I was at yellowstone 3 nites then thru phoenix and falgstaff to the grandcanyon last couple weeks.I drank lots of water and gatorade,ate well ,slept but had to go to Flagstaff ER for dehydration and viral syndrome,am seasoned traveler,first time sick on any trip. I want to know if anyone has experience this as it is a pneumonia.maybe I breathed in geyser fumes?

Since I'm not a doctor, please don't rely on my comments as medical advice, but given you described your condition as "viral syndrome," that to me means you caught a virus that made you ill and dehydrated. This could happen anywhere and would not be at all related to your visit to Yellowstone, the geysers or the high desert. An illness such as pneumonia can cause dehydration, probably exascerbated by the dry climate and the fact that you've been traveling. The sulphuric quality of geyser fumes wouldn't cause illness under normal circumstances - actually, don't many hot springs tout them as having healing qualities?

Hope you're feeling better!

yes I am feeling better was told by my doctor I would be coughing for two to four weeks. There is another trip four x to High desert in the Sierra Madre of Mexico and not sick there once!intersting.

A viral infection, even one that leads to a more serious bacteria infection, can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. For the most part, it's just the dumb luck of coming across someone else's virus that you aren't immune to. If someone sneezed into a hand, then opened a door with that hand one minute before you opened the door, you could catch that virus without any real way of knowing where it came from. The fact that you are a seasoned traveler, ate well, got your rest, and drank plenty of liquids will only alter the odds against coming down with a virus, but it will not completely eliminate the possibility. If you've never gotten sick in four trips to the Sierra Madre of Mexico, that's great -- but no guarantee that your luck won't run out somewhere else.

Just to add one more thing, the best way to reduce your odds of getting a virus infection is to wash your hands, properly and frequently.

The diagnosis is pneumonia.I use purell for sanitizing and soap. The chest x ray detected no blood clot in lung,even had a CT Scan of chest.Nevertheless luck did run out. BUT,I AM better,drinking fluids,rest,and on antibitoics,. THE thing about handwashing is the poster is correct you can get germs on the hand even after using hand sanitizer.Fortunately have the insurnace to pay for this stuff. As I am going to Mexico in March I was wondering if anyone can recoommend a company that could fly you to appropriate medcial care in the US should someting strange happen.

www.medjet.com