(CNN)Matt Ford edits videos to make a living, so it's easy to put together a video for TikTok It wasn't. But his latest post wasn't a crazy dance or video about how to strip bananas the right way.
"I first fully recognized it and noticed the symptoms on Friday, June 17," Ford told CNN from the county-ordered quarantine at his home in Los Angeles. He is no longer contagious.
He wanted to go to New York's pride last week. "But it wasn't on the card," he said.
In the video, Ford talks about how the virus spreads and shows some of his lesions.
Ford was vaguely aware of the outbreak of monkeypox through Twitter, but how much he was in the outbreak until his friend informed him that Ford might have been exposed. He said he didn't know if he was approaching. ..
Ford said he immediately started his full-body check.
He said, "He noticed some spots he hadn't noticed before." 30. He went to a West Hollywood clinic to test the spots, which looked like acne and ingrown hair.
Ford said the doctor took a cotton swab and a few days later he returned positive on a monkeypox test.
Ford actually said the test only confirmed what was new. The spot he found no longer looked like acne.
"They will soon grow and fill up," he said, and they were particularly distressed by the spots in the more sensitive areas.
He said he also felt like he had the flu.
People with monkeypox may develop fever, headache, myalgia, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and feel tired. He also said he had night sweats, a sore throat and a cough.
Some of the lesions are so painful that he went back to the doctor and gave him painkillers
"I was finally able to sleep all night, so it really helped. "Ford said. "But even painkillers didn't completely paralyze it. It just made me bear enough to get back to sleep."
In the video, Ford took the camera. It is spoken clearly because it warns others by looking directly at it.
Matt Ford stated that there were more than 25 such lesions on his arm.
"Hello, my name is Matt. I have monkeypox, this is terrible, and you don't want it Let's do it, "Ford tells his audience. Looking around some of the
25 lesions, he points to spots on his face, arms, and abdominal muscles.
"These aren't really cute," he emphasizes.
Although the disease is more common in Central and West Africa, this current outbreak has hit countries with few, if any, cases in the past.
The county confirmed by email to CNN on Thursday that it would send quarantine orders to those who tested positive for monkeypox. Ford said he received an email notification from the county on June 24th.
Last Friday, LA County confirmed that some incidents were between gay and bisexual men. Some of the men attended some big events. The county said it was working with the organizers to inform attendees of possible exposures.
Since Ford first told his friend that he had monkeypox, others have informed him that they were also ill.
Concerned that not enough people didn't know about it, Ford came up with the idea of creating a TikTok video and sharing it.
"It was clear to me that it was found to be spreading rapidly," Ford said. "That's a big reason I'm trying to raise awareness about it aloud."
The response to the video is "great", he said. He was encouraged because some people told him he didn't know about it and thanked them for spreading the word.
Ford also hopes that the video will help end the stigma that accompanies the illness.
"There must be no stigma," Ford said. "It's just a bad thing."
"In many cases, I think silence is the enemy," Ford added. "I am happy to inform people. I hope more people will be safe."
