Medically reviewed by Dr. Kiyan Rad, DO — Medical Director, Sanova Urgent Care, Tucson, AZ
You've had a cough for three weeks. You're wiped out by mid-afternoon. Maybe a low fever, maybe night sweats. You've blamed a summer cold and Tucson dust, but it isn't letting go.
If that sounds familiar, there's a third possibility most newcomers don't know about and most long-time residents underestimate: Valley Fever. Telling it apart from a cold or allergies takes a test you can't get over a video call — and Sanova Urgent Care on Oracle Road does both the chest X-ray and the blood draw in the same walk-in visit.
Open Monday–Saturday, 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM · Closed Sunday
15883 N Oracle Rd, Suite 101, Tucson, AZ 85739
Why Tucson is Valley Fever country
Valley Fever — coccidioidomycosis — is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides, a fungus that lives in desert soil. The CDC places it across the southwestern United States, and southern Arizona sits in the heart of that range.
You can't catch it from another person. CDC is explicit that Valley Fever does not spread between people, or between people and animals. You get it by breathing in microscopic spores stirred up from disturbed soil. Around here, that's easy:
Cases typically rise a few weeks after dry, windy stretches and around monsoon — exactly when most people assume it's "just allergies." The Arizona Department of Health Services tracks and publishes the state's case data every year, and the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence — right here in Tucson — is the region's dedicated research and education resource.
Cold, allergies, or Valley Fever?
They overlap heavily. Here's the practical way to tell them apart.
| Summer cold | Dust allergies | Valley Fever | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cause | Virus | Airborne dust/pollen | Fungal lung infection |
| Onset | Sudden | With exposure | 1–3 weeks after exposure |
| Fever | Mild, brief | No | Common, can persist |
| Duration | 7–10 days | Comes and goes with exposure | Weeks to months |
| Fatigue | Mild | Mild | Deep, persistent |
| Night sweats | No | No | Common |
| Rash | No | No | Sometimes, on the legs |
| Improves on its own | Yes, quickly | When air clears | Slowly, sometimes not |
The rule of thumb: a "cold" that hasn't improved after two to three weeks isn't behaving like a cold. Get tested.
Valley Fever symptoms
Many people infected have mild symptoms or none at all. When symptoms do appear, Mayo Clinic lists the common ones, typically starting one to three weeks after exposure:
The pattern is what gives it away: persistence. A cough and exhaustion that drag on, especially with fever or night sweats, point away from a simple cold.
Who's at higher risk
Anyone who breathes Tucson air can get Valley Fever. Certain people are more likely to get seriously ill:
If you're in one of these groups and you have a lingering cough, don't wait it out.
How Valley Fever is diagnosed
This is where a walk-in clinic has a real advantage over telehealth. A screen can't take a chest X-ray or draw blood, and diagnosis depends on both.
Coccidioides serology
An antibody test looks for antibodies your body makes against the fungus. Timing matters — antibodies can take a few weeks to appear, so a negative test early in the illness sometimes needs repeating.
Chest X-ray
Imaging checks for the pneumonia-like changes Valley Fever produces in the lungs, and helps rule out other causes of a lingering cough.
At Sanova, both happen in the same visit. Our digital X-ray is in the building and read by your provider while you're here; the blood draw is done at our on-site lab station and sent for serology. You leave with the X-ray result and a plan.
What happens if it's positive
Most otherwise-healthy people recover without antifungal medication over weeks to months; the IDSA coccidioidomycosis guideline supports watchful monitoring for uncomplicated cases rather than treating everyone.
For people at higher risk, with severe symptoms, or with infection that's spreading, an antifungal such as fluconazole is prescribed — sometimes for months. Your provider decides based on your results and your risk profile, and coordinates with your primary care doctor or an infectious disease specialist when the case calls for it.
Fatigue outlasts everything else
That's normal, and it's frustrating. Knowing what you have makes it easier to manage — and stops you burning energy wondering.
What it costs
Posted self-pay rates:
If you're using insurance, we accept:
Serology is sent to the lab and billed separately. HSA and FSA cards are accepted. See costs and insurance.
When to go to the ER instead
Walk in to urgent care for a lingering cough. Go to an emergency room — or call 911 — for:
- !Severe shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- !Chest pain
- !Coughing up blood
- !Confusion, severe headache with a stiff neck, or new neurological symptoms
If you're unsure, call (520) 232-2525.
Serving Tucson, Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, Catalina, Marana, and beyond
We're at 15883 N Oracle Rd, Suite 101 — the walk-in clinic on the Oracle Road corridor for Oro Valley, Rancho Vistoso, Catalina, Sun City Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, Marana, and the communities up the highway toward Oracle, Mammoth, and San Manuel.
X-ray and lab in one building
Chest imaging and the blood draw happen in the same visit, so you aren't sent to an imaging centre and then a lab on two different days.
The people you'll actually see
Dr. Kiyan Rad, Beth Brown FNP, and Kim Wall FNP. Meet the team.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday–Saturday | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
Valley Fever: common questions
Is Valley Fever contagious?
No. It's caught by breathing in spores from soil, not from other people — and it doesn't pass between people and animals either.
How long does Valley Fever last?
Symptoms often last weeks to months. Fatigue frequently outlasts the cough. Most healthy people recover without antifungal medication.
Can Valley Fever go away on its own?
Often, yes, in otherwise healthy people. Higher-risk patients, or those with severe or spreading infection, need antifungal treatment.
How is Valley Fever tested?
A blood antibody test plus a chest X-ray. Sanova does both in one walk-in visit.
Can urgent care test for Valley Fever?
Yes. We draw the blood on site and take the chest X-ray in the building.
Valley Fever vs. COVID — how do I tell?
You can't reliably tell from symptoms alone. A rapid COVID test rules that in or out during the visit; the Valley Fever workup runs alongside it.
When is Valley Fever season in Tucson?
Cases rise in late summer through fall and again in spring, following dust and monsoon patterns.
Do dogs get Valley Fever?
Yes — it's common in dogs here. That's a question for your vet, but it's a good reminder of how much of the fungus is in local soil.
Stop guessing about that cough
Two weeks is the line. If you're past it, walk in — chest X-ray and blood draw happen in the same visit, and you leave with an answer instead of a theory.
Sanova Urgent Care · 15883 N Oracle Rd, Suite 101, Tucson, AZ 85739 · Get directions
This article is for general information and does not replace an evaluation by a licensed provider. In an emergency, call 911.
Dr. Kiyan Rad, DO, is a board-certified internal medicine and obesity medicine physician and Medical Director of Sanova Urgent Care in Catalina, AZ, serving Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke and north Tucson. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, President of the Medical Executive Committee at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Northwest Tucson, and former Chief of Medicine at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. He earned his DO from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. On this blog, he shares practical guidance on urgent care, chronic disease, metabolic health and recovery after a hospital stay.