Among the clinic challenges this week (not the least of which was figuring out how to deliver albuterol to an infant in respiratory distress in the mountains without overdosing her) was a resurgence in chikungunya pain. When was first researching chikungunya I was warned that for some people the pain could last for months. The research I found made it sound like that was a minority of patients, so I took comfort from that and bumped it down my list of worries in light of more pressing concerns.
Apparently "can last for months" actually means "comes and goes without warning" and a minority means "most people in some form or another." This week a number of my friends and patients have come to me describing a return, and in some cases an increase, in chikungunya related pain. These are people who had the virus weeks ago, who are suddenly hurting again. A lot. They are also not reporting any real relief from the pain medicines I have at hand. Please keep my friends and patients in your prayers.
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