So when today marked day 7 of a low grade fever, I decided to go to the clinic (Jen drug me). I had exhausted her knowledge of sickness and cures, made her worry and fret, and I think, was beginning to get on her nerves. She has been hounding me for two days to go to the doctor but I kept putting her off because I really did feel better; until night fall, when all the symptoms doubled and I was dying. We were pretty sure that it was Dengue and knew there was no cure but decided to be safe instead of sorry. (Actually Jen went into town made an appointment and then came and forced me to go.) So a few tests and a couple hours later the results were in…Dengue. I already knew that and just wanted to go back to bed. Jen was relived to find out for sure what the problem was and that I may recover after all. And the trip was probably worth it to learn a few things from Dr. Pierre. 1.) If you have Dengue, taking Advil (or aspirin) to lower your fever is a BAD idea. At least with the strand that I have. Apparently Dengue lowers your blood pressure and ‘waters down’ your blood. Advil does the same thing. Together you just plummeted your blood pressure (i.e.: the lightheadedness, dizziness, racing pulse and numbness in my fingers and toes) Now you are more at risk of some of the other complications from Dengue. 2.) Rumors are that if you have dengue you should not drink a lot of fluids and that Vitamin C doesn’t help. Wrong! Keep drinking it may be one of the things that has saved my liver from being affected. 3) “Toughing it out.” may not be the best of advice since there are complications involved with the platelets, white blood cell count, blood pressure, and liver. Not to mention that if it isn’t Dengue running a fever for that long can cause complications. 4.)Here in the islands they have accidently discovered that taking B-12 seems to help with the liver and speed up recovery. So with this new found information I am hopefully on my way to feeling better. I have a prescription for Becomplex and Baralgin and an appointment on Saturday for another CBC test. So I guess the lesson here is If your gonna get BenGay get it in St. Lucia (it is definitely better equipped than some of the other islands we have been to) and NEVER have unprotected sex with a mosquito, Be safe wear bug spray. Unless you like having your head feel like it is going to explode every time you move your eyes, having your joints feel like all the fluid has been replaced with sand, that every bone in your body feels broken, and that you have been kicked in the back by a horse. Or if you enjoy baking cookies on your chest, cramps in all your muscles, and covering up because you are freezing only to throw all the covers off because your burning up then grabbing all the covers because your freezing while trying not to move. And forget about food, you might as well replace everything on your plate with salt because that is what it taste like anyway. KILL ME NOW! Except water, water tastes sweet, cool, and refreshing. There is nothing worse than being raped by that stupid mosquito I hope it got swatted.
Definition of Dengue from Wikipedia:
Dengue fever (UK: /ˈdɛŋɡeɪ/, US: /ˈdɛŋɡiː/), also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include sudden-onset fever, headache (typically located behind the eyes), muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is used for fever and discomfort while NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and aspirin are avoided as they might aggravate the risk of bleeding.
Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the Aedes genus, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. Typically, people infected with dengue virus are asymptomatic (80%) or only have mild symptoms such as an uncomplicated fever. Others have more severe illness (5%), and in a small proportion it is life-threatening. The incubation period (time between exposure and onset of symptoms) ranges from 3–14 days, but most often it is 4–7 days. Therefore, travelers returning from endemic areas are unlikely to have dengue if fever or other symptoms start more than 14 days after arriving home. Children often experience symptoms similar to those of the common cold and gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea), but are more susceptible to the severe complications.
The course of infection is divided into three phases: febrile, critical, and recovery.
The febrile phase involves high fever, often over 40 °C (104 °F), and is associated with generalized pain and a headache; this usually lasts two to seven days. At this stage, a rash occurs in approximately 50–80% of those with symptoms. It occurs in the first or second day of symptoms as flushed skin, or later in the course of illness (days 4–7), as a measles-like rash. Some petechiae (small red spots that do not disappear when the skin is pressed, which are caused by broken capillaries) can appear at this point, as may some mild bleeding from the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose. The fever itself is classically biphasic in nature, breaking and then returning for one or two days, although there is wide variation in how often this pattern actually happens.
In some people, the disease proceeds to a critical phase, which follows the resolution of the high fever and typically lasts one to two days. During this phase there may be significant fluid accumulation in the chest and abdominal cavity due to increased capillary permeability and leakage. This leads to depletion of fluid from the circulation and decreased blood supply to vital organs. During this phase, organ dysfunction and severe bleeding, typically from the gastrointestinal tract, may occur. Shock (dengue shock syndrome) and hemorrhage (dengue hemorrhagic fever) occur in less than 5% of all cases of dengue, however those who have previously been infected with other serotypes of dengue virus ("secondary infection") are at an increased risk.
The recovery phase occurs next, with resorption of the leaked fluid into the bloodstream. This usually lasts two to three days. The improvement is often striking, but there may be severe itching and a slow heart rate. During this stage, a fluid overload state may occur; if it affects the brain, it may cause a reduced level of consciousness or seizures.
As there is no vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.
