Fukushima activity is on the rise. Health update.

Fukushima activity is on the rise. These sludge results are around 3 weeks old, but iodine-131 in Tokyo hasn’t been this high since January, and Gunma hasn’t been this high since last September. Increased fission is happening. Certainly both rain and air radiation detections have been elevated lately in North America – there have been significantly elevated readings in Arkansas, Michigan, and Ontario.

The Chiba sludge readings are late… they changed to a once a month publication, and that is even late.

A update about my health issues: Around April 1 I developed a very bad case of the flu. I had a high fever and was in and out of delirium for days. At the same time, I developed these weird symptoms, with fingertips pruney and puckered like just having gone for a swim in the pool. I also had red patches under my cuticles, and some fingernails turned pink and purple. I have psoriasis, but this is not psoriasis.

I was having a severe psoriasis flare at the time I got sick. And it got worse. But after two weeks, the psoriasis suddenly started going away. At the same time, I developed nystagmus in my left eye. The nystagmus was uncomfortable, and I suddenly was experiencing blurred vision in this eye.

I believe that this secondary condition is something called ADEM, or acute disseminated enchephalomyelitis. It is a temporary condition, which is rare in the US, and somewhat less rare in developing countries like India. It is a demyelinating disease, which means that the immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers nerve axons. It reduces the conductivity of the electrical transmission of nerve impulses. “Disseminated” means it affects both the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. It occurs after infections or vaccinations. But it is temporary, frequently goes away within a few days, and almost always is gone within three months.

The reason that this is interesting is that disseminated encephalomyelitis is a symptom of stage 3 of chronic radiation sickness. Weakened immunity is also a symptom of this. What made my psoriasis suddenly go away was a sudden drop in levels of interleukin-22 (IL-22). This cytokine is involved with immunity against viruses and bacteria.

ADEM itself gives flu-like symptoms, and also it is like a case of fibromyalgia from hell, where your head is swimming, and you can’t concentrate on anything.

Well, around the first of the month, I developed uveitis, or inflammation of the eye, along with blurred vision. This is a symptom of ankylosing spondylitis, which has a completely different immune profile than psoriasis. The nystagmus went away and was replaced by eyelid twitching. I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist for this, because uveitis carries the risk of blindness. I think it was last Saturday morning when I looked in the mirror and shuddered… because it looked like I was getting Bell’s palsy in addition to an inflamed eye. This is probably my low point since 3/11/11.

But the weather was nice, and I managed to lay out in the sun at the beach for a couple days. This usually heals me. When I went to my appointment, 5 days after I made it, the uveitis was gone. It went away as fast as the psoriasis did.

My eyeglass prescription for my left eye had changed though. I have been wearing eyeglasses for 52 years, but it never has changed so suddenly and drastically before.

I am still coughing, and I still have ear infections (otitis media). I’m not out of the woods yet. And since my immune system now goes through a revolution every two weeks, I’m not sure what to expect next. I still don’t want to look in the mirror.