Ross river fever | Arthritis Information

I know this is not related to arthritis, but I have looked everywhere on the net and no answers, can anyone help..my daughter was dx with ross river fever some months ago. The pain she has is in all her joints and at night she has difficulty lying in bed as she can't stand the pressure on her body. She seems very run down to me and always so tired. Is this normal to feel so much pain that she can't even stand any one touching her. The doctors say she just has to ride it out. Can anyone suggest any supplements that might help her....thanks

Hi, I found a lot of info by googling "Ross River disease", but it seems they usually just treat the pain with NSAIDS and wait for it to go away on its own. If her pain is severe, and she still has swelling and inflammation, I guess you could ask her doctor about the use of prednisone to give her some relief, here is a link to a study (althought it was small) supporting that approach. Of course pred has it's downside as well so that might not be an option for her. Sorry she is having such a hard time, I don't know how I'd manage if it hurt to lay in bed! Hoping she feels better soon,

Andrea

Yikes- never heard of it. Hope she finds some relief!Sounds like a nasty bug, but at least it seems to be self-limiting. Personally, I would not use prednisone for the pain, as it can impair the immune system. it doesn't seem like a whole lot is known about this bug, and I personally would not take a risk like that. Have you tried capscaicin cream or icy-hot cream? What about ibuprofen, naproxen, celebrex, other NSAIDs? How old is she? You might ask the doctor about giving her high doses of an NSAID for the pain and inflammation, and a sleeping pill so she can get some rest at night. Maybe even a narcotic to use when the pain gets too severe. Untreated pain can really mess with your body and mind, and so can chronic sleep deprivation; if she breaks the pain cycle and gets some decent sleep, she'll probably have much more energy and start to feel a bit better. Thanks for the input, its must be an Aussie bug, but I jokingly said to her would you like some of my prednisone! but as I am trying to wean off the stuff, would never encourage it. But yes, will suggest celebrex, as I take it twice daily and have a supply. I don't know anything about the creams but will look into it!. She is 24 and not very strong so I do feel for her knowing how much pain we all go through with our RA and it does mess with our bodies. Thanks again for your replies.Definitely stay away from the prednisone with the active viral infection. As for the creams - icy hot is just a muscle rub here in the states, typically with menthol, eucalyptus, and/or other minty-smelling stuff. It acts as a counter-irritant and can help reduce pain. Capscaicin cream contains the hot from hot peppers and it works to deplete "Substance P" from the skin and underlying structures. "Substance P" is responsible for pain perception, and after a couple days of using the capsaicin cream you may find the pain greatly reduced. It's kinda harsh in the beginning, though, and don't ever touch your eyes, nose, mouth or hoo-hoo with capscaicin cream on your hands. In fact, when I use it, I always wear gloves to put it on. It can really burn when you first start using it; for that, I use lanacane spray (a topical anesthetic spray containing benzocaine) to take the sting out of the burn, or I mix the capscaicin cream and some lanacane cream together and apply that. Thanks JR will sus it out, maybe I could use it too, I have been using for myself Rapigel, a gel they use on horses, sounds funny, but does help a lot. If this is Ross River then I would be very concerned for your daughter as My own daughter nearly died from this when she was younger.
This thing can affect the heart (thats what we were told at the time).
My daughter was so bad that she had to be air lifted from where we were to the childrens hospital for a three week stay.
She could not move as much as a finger without severe pain.
She should not be trying to do anything except rest.

Looking over things now it reminds me of what I went thru with the onset of RA.

Keep a close eye on her.. She should be showing some signs of recovery by now and the fact that she is in so much pain after a few months is a concern.

Does she have Ross River???
Could she have something else!

Hi Stephen. good to hear from another aussie, sorry to hear bout your daughter, I didn't realise it could be that bad, as the doctors just dismiss it as "oh yeh you have had Ross River but don't know when, there is nothing you can do" Its funny you should say that it reminds you of when you first got RA, as every little twinge my kids get I do the same. I wouldn't want any of them to suffer the way I did, and now!. I will get her to see the doctor again and get more blood tests, I like you, think maybe it could be something else.

Thanks again