Sharing Monkeypox Sores on Social Media
Men and women with monkeypox are sharing their stories on social media, to fight stigma and demand more action.
When Matt Ford, 30, an actor in Los Angeles, tested positive for monkeypox in June, he posted videos on Twitter and TikTok to show what it was like.
Wearing a gray t-shirt and looking directly at the camera, he offered viewers close-ups of "gross spots" all over his body, including his face, his arms, his belly. He also mentioned "some in my most sensitive areas, which also tend to be the most painful".
"So painful, I had to see my doctor and getting painkillers just so I can go to sleep,” he added, before listing other symptoms: sore throat, cough, fever, chills, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes.
In an age when people often use social media to showcase idealized versions of themselves, display their warts - or in Mr. Ford's case, many of the "over 25 "dark lesions on his body - was possibly unusual.
"The reason I'm speaking," he said in the video, "is mainly because it's one thing to know there's an outbreak of monkeypox, but it's another to know exactly what it means to someone's body and in particular r what it means if it happens to a friend or to you. high y graphic and personal diary of monkeypox, including an intimate selfie in July that showed eight blueberry-sized sores clustered under his lips.
Still July , Camille Seaton, 20, a gas station cashier in Smyrna, Georgia, racked up more than 10 million views in a series of TikTok posts that detailed her battle with monkey pox. One began with Ms Seaton covering her mouth with one hand as she said, "Trigger warning." Then she showed her lower face covered in nearly a dozen sores.
Viewers responded with heart emojis and thanks, but the reactions weren't always friendly. TikTok Theos.Credit...Photo courtesy of Camille Seaton
Men and women with monkeypox are sharing their stories on social media, to fight stigma and demand more action.
When Matt Ford, 30, an actor in Los Angeles, tested positive for monkeypox in June, he posted videos on Twitter and TikTok to show what it was like.
Wearing a gray t-shirt and looking directly at the camera, he offered viewers close-ups of "gross spots" all over his body, including his face, his arms, his belly. He also mentioned "some in my most sensitive areas, which also tend to be the most painful".
"So painful, I had to see my doctor and getting painkillers just so I can go to sleep,” he added, before listing other symptoms: sore throat, cough, fever, chills, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes.
In an age when people often use social media to showcase idealized versions of themselves, display their warts - or in Mr. Ford's case, many of the "over 25 "dark lesions on his body - was possibly unusual.
"The reason I'm speaking," he said in the video, "is mainly because it's one thing to know there's an outbreak of monkeypox, but it's another to know exactly what it means to someone's body and in particular r what it means if it happens to a friend or to you. high y graphic and personal diary of monkeypox, including an intimate selfie in July that showed eight blueberry-sized sores clustered under his lips.
Still July , Camille Seaton, 20, a gas station cashier in Smyrna, Georgia, racked up more than 10 million views in a series of TikTok posts that detailed her battle with monkey pox. One began with Ms Seaton covering her mouth with one hand as she said, "Trigger warning." Then she showed her lower face covered in nearly a dozen sores.
Viewers responded with heart emojis and thanks, but the reactions weren't always friendly. TikTok Theos.Credit...Photo courtesy of Camille Seaton
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