated Testing, Treatment, and Recovery

Days after coming down with a fever, splotches appeared on Kyle Planck's skin–tell-tale markings of monkeypox. A swab of his lesions confirmed his diagnosis, and he agreed to participate in a study to access the sought-after monkeypox treatment called tecovirimat. Over the next week, he sought to manage the intense pain from his lesions (especially the internal ones), documented the lesions as they healed, and worked to avoid contaminating others.

Now that he's on the other side of the illness, Planck is aiming to educate others on the experience. "The pain that can be associated with monkeypox is very intense," Planck said. "But you will come out on the other side."

Know More

Monkeypox can infect anybody, though it appears to be spreading primarily among men who have sex with men in the current outbreak. Navigating sometimes uncomfortable conversations about sexual and social activities when seeking a monkeypox diagnosis can be made easier by visiting sexual health clinics, Planck said.

Feel Better

Planck said he suspected he was infected with an STI or COVID-19 when he started to experience fever and other symptoms of monkeypox. To test for monkeypox, providers must be able to swab a lesion, meaning they may fail to catch the disease early on. If there's a chance you've been exposed to monkeypox, it may be helpful to bring CDC's information sheets to your doctor's appointment.

What Else Should You Know

Weekend Warriors May Reap the Same Health Benefits As People Who Exercise Daily

Doing one or two long or rigorous workouts per week can improve your longevity of life as well as exercising more routinely, a new study suggests. When it's challenging to workout most days of the week, experts say getting active over the weekend can be beneficial for physical health.

What to Know About Omicron BA.5 Reinfections

The Omicron subvariant BA.5 is now the dominant variant in the U.S. Because the highly-transmissible variant differs enough from other Omicron variants, it can slip by the immune defenses of those who were sick as recently as this spring. The good news: There's no evidence that BA.5 causes more severe disease than other Omicrons.